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AmbiKit is designed to pick items from bulk for kitting operations. | Image credit: Ambi Robotics

Ambi Robotics closes a $26 million Series A funding round, just five months after emerging from stealth. The investment is led by new investor Tiger Global Management and builds on participation from existing (seed) investors Bow Capital, Vertex Ventures US and The House Fund.

Ambi Robotics is enabling warehouses to efficiently pull items from bulk inventory by using vision to guide robotic arms to grasp and then sort items. The company is a pioneer in the emerging simulation-to-reality AI for highly-dexterous robotics. Its AmbiOS software helps simplify new item training.

With this round of funding, Ambi Robotics plans to scale its team and its operations to support rapid deployments of AI-powered robotic systems throughout U.S. supply chain operations. Additionally, Ambi Robotics will expand its product and customer support offerings as there are now hundreds of warehouse associates across the U.S. working alongside the company’s automated sorting systems.

The company has its first systems working at Pitney Bowes, along with a few other U.S.-based customers, since 2020.

“Our secret sauce is our sim-to-real technology, where we do all of the machine learning within simulation – this is what truly differentiates us,” said Jim Liefer, CEO at Ambi Robotics. “Our solution is 10,000 times faster than other solutions that have gone out to the physical world and are using the physical world for their additional required learning. We’re able to avoid all of this.”

“Ambi Robotics combines cutting-edge AI technology with engaging user interfaces to transform the role of ‘item handlers’ to ‘robot handlers,’ continued Liefer. “With our Series A funding, we will be able to empower more companies to help their associates work harmoniously alongside robots.”

“Ambi Robotics has quickly leapt to the front of the pack when it comes to AI robotic piece-picking for parcel sortation and e-commerce fulfillment operations,” said Griffin Schroeder, Partner, Tiger Global. “The company is a market leader as a result of its strong team and technology, validated by a robust pipeline of customer growth as the company capitalizes on the vast supply chain and rapidly growing logistics market.”

Ambi Robotics has developed two commercial solutions, AmbiSort and AmbiKit, and is currently expanding its fleet of AI-powered robots across the U.S. with global brands like Pitney Bowes. AmbiOS is the advanced AI operating system. This is the pipeline that delivers accelerated model training. As a result, customers can rapidly scale AI-powered robotic systems and successfully sort a vast range of unique items from day one of operation.

Ambi Robotics began generating revenue through commercial deployments in October 2020, installing systems prior to the peak holiday buying season. According to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index, released today, US parcel volume grew 37% year-over-year, reaching 20 billion, up from 15 billion in 2019. Looking ahead, Pitney Bowes forecasts U.S. parcel volume will nearly double by 2026, reaching 32 to 39 billion annually.

A record number of warehouse workers will be required to support e-commerce growth. Global brands are seeking assistive-automation to increase throughput and safety for warehouse associates.

We’ve been following Ambi Robotics since it emerged from stealth. Ambi Robotics was named an RBR50 innovation award winner in June 2021 and Ambi Robotics co-founder Ken Goldberg appeared on a recent The Robot Report Podcast.