Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.45
May 12, 2023
…add more bots! Locus Robotics pursues strategic partnerships After Amazon.com Inc. took Kiva Systems off the market in 2012, Locus Robotics spun out of Quiet Logistics in 2014. In November 2022, Locus raised $117 million in Series F funding, bringing its valuation to close to $2 billion. The Wilmington, Mass.-based company reported that its systems, which collaborate with human warehouse associates, completed more than 230 million cart picks during last year's holiday peak. While it has stayed independent, Locus has recently also partnered with several companies on automation deployments, including Berkshire Grey, Design Future Japan, FANUC, Körber Supply Chain, and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.33
May 08, 2023
…very few of them are currently profitable. Consolidation continues Amazon.com purchased Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012, reserving its platforms for internal use only and helping to create the category by showing the “art of the possible” and forcing retailers to look for alternatives. Shopify's acquisition of 6 River Systems (6RS) for $450 million in 2019 was one of the largest transactions to date in this space. More recently, there were several mobile robot mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2021. Transactions included Zebra Technologies buying Fetch Robotics for $290 million, ABB Group acquiring ASTI Mobile Robotics Group for $190…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.58
May 05, 2023
…chain space,” Saad said, referring to what is now Amazon Robotics. “6 River Systems was started by folks who were ex-Kiva, so again, they were coming the logistics space. Locus Robotics was started by Quiet Logistics.” ROI potential needs to be clear and customer feedback strong Neel Mehta Mehta said G2 Venture Partners focuses on companies that are in a growth stage—think Series B+ funding rounds—and have demonstrated a strong return on investment (ROI) for their customers. “A lot of our diligence as we get up to speed on companies, a lot of that comes from customer signaling,” he said.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.53
May 02, 2023
…and retail industries. Denali said its recent collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) will give customers the option of combining collaborative robots with machine learning, using data and analytics to drive decision making. Denali provides IT and automation integration for large enterprises. Source: Denali Partners expect to deliver strong ROI “This partnership combines industry-leading technology with industry-leading services,” said Justin Long, vice president of global automation at Denali. “The combination of Denali, an experienced IT/OT [information/operational technology] partner, with Universal Robots, the leader in collaborative robots, allows us to bring the best automation designs to our customers while driving a…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.16
April 30, 2023
…of today into hubs of high-tech innovation. In 2021, Amazon had around 350,000 automated mobile drive units in its warehouses. Over the coming years, most warehouses will have high levels of automation. It is already a significant market, representing over $10 billion in annual global spending, bound to grow to $51 billion by 2030, according to Acumen Research & Consulting. The message is clear: Don't get left behind, so use automation to improve your warehouse operations. Warehouse managers increasingly rely on automation to respond to the growing demand for prompt and precise order fulfillment. They commonly emply three types of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.40
April 25, 2023
…U.S. Germany, and the United Arab Emirates. Addverb counted among its more than 100 current customers Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, DHL, Amazon, Colgate Palmolive, Reliance, Unilever, Flipkart, Johnson & Johnson, and PAR Pharmaceutical.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.37
April 25, 2023
…Veo Robotics has raised $66 million to date. The Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Safar Partners, and Yamaha Motor Ventures Inc. participated in Veo Robotics' latest round. They expressed confidence in the company's approach to advancing automation. “As investors, we were drawn to Veo Robotics' focus on safety in the workplace,” said Matt Peterson, director at Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund. “Their technology is both collaborative and effective, prioritizing employee wellbeing. We are excited to support Veo Robotics and their vision to design innovative and human-centric robotics.” As a local investor with ties to MIT, Safar Partners was already familiar with Veo…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.42
April 24, 2023
…expert human supervision,” he added. Groundlight emerges from stealth Amazon AI veteran Dirac and Microsoft Hardware alumnus Avi Geiger co-founded Groundlight in 2019. The company emerged from stealth with $10 million in new funding led by Madrona, with participation from Greycroft Partners, Founders Co-op, Flying Fish, AscendVC, and EssenceVC. Groundlight asserted that its “platform empowers any developer, even those without data science experience, to quickly build robust vision solutions.” Previously, developers would have to gather and label a dataset, train a model, and then figure out a machine learning operations (MLOps) system to maintain it. This process could easily take…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.01
April 12, 2023
…technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM. One initiative is Amazon.com Inc.'s Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship program, which offers paid training to prepare its employees for electromechanical technician roles. Despite fears that robots and artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs, U.S. unemployment has remained low over the past several years as automation has increased, and researchers have found that it could increase employment opportunities. While 85 million jobs could be replaced, new technologies could create 97 million jobs, according to The World Economic Forum. But first, people need education, which is the focus of National Robotics Week. Not only does the Mechatronics…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.71
April 10, 2023
…Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. In the case of Amazon and Kohl's, it's not on the sales side but the returns side. Why would Kohl's allow Amazon users to return items to its stores? Returns helped its foot traffic for buying. How have this evolution and micro-fulfillment affected warehouse processes? Kohli: Robotics and automation can make half their problems go away. As human beings, we think of different brands, but the challenges for warehouse managers are how to manage resources and getting personnel trained on picking and packing. The analogy here is that robots are like the cloud era. You…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.91
April 07, 2023
…that, despite the doldrums in commercial real estate and Amazon taking a pause from building out its network, the market for warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing space remains strong. All those buildings are going to need lift trucks, racking, conveyors, sortation systems, and robots. ProMat 2023 reports record growth That brings us to ProMat 2023. Like last year’s MODEX in Atlanta and lift truck sales, this year’s show set records for attendance, exhibitors and exhibition space. MHI reported an overall registration count of 50,924 attendees from 178 countries – a 12% increase over ProMat 2019. It also said it had 1,051…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.56
March 30, 2023
…America. Attendees included leading global companies including Ahold Delhaize, Amazon, Cargill, Carrier, Fuji, Garmin, General Mills, HomeGoods, Johnson & Johnson, the Mayo Clinic, and Starbucks. In addition, Aaron Prather, director of the Robotics & Autonomous Systems Program at ASTM International, delivered the keynote address on optimizing warehouse operations with robots and AI. He was previously former senior advisor for technology research and planning at FedEx. This year’s event will highlight new developments in these applications and more. Robotics vendors are welcome to provide speakers as long as they also bring users. How to speak at the 2023 Robotics Applications Conference…
