Top 10 Robotics and Automation Transactions in Q1 2021

5. Nuro receives $500M in Series C funding for delivery robots

Fast-casual restaurant chain Chipotle joined Toyota subsidiary Woven Capital and other investors on March 25 in supporting autonomous delivery vehicle firm Nuro. Unlike other self-driving car developers on this list, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company is focusing purely on transporting cargo such as groceries. Nuro noted that its R2 has received the first federal exemption for an autonomous vehicle from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It also claimed that R2 was “the first vehicle to operate fully autonomously on public roads” in three states — California, Texas, and Arizona — “with no drivers, occupants, or chase cars.”