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Vecna Robotics raises additional $14.5 million and appoints new CEO

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Vecna Robotics, a specialist in robotic material handling, has raised $14.5 million in additional funding from existing investors.

Proceeds of the funding round are earmarked to accelerate technology and product enhancements to address the automation needs of operators in automotive, general manufacturing, and high-volume warehousing.

Vecna has also appointed Karl Iagnemma as its new CEO. Iagnemma is a robotics expert and entrepreneur with a distinguished career blending academic research and industry leadership. [Read more…] about Vecna Robotics raises additional $14.5 million and appoints new CEO

Vecna Robotics closes $100 million in Series C funding

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Vecna Robotics, a provider of flexible material handling automation solutions, has closed its Series C round at $100 million, with $40 million in new funding including equity and debt. This latest investment nearly doubles the company valuation from the previous round.

Tiger Global Management, Proficio Capital Partners, and IMPULSE participated in the round.

The cash infusion will be used to fund new workflow-specific innovations that enable the company to deliver rapid return on investment to cost conscious warehouse operators served by the $165 billion pallet-moving autonomy market. [Read more…] about Vecna Robotics closes $100 million in Series C funding

Geodis almost doubles case picking throughput with Vecna Robotics solution

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Vecna Robotics, a provider of flexible material handling automation solutions, has collaborated with Geodis, a transport and logistics company, to implement a “first-of-its-kind” autonomous mobile robot solution for case picking at Geodis’ Indianapolis campus.

Starting in late 2022, the implementation completely rethinks the human-robot interaction, reducing inefficient travel and nearly doubling workflow throughput.

Anthony Moschella, SVP of product management at Vecna Robotics, says: “Our engagement with Geodis is a true advancement in material handling innovation. [Read more…] about Geodis almost doubles case picking throughput with Vecna Robotics solution

Vecna Robotics unveils ‘major software release’

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Vecna Robotics, a specialist in material handling automation solutions, has unveiled what it describes as “a major software release and hardware upgrades” to its AFL-class autonomous forklift.

The new capabilities expand the company’s reach within warehouse and factory floors by optimizing material transport between other machinery and equipment, with specific focus on low-lift workflows.

The update supports numerous above-ground workflows including: inbound staging to AS/RS induction; delivering materials to ergonomic lift stands for work-in-process flows; and loading and extracting from robotic palletizers and stretch wrappers. [Read more…] about Vecna Robotics unveils ‘major software release’

Vecna Robotics partners with forklift maker Big Joe to launch robotic pallet jack

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Vecna Robotics, a provider of flexible material handling automation solutions, has partnered with forklift maker Big Joe to launch a robotic pallet jack.

The two companies jointly announced the development at MODEX 2022.

Vecna’s latest autonomous offering for labor-intensive material-handling workflows is called the Vecna CPJ. [Read more…] about Vecna Robotics partners with forklift maker Big Joe to launch robotic pallet jack

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

Ouster and Vecna Robotics partner to accelerate material handling automation

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Ouster, a provider of high-resolution digital lidar sensors, has signed a strategic customer agreement with Vecna Robotics, a material handling automation company and autonomous mobile robot maker.

The agreement includes a non-binding forecast for approximately 3,000 OS digital lidar sensors through 2025 as Vecna Robotics scales production to meet increasing customer demand for warehouse and logistics automation.

Vecna Robotics plans to fuse Ouster lidar into its multi-sensor autonomy stack to equip self-driving pallet trucks, tow tractors, and lift trucks for high-capacity material handling operations. [Read more…] about Ouster and Vecna Robotics partner to accelerate material handling automation

Vecna Robotics’ latest cloud release delivers ‘industry’s fastest and safest’ autonomous mobile robots

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Vecna Robotics, a developer of pallet-handling autonomous mobile robots and workflow orchestration, announced at Pack Expo its latest innovation designed to deliver the best AMR performance in the industry.

The new Mark 3 software release helps warehouse, distribution and manufacturing organizations double fleet performance to improve efficiency and throughput, while continuing to exceed industry safety standards.

According to a recent Peerless Research Group industry report, 24 percent of organizations plan to implement AGV or AMR technology within the next year. [Read more…] about Vecna Robotics’ latest cloud release delivers ‘industry’s fastest and safest’ autonomous mobile robots

Vecna Robotics and Alta Material Handling to bring ‘high-capacity autonomous mobile robots to expanded markets’

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Vecna Robotics, the autonomous mobile robot and workflow orchestration company, is partnering with Alta Material Handling.

The partnership enables Alta MH to bring the capabilities of Vecna Robotics’ high-capacity AMRs to its customers looking for highly versatile, safe and integrated pallet-handling solutions.

Over 1.8 billion pallets are in circulation in the US each day – with billions more across the globe – but less than 1 percent of the millions of material handling vehicles moving them are automated today. [Read more…] about Vecna Robotics and Alta Material Handling to bring ‘high-capacity autonomous mobile robots to expanded markets’

MassRobotics publishes ‘world’s first’ open source autonomous mobile robot interoperability standards

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MassRobotics, an independent, non-profit center that serves to educate, inspire and bring robotics initiatives, investments and companies to life, has released the MassRobotics Interoperability Standard.

The new initiative enables Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) from multiple vendors to integrate and work together seamlessly to support safe and efficient operations in global factories, warehouses, distribution and fulfillment centers.

Members of the working group and contributors to the newly introduced standards include Vecna Robotics, 6 River Systems, Waypoint Robotics, Locus Robotics, Seegrid, MiR, Autoguide Mobile Robots, Third Wave Automation, Open Robotics Foundation and others. [Read more…] about MassRobotics publishes ‘world’s first’ open source autonomous mobile robot interoperability standards