O’Shaughnessy Ventures Funds Robotics Research Focused on Human Social Interaction
O’Shaughnessy Ventures (OSV) has selected Johns Hopkins University Ph.D. candidate Victor Nikhil Antony as a 2026 O’Shaughnessy Fellow, backing his work to develop socially intelligent robots capable of understanding and responding to human behavior in classrooms and eldercare environments.
The fellowship, which provides recipients with grants of up to $100,000 and access to OSV’s network of founders, investors and industry experts, reflects growing investor interest in robotics technologies that extend beyond automation into human-centered applications. Antony is the fifteenth fellow announced for the 2026 program.
Rather than focusing on industrial robotics, Antony’s research addresses one of the field’s most persistent challenges: enabling robots to interpret social cues and interact naturally with people in real-world environments. While many robotic systems demonstrate strong technical performance in controlled laboratory settings, translating those capabilities into everyday environments remains a significant hurdle for broader commercial adoption.
Antony plans to use the fellowship to build what he describes as the “social intelligence layer” needed for robots to function effectively alongside people. His work centers on collecting behavioral interaction data through real-world deployments, allowing AI models to learn from authentic human interactions rather than laboratory simulations.
His initial projects include a tabletop robot that assists children with reading instruction in Baltimore charter schools and a second deployment in an eldercare setting designed to support cognitive health. Over the next year, Antony aims to complete semester-long, teacher-led classroom pilots demonstrating measurable improvements in reading outcomes, gather more than 500 hours of interaction data and conduct a month-long paid deployment in an eldercare environment.
“An O’Shaughnessy Fellowship is a bet on work that takes years to prove,” Antony said. “OSV’s support will help me build the social intelligence that any robot interacting with people will need to be truly useful in the real world. I’m grateful for the trust the team has placed in my vision.”
Antony is pursuing a doctorate in computer science at Johns Hopkins University, where he has designed and open-sourced a suite of socially assistive robots used in studies spanning education, healthcare and wellbeing. He also served as lead program chair for the 2026 HRI Pioneers Workshop, which supports early-career researchers in human-robot interaction, and previously received the Baltimore Innovation Initiative award.
His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Rochester. Earlier, he attended THINK Global School, an international traveling boarding school that allowed him to study in 14 countries across five continents, an experience that exposed him to a wide range of cultures and learning environments.
OSV founder and Chief Executive Officer Jim O’Shaughnessy said the investment reflects the firm’s conviction that robotics will become an increasingly important area of technological innovation over the coming decades.
“Robotics is one of the great frontiers of the next 20 years, and Victor is right at the edge of it,” O’Shaughnessy said. “We’re delighted to back him.”
Launched in 2023, the O’Shaughnessy Fellowships program supports researchers, entrepreneurs and creators pursuing long-term, high-impact projects that may not fit traditional funding models. The program plans to award up to 20 fellowships in 2026.
As advances in artificial intelligence continue to expand the capabilities of robotic systems, researchers are increasingly turning their attention to social interaction as a critical barrier to broader adoption. Antony’s work positions him at the intersection of robotics, AI and behavioral science, with applications that could help shape the next generation of assistive technologies for education, healthcare and other people-centered environments.
