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Gatik raises $85 million in Series B funding for its autonomous delivery trucks

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Gatik has raised investment of $85 million in Series B funding to “significantly expand North America’s first autonomous middle mile logistics network”.

The company says the round was “heavily oversubscribed” and brings the total amount raised by Gatik to $114.5 million.

The round was led by new investor Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), renowned for supporting high-growth companies that disrupt current market alternatives with demonstrated technology. [Read more…] about Gatik raises $85 million in Series B funding for its autonomous delivery trucks

Autonomous vehicles ranked among top 10 innovations attracting investment

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The convergence of automotive and technology industries is accelerating the pace of innovation in the mobility and transportation sectors, leading to a surge in patent grants relevant to autonomous vehicles while also attracting venture capital investors’ interest in the area.

GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, has ranked autonomous vehicles among the top 10 innovation-led technologies.

GlobalData’s Technology Innovation Intensity framework is a proprietary data-driven model that incorporates key innovation drivers from alternative datasets such as patents and deals to track a technology’s pace of innovation as well as its lifecycle stage. [Read more…] about Autonomous vehicles ranked among top 10 innovations attracting investment

Scythe Robotics launches with $18.6 million funding to ‘transform commercial landscaping with autonomous mower’

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Scythe Robotics, a builder of commercial-grade autonomous robotic solutions for the landscaping industry, has emerged from stealth with its first offering: an all-electric, fully autonomous mower, designed completely in-house to be “the most advanced, reliable, and sustainable commercial-grade mower in the industry”.

Scythe has also completed its $13.8 million in Series A funding led by Inspired Capital with participation from existing investors True Ventures, Zigg Capital, and Lemnos, bringing the company’s total funding to $18.6 million.

The new investment will be used to grow the company’s existing operations in Texas, Florida and Colorado, expand with new customers, and accelerate development of further products to revolutionize how commercial landscape contractors care for outdoor environments. [Read more…] about Scythe Robotics launches with $18.6 million funding to ‘transform commercial landscaping with autonomous mower’

Teradyne leads $20 million funding round for MachineMetrics

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MachineMetrics, an industrial data startup that helps improve manufacturing performance through autonomous machining, has raised $20 million in Series B financing.

The company will use the funding to scale its platform globally and democratize access to the machine insights that power manufacturing operations.

Bill Bither, co-founder and CEO of MachineMetrics, says: “Manufacturing is on the brink of a digital renaissance. The intersection of software, big data and physical machinery is the next frontier for manufacturing and a proven solution for overcoming the production and labor shortages we are experiencing right now. [Read more…] about Teradyne leads $20 million funding round for MachineMetrics

EasyMile raises €55 million to scale up its autonomous vehicles business

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EasyMile, a developer of driverless vehicle solutions for material handling and shared passenger transport, has closed a €55 million Series B funding round.

Led by Searchlight Capital Partners, a private investment firm, with McWin and NextStage AM, the round saw all EasyMile’s earlier investors, including Alstom, Bpifrance and Continental, also participating.

The funding will facilitate the completion of EasyMile’s product and technology roadmap while accelerating its international expansion and client service. [Read more…] about EasyMile raises €55 million to scale up its autonomous vehicles business

ForwardX Robotics raises $38 million in new funding, bringing total to $74 million

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ForwardX Robotics, a developer of autonomous mobile robots for warehousing and manufacturing environments, has closed its Series B funding by raising another round of more than $38 million led by CDH Investments’s VGC, Eastern Bell Capital, and Dohold Capital. Other investors include Angel Around and ZGC Group.

This funding brings ForwardX’s total Series B funding to over $63 million after an initial round of $10 million in March 2019 and an extension of $15 million in April 2020. Since its founding in 2016, ForwardX has now raised close to $74 million in venture capital.

Nicolas Chee, founder and CEO of ForwardX Robotics, says: “Our customers in the warehousing and manufacturing industries come to us to transform their operations and help them unlock new levels of efficiency that were previously unattainable. [Read more…] about ForwardX Robotics raises $38 million in new funding, bringing total to $74 million

ANYbotics raises $23 million in Series A funding

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ANYbotics, a maker of four-legged robots, has raised CHF20 million ($23 million) in its Series A financing round led by Swisscom Ventures.

The startup says the funding will serve to accelerate the commercialization of its autonomous robots for industrial inspection applications.

ANYbotics enhances safety and productivity in industrial operations through autonomous mobile robots capable of navigating complex environments. [Read more…] about ANYbotics raises $23 million in Series A funding

Oqton raises over $40 million investment for its digital manufacturing platform

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Oqton, an American-Belgian software company specialising in artificial intelligence-powered solutions for the manufacturing industry, has raised more than $40 million in a Series A financing round, led by Fortino Capital, a leading B2B software investor, by PMV, the regional Flemish investment fund, and by Sandvik, a global engineering group.

The founding team – Samir Hanna and Ben Schrauwen – and several angel investors, including Carl Bass, who is the former CEO Autodesk, Dries Buytaert, of Drupal and Acquia, and Peter Mercelis, of Layerwise, also participated in the round.

The financing will be used to further develop its platform, while expanding its commercial partnerships in multiple domains and verticals, including additive manufacturing, robotic welding, and CNC machining. [Read more…] about Oqton raises over $40 million investment for its digital manufacturing platform

Sarcos Robotics raises $40 million in Series C funding

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Sarcos Robotics, a global leader in the production of robots that augment humans to enhance productivity and safety, announced that it has raised $40 million in an oversubscribed Series C financing round.

The Series C round was led by Rotor Capital, with most of the company’s existing investors participating in the financing.

The Series C funding will be used to begin commercial production of the company’s Guardian XO industrial exoskeleton – the world’s first full-body, battery-powered wearable industrial robot designed to increase strength and endurance – scheduled for commercial release in 2021. [Read more…] about Sarcos Robotics raises $40 million in Series C funding

Robotic and Automation News Review: OnRobot updates software, drones fly through deep mines, Toyota partners with Ridecell, and much more…

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Robotic and Automation News Review Monday 24 August 2020

This is a new, weekly column which rounds up all the most interesting news from the robotics and automation industry in the past seven days, in brief form.

Usually, we try to publish the review on Fridays, but because of technical problems last week, it has been delayed until today. Apologies for that.

This Robotics and Automation News Review is also available to view on our YouTube channel. (See video below.)

Please support our website by subscribing to our YouTube channel, by sharing the stories we publish on social media, and by purchasing premium subscriptions to RoboticsAndAutomationNews.com, as well as through corporate sponsorships and advertising.

[Read more…] about Robotic and Automation News Review: OnRobot updates software, drones fly through deep mines, Toyota partners with Ridecell, and much more…