A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS
- iRobot sells its military robotics division to Arlington Capital Partners for up to $45M, to increase focus on house cleaning robots.Link
- Locus Robotics, developers of warehouse automation robots, raises $6M funding.Link
- 5D Robotics, developer of autonomous navigation technology, raises $5.5M seed funding.Link
- Soft Robotics, makers of octopus inspired soft robotic grippers, raises $3M from venture funding.Link
- EPFL Scientists develop soft robotic grippers with electro-adhesion to pick up fragile items. Link
- Hansen Medical’s robotic catheter gets FDA clearance.Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Agro Intelligence (Aarhus, 2015) – Develops technology that makes farm equipment autonomous.
AMP Robotics (Boulder, 2015) – Develops robots that sort recyclable construction and demolition waste.
LEADER BOARD – INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS
Healthcare
Auris Surgical (2009, San Carlos, $184M) – Robotic micro-surgical system designed specifically for ophthalmic procedures. Backed by NaviMed Capital, Lux Capital, Mithril and Highland Capital Partners.
Medrobotics (2011, Raynham, 140M) – Develops Flex Re-tractor which is a highly articulated multi-linked endoscope and enables minimally invasive surgery. Backed by Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.
Restoration Robotics (2002, San Jose, $113M) – Image guided robotic system (ARTAS) that enables follicular unit extraction. Backed by InterWest Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, Alloy Ventures and Clarus Ventures.
Intuitive Surgical (1995, Sunnyvale, IPO) – Develops the ‘Da-Vinci Robot’, which is a remotely operated minimally invasive robotic surgery platform. Went Public in 2000.
Mako Surgical (2004, Lauderdale, IPO, Acq.) – Develops robotic and implantable surgical solutions for hip, knee surgery etc. Went Public in 2008. Acquired by Stryker Corporation in 2013. Backed by Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners.
Xenex (2009, San Antonio, $36M) – Builds hospital sterilization robots that use UV light (patented pulsed Xenon UV) to kill infection causing organisms. Backed by Battery Ventures, RK Ventures and Targeted Technology Fund.
Manufacturing
Rethink Robotics (2008, Boston, $113.5M) – Develops factory robots that are affordable and easy to train. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Sigma Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Two Sigma Ventures, Goldman Sachs, GE Ventures and Wellington Management Company.
Redzone Robotics (1987, Pittsburgh, $42M) – Provides waste water inspection technologies and services using robots. Backed by ABS Capital Partners.
GrabIT (2011, Santa Clara, $11M) – Develops electro-adhesion based gripping products for robotics and material handling applications. Backed by Draper Nexus Ventures, Formation8, Nike and ABB.
Military
Segway (1999, Bedford, $161M, Acq.) – Develops personal transportation robots with defense applications. Acquired by Ninebot in 2015. Backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield &Byers, Duff Ackerman and Goodrich, Credit Suisse Group AG, Masdar Clean Tech and Intel.
RoboteX (2007, Sunnyvale, $25M) – Develops tracked robots for security and scouting purposes for military or law enforcement agencies. Backed by Subtraction Capital.
Logistics
GreyOrange Robotics (2011, Gurgaon, $40M) – Develops ware house automation solutions for e-commerce fulfillment centers and postal services. Backed by Tiger Global, Blume Ventures, BITS Spark Angels and others.
Fetch Robotics (2014, San Jose, $23M) – Develop mobile manipulator robots for use in warehouse automation. Backed by Softbank, Shasta Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures.
Maritime
Liquid Robotics (2007, Sunnyvale, $82M) – Developer of Wave Glider which is a marine robot that functions as a platform for scientific, industrial and government payloads. Backed by Vantage Point Capital Partners, Riverwood Capital and Schlumberger.
Space
Moon Express (2010, Mountain View, $37.5M) – Lunar transportation and data services company. Backed by Richmond Global, TenCent Holdings and Founders fund.
Agriculture
Blue River Technology (2011, Sunnyvale, $30M) – Uses computer vision and robotics to identify weeds and selectively kill unwanted plants. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Pontifax Global food and Agriculture Technology Fund, Data Collective, Innovation Endeavors, Stanford A&E and Ullu Ventures.
Harvest Automation (2007, Billerica, $25M) – Develops robots for automation of labor intensive activities in agriculture. Backed by Founder Collective, Life Sciences Partners, Entree Capital, Mass Ventures and Cultivian Ventures.
Unmanned Vehicle Systems
Clearpath Robotics (2009, Kitchener, $11M) – Develops unmanned vehicle systems for research and development. Backed by RRE Ventures and iNovia Capital.
Tech Provider
Novariant (1994, Fremont, $60.5M) – Develops precision control technology for agricultural machines. Backed by Kirlan Venture Capital, Sierra Ventures, Yasuda Enterprise Development Co., Ridgewood Capital, Investor Growth Capital, Pacifica Fund, Argonaut Ventures, Metdist, Clearstone Venture Partners and Arcturus Capital.
Recycling
Zen Robotics (2007, Helsinki, $17M) – Develops a robotic waste sorting system which separates raw materials from waste. Backed by Invus and Lifeline Ventures.
Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
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