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funding

Starship Technologies agrees €50 million funding from European Investment Bank

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Starship Technologies, a maker of autonomous delivery robots, has agreed on a €50 million quasi-equity facility agreement with the European Investment Bank.

The lending arm of the European Union and one of the largest providers of climate finance, the EIB supports projects that promote the priorities and objectives of the EU.

This financing, which is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, has been facilitated via a venture loan, and will be used for research and development, including the building of thousands more robots at Starship’s engineering and innovation facility in Tallinn. [Read more…] about Starship Technologies agrees €50 million funding from European Investment Bank

Vecna Robotics raises $65 million in Series C funding

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Vecna Robotics, a provider of robotic material handling automation, has raised $65 million in its Series C funding round led by Tiger Global Management, along with additional funding from new investors Lineage Logistics, Proficio Capital Partners, and Impulse.

The new financing will help fund the company’s technology roadmap with new autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and software, and will accelerate fulfillment of new orders and expanded operations to address the $165 billion market opportunity for pallet-moving autonomy.

Craig Malloy, CEO of Vecna Robotics, says: “There is huge headroom for growth in automated material handling with over 5 billion pallets in the world being moved by more than 5 million forklifts and nearly 5 million manual operators. [Read more…] about Vecna Robotics raises $65 million in Series C funding

Agtonomy raises another $5 million to develop technology platform for local agriculture

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Agtonomy, a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist service platform, has raised an additional $5 million in Seed II funding from strategic and venture investors Toyota Ventures, Flybridge, Hampton VC, E²JDJ and Momenta, for a total of $9 million in seed funding to date.

The startup, which is developing a platform for local agriculture, raised $4 million in its seed round from Grit Ventures, GV (formerly called Google Ventures), and Village Global, the venture firm backed by some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Michael Dell, in September last year.

This latest round will be used to accelerate development and trials of the Agtonomy platform to address the growing labor and sustainability challenges facing local agriculture. [Read more…] about Agtonomy raises another $5 million to develop technology platform for local agriculture

FactoryFix raises $10 million in funding

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FactoryFix, a recruiting platform that helps manufacturing companies hire skilled workers, has announced a $10 million Series A financing.

Grotech Ventures led the round with participation from Capital Midwest, Great North Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Revolution Rise of the Rest, and JFF Labs. The company has raised $16 million to date.

This funding caps off a year in which the company saw revenue grow by more than 400 percent. FactoryFix now helps hundreds of industrial companies in sectors like automotive, food and beverage, packaging, and warehousing. [Read more…] about FactoryFix raises $10 million in funding

Exotec raises $335 million in Series D funding for its warehouse robots

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Exotec, a warehouse robotics startup, has raised $335 million in Series D funding, and is now valued at $2 billion.

The Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management led the round with follow-on investments from 83North and Dell Technologies Capital.

Exotec says it will use the funds to continue to launch large-scale deployments in North America, Europe, and Asia for global brands. [Read more…] about Exotec raises $335 million in Series D funding for its warehouse robots

Nuro raises $600 million in Series D funding

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Nuro, a startup that has produced an autonomous delivery vehicle, has raised $600 million in its latest funding round. The company is currently valued at almost $10 billion and is building a manufacturing facility in Nevada.

This latest financing round was led by Tiger Global Management with participation from Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Gaorong Capital, Google, Kroger, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Woven Capital, and other existing investors as part of the company’s Series D funding round.

This $600 million financing will support the development and deployment of Nuro’s autonomous delivery service in communities across the country. [Read more…] about Nuro raises $600 million in Series D funding

ForwardX Robotics raises $31 million in Series C funding round

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ForwardX Robotics, a Beijing-based developer of autonomous mobile robots for warehousing and manufacturing environments, has completed its initial Series C1 funding round, raising $31 million.

The initial round was led by Taikang Life Insurance, with Qualcomm Ventures and Starlight Capital also contributing to the round.

Only seven months after the close of its $63 million Series B round, the latest round of funding brings ForwardX to approximately $100 million in total investment since its founding in 2016. [Read more…] about ForwardX Robotics raises $31 million in Series C funding round

Foxconn invests in wireless power startup’s $25 million Series B funding round

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Powermat Technologies, a wireless power technology startup, says Foxconn has made a “significant investment” as part of a $25 million Series B round.

Foxconn Interconnect Technology, the contract manufacturing giant’s connectivity solutions developer,took part in the funding round along with Hudson Sustainable Group, a founding shareholder of Powermat.

Powermat’s innovative wireless power technology is a critical enabler of the smart mobility, autonomous robotics, industrial drones, medical devices, telecom, and internet of things industries, where Powermat is experiencing exponential growth. [Read more…] about Foxconn invests in wireless power startup’s $25 million Series B funding round

Robotic Research raises $228 million in Series A funding round

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Robotic Research, a developer of autonomous mobility and robotics solutions, has raised $228 million in its Series A funding round – the first outside capital the company has raised.

This funding will drive further innovation and expansion of Robotic Research’s commercial division, RR.AI, which is focused on delivering comprehensive autonomous driving solutions for commercial truck, bus, drayage and logistics vehicles.

Investors in the Series A round include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Enlightenment Capital, Crescent Cove Advisors, Henry Crown and Company, and Luminar Technologies. [Read more…] about Robotic Research raises $228 million in Series A funding round

Rescale closes $105 million in expanded Series C funding

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Rescale, a provider of intelligent computing for digital R&D with high-performance computing built for the cloud, has raised $105 million in additional funding.

Rescale powers science and engineering breakthroughs with intelligent full-stack automation powered by the near-infinite computing capabilities of hybrid cloud and provides hybrid cloud high performance computing platform enabling intelligent computing for digital R&D.

Rescales has closed $105 million in an expanded Series C funding round, with participation from existing and new investors in the company including Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Fort Ross Ventures, Gaingels, Gopher, Hitachi Ventures, Initialized Capital, Keen Venture Partners, Microsoft M12, Nautilus Venture Partners, Nvidia, Prometheus Capital, Republic Labs, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Solasta Ventures, Yield Capital Partners and more. [Read more…] about Rescale closes $105 million in expanded Series C funding