Robotics & Automation News

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Qualcomm and Zebra invest in Third Wave Automation

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Third Wave Automation, a provider of high-reach autonomous forklifts, has received strategic investments from Qualcomm Ventures and Zebra Technologies, bringing the startup’s total funding to $70 million.

Carlos Kokron, vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, and managing director, Qualcomm Ventures Americas, says: “The increasing adoption of advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and 5G connectivity is facilitating the use of autonomous solutions within the warehouse.

“Third Wave Automation’s shared autonomy approach with continuous learning capabilities delivers immediate value to the customers by easily integrating with existing workflows while enhancing labor productivity and safety. We are excited to invest in Third Wave Automation to bring next-generation autonomy to the forklifts.” [Read more…] about Qualcomm and Zebra invest in Third Wave Automation

Raytheon invests in H55 to advance electric propulsion technologies for airplanes

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RTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of Raytheon Technologies, has made a minority investment in electric propulsion system company H55 to drive the development of electric aviation solutions.

The investment in H55 aligns with Raytheon Technologies’ longstanding leadership in the development of innovative and sustainable propulsion technologies.

H55, a Swiss company, is a leading enabler of electric propulsion solutions and battery systems. The team has proven ability in developing, integrating and flight-testing electric propulsion systems, including Solar Impulse, the first solar-powered electric airplane to fly around the world. [Read more…] about Raytheon invests in H55 to advance electric propulsion technologies for airplanes

Scythe Robotics secures $42 million new financing to accelerate production of zero-emissions autonomous mower

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Scythe Robotics, a startup company developing advanced, commercial-grade autonomous solutions for the professional landscape industry, has raised $42 million in Series B financing.

The round was led by Energy Impact Partners and included additional new investors ArcTern Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Amazon’s Alexa Fund alongside participation from existing investors True Ventures, Inspired Capital and more.

The funding will help Scythe meet demand for the more than 7,500 reservations for its all-electric, fully autonomous M.52 mower placed by commercial landscape businesses nationwide. This financing round brings the company’s total capital raised to date to $60.6 million. [Read more…] about Scythe Robotics secures $42 million new financing to accelerate production of zero-emissions autonomous mower

Lockheed Martin Ventures invests in on-demand manufacturing startup Machina Labs

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Machina Labs has completed an investment by Lockheed Martin Ventures (LMV), the venture arm of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a global security and aerospace company.

Machina Labs combines AI and robotics to rapidly manufacture advanced sheet metal products. This latest funding brings the total raised by Machina Labs to $21.8 million.

The investment will be used to accelerate company growth to meet customer demand, and to expand R&D into additional processes and metallurgical offerings. [Read more…] about Lockheed Martin Ventures invests in on-demand manufacturing startup Machina Labs

Bowe Group leads $8.2 million investment round in robot software company Mov.ai

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Bowe Group, a provider of integrated automation technology, has led an $8.2 million investment round in Mov.ai, a startup specializing in autonomous mobile robots software.

The investment round includes Mov.ai’s existing investors State of Mind Ventures, NFX, and Viola Ventures.

Automation is playing an increasingly important role in the supply chain, specifically in intralogistics, with robots at the forefront of this trend. [Read more…] about Bowe Group leads $8.2 million investment round in robot software company Mov.ai

Pickle Robot raises $26 million to develop robotics for unloading trucks

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Pickle Robot, a startup developing robotic automation systems that unload trucks, says it has “live pilot implementations” which are unloading tens-of-thousands of packages per month at customer sites in the greater Los Angeles area.

The company says it has also raised $26 million in series A funding led by Ranpak, JS Capital, Schusterman Family Investments, Catapult Ventures, and Soros Capital.

Additionally, Pickle Robot has added growth-oriented industry veterans to its leadership team to accelerate commercialization of the company’s flagship robotic unload systems. [Read more…] about Pickle Robot raises $26 million to develop robotics for unloading trucks

Civ Robotics raises $5 million seed funding round

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Civ Robotics has closed a $5 million seed funding round led by ff Venture Capital and Alley Robotics Ventures, with participation from Trimble Ventures.

Civ Robotics’ autonomous surveying solution, CivDot, is an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), designed for civil engineering and infrastructure projects, such as solar farms, roadways, data centers and power plants to name a few.

Tom Yeshurun, co-founder and CEO of Civ Robotics, says: “The construction industry faces worker shortage challenges, and CivDot is empowering efficiency and safety on the job, while driving projects forward from the start. [Read more…] about Civ Robotics raises $5 million seed funding round

Digital manufacturing startup Bright Machines raises $132 million in new funding

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Bright Machines, a startup which describes itself as “an innovator in software-defined manufacturing”, has raised $132 million in debt and Series B equity funding.

The equity portion of the funding, worth $100 million, was led by Eclipse Ventures. The debt portion of the funding, worth $32 million, was led by Silicon Valley Bank, and Hercules Capital.

Bright Machines intends to use the funds to accelerate the company’s growth, which includes continued expansion into high-demand industry verticals, and the development of new software and service offerings to complement its existing portfolio of products. [Read more…] about Digital manufacturing startup Bright Machines raises $132 million in new funding

Ottonomy closes $3.3 million seed funding round

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Ottonomy has closed its seed funding round of $3.3 million, bringing its total funding to date to $4.9 million.

The funding is planned to support the scale of Ottobots for fully autonomous airport, retail and restaurant deliveries with its robots.

The funding round is led by Pi Ventures who back deep tech startups. Connetic Ventures and Branded Hospitality Ventures and the Founder & CEO of Addverb Technologies, Sangeet Kumar, also joined this round; making the group a dynamic mix from retail, food and robotics industry investors for Ottonomy’s seed round. [Read more…] about Ottonomy closes $3.3 million seed funding round

SLAMcore raises $16 million to give spatial understanding to robots and the metaverse

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SLAMcore, a developer of vision-based location and mapping for robots and autonomous machines, has raised $16 million in Series A capital.

The company says the funding will allow the business to rapidly capitalize on its proven technology which combines AI with consumer-grade cameras, sensors and processors to solve the complex challenges of mapping and navigating for a wide range of autonomous machines and devices.

The funding round was led by ROBO Global Ventures and Presidio Ventures who invested alongside Amadeus Capital, Global Brain, IP Group, MMC and Octopus. Strategic investors Samsung Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and Yamato Holdings also joined the round. [Read more…] about SLAMcore raises $16 million to give spatial understanding to robots and the metaverse