Kinova Robotics, a designer and manufacturer of robotic solutions, has raised additional funds of $25 million for further expansion.
The money came from four major contributors, including lead investor Fonds Manufacturier Québécois; co-investors KTB Network, and Foxconn; and BDC Capital, the investment arm of BDC.
Kinova says 90 per cent of its business is exports, so establishing an office outside its native Canada is a priority.
Kinova CEO Charles Deguire says: “We want our users to achieve the extraordinary with our robots – creating more value for themselves and our society.
“The financial support, broad expertise and geographic coverage of our experienced partners gives us additional resources to accelerate our growth, quickly and strategically establish our presence in new markets, develop an extended line of breakthrough products, and propel our advanced manufacturing capabilities.”
Partnering with investment advisory firm Keira Capital Partners, which helped Kinova facilitate the fundraising process, the company says it was able to solidify major Canadian and international backing to help it continue shaping its future.
Each investor in this geographically diverse group brings an element of complementary experience necessary to mentor Kinova’s growth, says the company.
In a joint statement, Jean Rochette and Marc Dufresne, partners at FMQ, say: “We’re thrilled to be investing in this world leader in human assistance robotics, and to have the opportunity to share our expertise in business development and operations optimization.
“By doing so, we’ll be able to support the company’s growth plans.”
HoChan Lee, KTB Network’s managing director, says: “We are very impressed in the leadership and vision of Kinova in human collaboration robotics and are proud to support such an innovative company.”
A statement from the investment division at Foxconn, otherwise known as Hon Hai Precision, says: “Foxconn sees strategic value working with Kinova and is exploring collaborations in various robotic fields.”
Jean-Philippe Poissant, director, growth and transition capital at BDC, says: “We are proud to support Kinova, a highly innovative Canadian company with a mission to provide life-changing service robots to people.
“Our financial support will enable this young and dynamic team to continue investments in research and development, all while enabling them to realize their ambitious growth plan.”
Collectively, these sizeable funding contributions will enable Kinova – one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies, as recently documented by Canadian Business’s Profit 500 list – to further accelerate its growth in three specific areas.
These areas include:
- research, development and product innovation
- sales, marketing and expansion; and
- advanced manufacturing.
