Plus One Robotics raises $33 million to fuel expansion

Plus One Robotics, a provider of vision software for logistics robots, has raised $33 million in Series B funding.

McRock Capital and TransLink Ventures co-led the round, with participation from BMWi Ventures, Kensington Capital Partners, and Ironspring Ventures alongside existing investors.

Whitney Rockley of McRock Capital and Toshi Otani of TransLink will join the company’s board of directors.

The funding will support Plus One’s ongoing expansion in the US and Europe, as well as continued product development to meet rapidly rising customer demand driven by the global boom in e-commerce.

Plus One’s 3D and AI-powered perception software, PickOne, works with any robot arm, gripper, and cloud service to deliver precise hand-eye coordination enabling robots to perform a range of warehouse tasks.

Yonder, Plus One’s robot supervision software, leverages human intelligence to handle exceptions for the variety of items passing from dock to door.

One human, or crew chief, can manage up to 50 robots remotely, allowing companies to adopt a follow-the-sun model and meet the demands of the 24/7 consumer.

Erik Nieves, CEO and co-founder, says: “We’re fortunate to work with customers at the cutting edge of warehouse automation who share our values of ‘Robots Work, People Rule’.

“We are excited to grow alongside our clients here and abroad. Like our clients, our investors have a global footprint representing Asia and the EU as well as North America. This potent combination sets Plus One on a course to continue growing our international installed base.”

Whitney Rockley, of McRock, says: “The Plus One team has done an excellent job aggressively growing its business over the past two years. Their market traction and customer base validates the need for logistics automation using agnostic, scalable applications.

“Erik and the team have a deep bench of robotics and vision software experience that is widely respected, making Plus One beautifully positioned to dominate the sector.”

Toshi Otani, of TransLink, says: “The precision and quality that Plus One is able to deliver is transformative for warehouse operators.

“With new packaging types entering the supply chain daily, Plus One is positioned to be an integral part of any system in ecommerce fulfillment and distribution center. We’re excited to play a part in this growth, as well as their growth in the Asian markets.”

Kasper Sage, partner at BMW i Ventures, says: “We believe that Plus One Robotics’ technology will usher in a new era of smart, adaptive robot systems to bring automation to new heights across supply chain, logistics and manufacturing.

“The beauty of Plus One’s technology is that it combines state-of-the-art computer-vision algorithms with a human-in-the-loop approach, enabling robots to operate at accuracy and throughput levels currently unmatched in the industry. This truly is the start of a new era of robotics-driven automation.”

Ty Findley, managing partner at Ironspring Ventures, says: “Scaling robotic automation in warehouses is not an ‘AI’ or big data’ challenge, it’s an industrial-grade, systems integration challenge if you want to deploy products globally within the most demanding logistics customers.

“Plus One’s team, product suite, and go to market approach are tailor made to take on this challenge, and we are delighted to support at this important growth stage.”