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Electric air taxi startup Lilium raises another $35 million to take total investment to $375 million

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Lilium, the Munich-based aviation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing aircraft for regional air mobility, has raised another $35 million. 

The company says investment management partnership, Baillie Gifford, the new investor, is known for its track record of investing in high-impact technology companies such as Amazon, Tesla, Airbnb, Spotify and SpaceX.

Baillie Gifford has invested $35m in Lilium, extending the startup’s current funding round to more than $275 million, and total investment to date to more than $375 million. [Read more…] about Electric air taxi startup Lilium raises another $35 million to take total investment to $375 million

Severstal expands automation capabilities with second investment in Airborne

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PAO Severstal, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated steel and mining companies, has led a second tranche of investment into Dutch company Airborne, a developer of digital automation platforms for the production of composite parts and products with integrated composites.

The total investment in Airborne has already amounted to “several tens of millions of dollars”, says Severstal.

In spite of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to many venture projects on the global market being placed on hold, Severstal led the new investment in Airborne with support of existing shareholders including HPE Growth. [Read more…] about Severstal expands automation capabilities with second investment in Airborne

Brain Corp raises $36 million to meet ‘growing demand for autonomous robots’

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Brain Corp, a developer of artificial intelligence systems for the robotics industry, has raised $36 million in Series D funding to “help meet the growing demand for autonomous mobile robots”.

The company says the growth is being generated by retail, healthcare, airports, education and other industries now on the front lines of the coronavirus health crisis.

The round was led by returning investor SoftBank Vision Fund 1, and includes new investors ClearBridge Investments, and Satwik Ventures, and an additional investment from Qualcomm Ventures. [Read more…] about Brain Corp raises $36 million to meet ‘growing demand for autonomous robots’

Industrial automation is ‘paying the price for failing to think big and invest bigger’

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The industrial automation sector is “paying the price for failing to think big and invest bigger”, according to a report by GlobalData.

The industrial automation sector was not in a great place before Covid-19 struck, having been slowed by flat capital expenditure and declining industrial production, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The virus has since closed factory after factory worldwide with workers sent home. The reality is that despite much hype over the years, advanced factory automation has not been substituted for human workers at scale. [Read more…] about Industrial automation is ‘paying the price for failing to think big and invest bigger’

InoBat Auto secures funding from Slovakian government to build €1 billion ‘Gigafactory’

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InoBat Auto, a battery production company providing new energy solutions for electric vehicles, has secured funding to build a research and development centre to support the construction of a 10 GWh Gigafactory in Slovakia – the world’s biggest car producer per capita.

The investment from the Slovakian Government has contributed to the €100 million first-phase fund raising to deliver the Gigafactory, which will deploy state-of-the-art battery technology with the potential to provide an estimated 240,000 electric vehicles with cutting edge batteries by 2024.

InoBat Auto says its planned Gigafactory will catapult Europe to become a leading global force in the electric vehicle battery industry. [Read more…] about InoBat Auto secures funding from Slovakian government to build €1 billion ‘Gigafactory’

Lyro Robotics secures seed funding to build pick-and-pack robots

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Lyro Robotics has secured seed funding to build artificial intelligence-powered pick-and-pack robots.

The Australian company says its software will enable robots to work alongside humans, and enable them to “see and understand the job at hand”.

The company’s plan is to install Lyro’s solutions into the robots which can then be used in call-out duties in time-critical industries. [Read more…] about Lyro Robotics secures seed funding to build pick-and-pack robots

Fabric raises $110 million in new investment round backed by Kraft Heinz

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On-demand fulfillment services startup Fabric has raised an additional investment to its Series B round from Evolv Ventures, the investment arm of Kraft Heinz, one of the largest global food and beverage companies in the world.

Led by a team of food, startup, and venture capital veterans, Evolv Ventures is focused on strategic investments in emerging technologies across the food value chain.

Their undisclosed additional investment to the $110 million-dollar round is a resounding vote of confidence from a leading food tech investor and the iconic food company. [Read more…] about Fabric raises $110 million in new investment round backed by Kraft Heinz

Global robotics market predicted to triple to $275 billion by 2025

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The global robotics market is predicted to triple to $275 billion by 2025, according to analysis of International Federation of Robotics data by DC Advisory.

The investment bank calculates that the market was worth approximately $98 billion in 2018.

DC Advisory says changing consumer market has driven manufacturers and logistics companies to adopt new methods of production and distribution – chiefly the new generations of robotics and automation technology. [Read more…] about Global robotics market predicted to triple to $275 billion by 2025

GM investing $40 million in Spring Hill plant

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General Motors is to invest $40 million in its Spring Hill Global Propulsion Systems plant to increase capacity of the 5.3L V8 engines for GM’s full-size truck and SUV programs.

The 5.3 V8 engine with Dynamic Fuel Management is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission.

This engine variant is available for select full-size trucks and SUVs, including Chevrolet’s Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban as well as the GMC Sierra. [Read more…] about GM investing $40 million in Spring Hill plant

General Motors to invest $2.2 billion in Detroit-Hamtramck plant to make it ‘100 percent devoted to electric vehicles’

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General Motors is making a $2.2 billion investment into its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant to produce a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs.

The company says the plant will be “100 percent devoted to electric vehicles”.

GM’s first all-electric truck will be a pickup with production scheduled to begin in late 2021. This will be followed soon after by the Cruise Origin, a shared, electric, self-driving vehicle unveiled by Cruise in San Francisco last week. [Read more…] about General Motors to invest $2.2 billion in Detroit-Hamtramck plant to make it ‘100 percent devoted to electric vehicles’