Soft Robotics Inc., a provider of soft gripping, 3D vision, and AI technologies for industrial automation, recently announced the divestiture of its gripper business assets to the Schmalz Group for an undisclosed sum.
The company also announced that it has reformed as Oxipital AI, with a mission to deliver its AI-enabled machine vision technology for robotic process automation in industries such as food processing, agriculture, and consumer goods manufacturing. The company demonstrated its mGripAI for food picking at PACK EXPO 2023.
“For years, our AI vision solutions have enabled the automation of labor-intensive processes in the food industry,” said Mark Chiappetta, Oxipital AI president & CEO. “Although under a new banner, we remain steadfast in our commitment to customers as they embrace Industry 5.0, and in providing the AI technology they need to unlock previously unattainable levels of resiliency, sustainability, and resource efficiency in their manufacturing operations.”
Schmalz is a provider of vacuum automation and ergonomic handling systems. Its products are used globally for logistics, automotive, electronics and furniture manufacturing applications, among others.
The company’s range of vacuum automation products include individual components such as suction cups and vacuum pumps, as well as complete gripping systems and clamping systems for holding workpieces, including for CNC machining.
Divestiture marks 10 years of company’s gripper systems development
Oxipital AI said its mission is to deliver actionable insights through deep object understanding to its customers as they embrace Industry 5.0. The company secured $26 million in series C funding from Tyson Foods and Johnsonville last year.
The divestiture of the company’s gripper hardware business marks a significant milestone in its 10-year evolution. It enables Oxipital to focus its resources and expertise on advancing the commercialization of its end-to-end visual AI systems optimized for high-speed product inspection and robotic picking.
The company will launch with a new corporate identity and a focused commitment to driving innovation in machine vision and AI.
“The Oxipital AI brand name was selected because it aligns more closely with the technology, paying homage to the visual processing center of the human brain,” said Austin Harvey, Oxipital AI VP of product and marketing. “Our vision solutions unlock latent process inefficiencies through deep object understanding and provide a previously unavailable pathway to further increase manufacturing yield, throughput, and margins, while reducing product waste and ecological footprint.”
Oxipital AI will host a live webinar on Wednesday, August 21, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. During this event, the company said it will demonstrate its Visual AI technologies for inspection and vision-guided robotic applications.
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