O'Shaughnessy Ventures Backs Young Robotics Inventor

Alexandros Petkos awarded $100K to develop open-source general-purpose robots for hazardous and repetitive tasks 

GREENWICH, Conn., June 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- O'Shaughnessy Ventures LLC (OSV), an investment firm that empowers creators, has awarded a $100,000 O'Shaughnessy Fellowship to Alexandros Petkos, a robotics engineer based in Athens, Greece.

Petkos will use the fellowship to build open-source, general-purpose autonomous robots capable of performing hazardous or repetitive tasks, potentially addressing labor shortages across multiple industries. To achieve this, he will gather extensive robotics data to train advanced AI models, which he will integrate into the robots.

Petkos brings extensive robotics experience to the fellowship. At age 20, he built the hardware and software for a robot capable of physical tasks such as lifting and placing cardboard boxes. He fabricated most of the robot's parts, assembled it himself, and collected datasets to train the AI model powering it. Earlier, at age 17, he built a four-legged robot capable of walking and navigating. This achievement earned him recognition in Forbes Greece's '30 Under 30' list in 2022. Petkos was also a lead engineer at PNOĒ Inc., a Y Combinator-backed health technology startup.

OSV's founder and CEO, Jim O'Shaughnessy, commented, "The fact that Alexandros has already built two functioning robots speaks volumes. We're here to give him the support he needs to take his work to the next level."

"Surrounding yourself with driven, ambitious people is essential for making real progress," said Petkos. "I'm truly grateful to the OSV team for the opportunity to learn from and be inspired by the exceptional individuals in this community."

About the O'Shaughnessy Fellowships Program

Launched in 2023, the O'Shaughnessy Fellowships program discovers and empowers the world's boldest creatives, builders and researchers. Fellows receive a $100,000 grant and gain access to OSV's network of founders, investors and experts.

OSV will award 12 fellowships in 2025. Applicants will also be considered for the O'Shaughnessy Grants program, which provides 20 additional $10,000 grants to promising innovators.

Petkos is the eleventh fellow announced in 2025. More information about previous fellows is available at OSV's website.

Applications for the fellowships are now closed and will reopen on Jan. 1, 2026. Individuals interested in learning more can do so via OSV's website.

About O'Shaughnessy Ventures

OSV is a creative investment firm that empowers creators to bring their ideas to life. Founded by Jim O'Shaughnessy, a pioneer in quantitative investing, founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, and author of five books, OSV aims to provide financial support and to partner in growing the next life-changing creative ideas.

OSV combines Jim's deeply rooted interest in all things art, science, investing and technology with his long-held desire to establish scenarios designed to help promising creators and their inspiring ideas succeed, regardless of age, location, job history or level of education. For more information, visit OSV's website.

Media Contact:
Ena Gong
O'Shaughnessy Ventures LLC
(917) 355-7420
[email protected]

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SOURCE O'Shaughnessy Ventures