Robotics & Automation News

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Amazon launches $1 billion industrial innovation fund

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Amazon is investing $1 billion into the industrial sector to “spur supply chain, fulfillment, and logistics innovation and further improve the customer and employee experience”.

The $1 billion venture investment program is called the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund (AIIF).

As customers increasingly shop online and look for even faster delivery, Amazon says it is continuing to invent new ways to raise the bar on customer and employee experience while working with other companies focused on those fields. [Read more…] about Amazon launches $1 billion industrial innovation fund

Sole Source Capital raises $555 million for second fund

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Sole Source Capital, an industrial-focused private equity firm, has closed its second fund, SSC Partners II or “Fund II”, with aggregate total commitments of $555 million.

Fund II was significantly oversubscribed with an initial target of $400 million and reached its hard cap. With the closing of Fund II, Sole Source Capital now manages in excess of $1 billion just three years after the launch of Fund I.

Since 2016, Sole Source has completed 24 transactions focusing on driving rapid value creation in lower middle market companies. [Read more…] about Sole Source Capital raises $555 million for second fund

MTS AI Center launches $100 million artificial intelligence fund and global accelerator

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MTS AI Center, an international AI subsidiary of Russia’s largest telecom operator MTS, which is dual listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Moscow Exchange, has launched a $100 million AI fund and accelerator to “spearhead the development and commercialization of AI solutions and promising AI start-ups across Asia, Europe and North America”.

The VC fund and accelerator platform, Intelligent Machines (Intema), will focus on supporting artificial intelligence start-ups with smart money: financial support, deep technical and business expertise, access to computing power and networking, leveraging its world-class AI experts and the established position of its parent company MTS, a leading multinational with expertise in telecoms, fintech, cloud technology, Big Data, and AI.

Over the next three years, the MTS AI Center will invest more than $100 million in AI start-ups via a venture fund that will invest up to $20 million in individual projects and companies, and a start-up accelerator that will invest up to $100,000 per project. [Read more…] about MTS AI Center launches $100 million artificial intelligence fund and global accelerator

Tau invents wire that doubles the power of electric motors and raises €10.25 million

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A startup company called Tau, which specializes in materials science and automotive electrification, says it has delivered a prototype wire that enables electric motors to double their power output without changing their size. 

The technology could mean that electric vehicles and machines of all kinds can keep going for longer on a single charge, and go faster.

Coinciding with the milestone of delivering prototype winding wire to the automotive industry, Tau also concluded its Series A financing round with additional funding from Finindus, a Belgium-based investment company financed by ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region, and a top-up by German specialty chemicals company Altana. The total raised is said to be €10.25 million. [Read more…] about Tau invents wire that doubles the power of electric motors and raises €10.25 million

Semiconductor Industry Association to discuss global chip shortage with US government

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The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) is to meet with officials in the administration of newly elected president of the United States, Joe Biden, to discuss the ongoing global shortage in chips, which is affecting many areas of manufacturing and the wider economy.

The SIA released a statement from its president and CEO, John Neuffer, welcoming the upcoming meeting at the White House between Biden Administration officials and leaders from the semiconductor industry and other sectors to discuss the global chip shortage, President Biden’s infrastructure plan, and other issues related to the semiconductor supply chain.

In the statement, Neuffer says: “We welcome this high-level engagement between the White House and industry leaders and see it as an important opportunity for a discussion on the need to fund investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research to help ensure the long-term strength and resilience of America’s semiconductor supply chain.” [Read more…] about Semiconductor Industry Association to discuss global chip shortage with US government

Toyota-backed investment fund Woven Capital buys stake in Nuro

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Woven Capital, an $800 million global investment fund established by the Toyota Research Institute, has made an equity investment in Nuro, a robotics company developing autonomous delivery vehicles.

The investment is part of Nuro’s Series C round of funding, advancing its work in designing and engineering self-driving road vehicles to transform local commerce through autonomous delivery.

The exact amount of the investment has not been made public. [Read more…] about Toyota-backed investment fund Woven Capital buys stake in Nuro

Finger Lakes college partners with New Scale Robotics to develop collaborative robot tools

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Finger Lakes Community College has been awarded a $50,000 manufacturing grant from the FuzeHub Innovation Fund to support its work with New Scale Robotics, accelerating development of New Scale’s precision measurement and gripping tools for a wide range of collaborative robots.

New Scale has a line of precision grippers, calipers and other tools that install in minutes on cobots from Universal Robots.

New Scale will collaborate with Dr Sam Samanta, head of the Instrumentation and Controls program at FLCC, and his students to develop a Smart Platform that expands plug-and-play compatibility of New Scale Robotics tools to multiple additional cobot brands. [Read more…] about Finger Lakes college partners with New Scale Robotics to develop collaborative robot tools

Self-driving tech startup Voyage Auto raises $31 million in funding

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A self-driving technology startup called Voyage Auto has raised $31 million in Series B funding.

The investment round was led by Franklin Templeton, with significant participation from Khosla Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, and Chevron Technology Ventures.

The latest funding round brings Voyage Auto’s total capital raised to $52 million. [Read more…] about Self-driving tech startup Voyage Auto raises $31 million in funding

ESMERA opens €200,000 competition to fund small businesses developing robotics solutions

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The EU funded robotics project ESMERA – the European SMEs Robotics Applications – has opened its second open call to help fund small businesses developing robotic solutions for enterprise applications.

Within that call, industrial end-users have defined specific challenges that are to be solved by introducing a robotics solution.

The challenges come from the areas of manufacturing, energy, construction, agriculture, food processing, retail, healthcare and emergency response. [Read more…] about ESMERA opens €200,000 competition to fund small businesses developing robotics solutions

Yamaha taps into its $100 million fund to invest in Advanced Farm Technologies

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Yamaha is using part of its $100 million investment fund to buy a stake in Advanced Farm Technologies.

Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley led the Series A funding round for the startup.

Yamaha says this latest investment reflects the company’s “core interest in businesses driving innovation in the agricultural sector. [Read more…] about Yamaha taps into its $100 million fund to invest in Advanced Farm Technologies