Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 19.27
December 13, 2021
…to take Symbotic to the next level,” Cohen added. “SoftBank has tremendous experience investing in leading-edge artificial intelligence and robotics innovators, and our partnership with them will provide us with new insights, relationships, and capital that will help us realize our full potential. Together, I’m confident Symbotic will be a powerful, long-term force in modernizing the supply chain to the benefit of all.” Software acts as AI 'conductor' for Symbots Symbotic's AI-powered software acts as the conductor of a fleet of Symbots, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that receive, store, and retrieve a virtually unlimited number of products. The company said…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 27.03
December 09, 2021
…of environments, weather conditions, and use cases,” said Lacaze. SoftBank and Luminar work with Robotic Research SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Enlightenment Capital led Robotic Research's Series A round. Other investors included Crescent Cove Advisors, Henry Crown and Co., and Luminar Technologies Inc. “We believe that autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to reshape how goods and people are moved around,” said Akshay Naheta, senior vice president of SoftBank Group Corp. and former managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Robotic Research has a track record of operating in the commercial sector and has built a differentiated autonomy solution by focusing…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 25.65
November 10, 2021
…lifts at a Singapore National Gallery Event. The robots mapped the facility and interacted through application programming interfaces (APIs). SoftBank among funding leaders Capital Today, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Meituan, and other investors participated in Gaussian's Series C round. The company did not disclose its current valuation, reported Reuters. In April, Gaussian Robotics raised $100 million in Series B funding. The global market for cleaning robots will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.8%, growing from $8.9 billion in 2021 to $24.8 billion in 2026, estimated Markets and Markets.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 19.06
November 03, 2021
…U.S. Financial and strategic investors included Google, Kroger, and SoftBank. “We’re thrilled to have the backing of these prominent investors and world-class companies, and honored that they support our vision of improving communities and revitalizing local commerce,” said Dave Ferguson, co-founder and president of Nuro. “We believe this investment will allow us to accelerate our commercialization strategy and better everyday life with Nuro’s technology.” Mountain View, Calif.-based Nuro said its custom electric autonomous vehicles are designed to bring everything from produce to prescriptions right to customers' homes. The company claimed that its alternative to driving is convenient and environmentally friendly…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.51
October 08, 2021
…systems (ASRS) installed in over 30 countries. In April, SoftBank Group Corp. acquired a 40% stake in AutoStore for $2.8 billion. AutoStore Bins are stacked vertically in a grid and retrieved by robots that travel on the top layer of the system, allowing the grid to be placed around columns and on mezzanines and multiple levels. This design allows bins of products to be stacked on top of one another, increasing storage capacity up to four times in the same footprint and performance up to 10 times without added workers, said the company. GEODIS added that it will also use…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.11
September 24, 2021
…to Masashi Okabe, project manager and production engineer at SoftBank Robotics (SBR), and Taro Ito, the robot quality assurance/control and software lead for SBR. They have designed a new 600,000-sq.-ft. SB Logistics distribution center (DC) in Ichikawa City, Japan, about 10 miles from Tokyo. Both companies are part of SoftBank Group: SB Logistics is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider for e-commerce fulfillment, and SoftBank Robotics is SoftBank Group’s robotics division. DC design had to align with greater goals When Okabe, Ito, and their team began to work on the design for picking and packing processes for the facility, key performance…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 33.24
September 23, 2021
…and biomanufacturing of therapeutics. Investors look to accelerate commercialization SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led Opentrons' Series C investment, with participation by Khosla Ventures. SoftBank Investment Advisers (SBIA) is a segment of SoftBank Group, a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. SBIA is manager of the Vision Funds, which seek to accelerate the AI revolution through investments in market-leading businesses. “Opentrons is building a disruptive automated lab platform that is aiming to transform healthcare and life sciences with a vertically integrated, low-cost solution,” said Angela Du, investment director at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “The company has an extremely high-value…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 29.93
September 21, 2021
SoftBank Robotics Group Corp. today announced a global partnership with Keenon Robotics Co., which focuses on indoor service robots. The global launch expands on Keenon's announcement last week of $200 million in Series D funding and collaboration with SoftBank Robotics. The companies said they will work together to expand the use of robotics in the service industry. They said that service robots will provide efficiency and productivity gains that will allow businesses to allocate more time and resources for staffers to refocus on customer service. “We are proud to partner with SoftBank Robotics, the leader in the robotics solutions industry,”…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.78
September 20, 2021
…shareholder of AutoStore after selling a 40% stake to SoftBank in April. “THL remains focused on investing behind automation leaders, as underscored by the closing of our Automation Fund in 2020, and working with management to accelerate growth, said Jim Carlisle, managing director and head of THL’s Automation Fund. “We welcome Brooks Automation into our family of dynamic and innovative automation solution providers, and we look forward to partnering with the talented team at Brooks Automation to unlock new growth opportunities.” “We are proud of the highly innovative automation business we have built and are confident it will reach new…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 28.15
September 15, 2021
…the company by exploring new markets, trends, and customers.” SoftBank leads round SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led Keenon Robotics' Series D round, followed by CICC ALPHA and Prosperity7 Ventures, the diversified growth fund of Aramco Ventures. China Renaissance was the exclusive financial advisor for this financing. “We believe robotic solutions can have a profound impact across the services industry by assisting with repetitive, tedious workflows,” said Kentaro Matsui, managing director at SoftBank Group and former managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Using AI and machine learning, combined with advanced manufacturing capabilities, Keenon is building innovative robotics to help increase productivity…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 23.53
September 13, 2021
…a $220 million Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The robotics software startup claimed to be “the only unicorn in the intelligent robotics field with a valuation exceeding US$1 billion globally.” Agile Robots said it will use the financing for product development, mass production, and sales expansion. “With the unique technology by combining a robotic OS [operating system] and the world's leading sensitive robots, Agile Robots is seeking fundamental breakthroughs in robotics,” said Dr. Zhaopeng Chen, the founder of Agile Robots. He added that it is “applying the next generation of robots to intelligent precision assembly…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 15.67
August 22, 2021
…the reality meets expectations. As the recent cessation of SoftBank's Pepper service robot line shows, most humanoids are not yet rugged, dexterous, or affordable enough to be commercially viable or useful for multiple tasks. Combining locomotion, a humanoid design, mobile manipulation, and a smooth user interface is a still a tall order. As with the concept of multipurpose household robots, the hardware of humanoids would need artificial general intelligence (AGI) to be able to generalize lessons and be flexible and capable. Today, researchers and developers expect to distribute the computing for AI between the cloud and edge devices. Humanoid robots…
