The ANYmal robot is designed to provide real-time, actionable data from difficult environments. Source: ANYbotics
Legged robots have found success in industrial facility inspections. ANYbotics AG today announced that it has raised $60 million, bringing its total funding to more than $130 million. The company said it plans to use the funding to accelerate its global and U.S. expansion.
“We are thrilled to have the backing of world-class investors as we accelerate our mission to transform industrial inspections through autonomous robotics,” stated Dr. Péter Fankhauser, co-founder and CEO of ANYbotics. “This additional funding allows us to scale globally, enhance our AI-driven capabilities, and continue to deliver unmatched value to our customers across industries.”
Spun out of ETH Zurich in 2016, ANYbotics said its mobile robots can automate real-time data collection in challenging environments, making them suitable for routine inspections, remote operations, or predictive maintenance. The company, which has offices in Zurich and San Francisco, said its systems and services can address labor shortages and keep workers out of harm’s way.
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ANYmal gets smarter for inspections, customer efficiency
ANYbotics noted that it is investing in improving the performance and versatility of its ANYmal robots to deliver customer value. For instance, the company said built-in graphics processing units (GPUs) will enable faster processing and advanced AI analytics for anomaly detection and condition monitoring. This can boost operational efficiency and safety, it claimed.
New capabilities for real-time, remote monitoring of asset health will further improve efficiency and reduce downtime, according to ANYbotics. It said it “closes the data technology gap,” offering customers “smarter ways to transform industrial data into actionable insights.”
In addition, ANYbotics plans to expand its quadruped robot’s payload offerings, integrating sensor arrays for visual, acoustic, gas, and thermal monitoring for flexibility and precision. “These advances, combined with ANYmal’s proven durability and IP67 rating, solidify its position as the market leader in industrial-grade autonomous inspection solutions,” said the company.
ANYbotics manufactures its robots in Switzerland with Zollner Elektronik AG, maintaining control of its intellectual property and the availability of high-quality components, noted Fankhauser.
“We design our autonomy technology and deep neural network for different types of robots, not just legged ones. They could crawl or have arms but be driven by the same operating system,” he told The Robot Report. “On the horizon, we see robots being able to understand the world contextually, interact with humans using natural language and hand gestures, and use AI to drive down hardware complexity and cost.”
The ANYmal quadruped robot can autonomously inspect in industrial facilities such as this factory. Source: ANYbotics
Partners aid ANYbotics global expansion
ANYbotics said its AI-driven inspection robots are advancing safety, efficiency, and sustainability in industries such as energy, metals, mining, and chemicals. The company reported that it has received large orders from global leaders such as BP, Equinor, Petrobras, Novelis, and Outokumpu.
Technology partners such as AWS, NVIDIA, SAP, SLB, Equans, and Siemens Energy are helping ANYbotics with its global growth. The company said they are helping it deliver cutting-edge systems, integrate into complex industrial environments, and broaden its reach.
“It’s not only the end customers that are trialing robots,” noted Fankhauser. “They say, ‘This is ready, and we want more, but we’re not in the business of buying robots.’ Service companies are working with ANYbotics as one of their preferred partners.”
“We have APIs for additional payloads and configurations,” he added. “In the next six months, we’ll have a lot of exciting new features.”
Recent ANYbotics milestones include a new office in Silicon Valley to enhance support and accelerate deployments for its growing North American customer base. How are U.S. and German markets different?
“There are a lot of commonalities — the need for reliability, cybersecurity, and safety is the same — but U.S. customers are more aggressive,” replied Fankhauser. “In Germany or Switzerland, it can take months to years, but we’ve found that having boots on the ground in North America can shrink sales cycles significantly, so our messaging has adapted.”
ANYmal is designed to endure the elements. Source: ANYbotics
Funding to scale human workforce
Qualcomm Ventures and Supernova Invest led ANYbotics’ latest funding round with participation from TDK Ventures and other new investors. Existing investors in Silicon Valley and Europe also participated, including Walden Catalyst, NGP Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Swisscanto, and Swisscom Ventures.
“There’s no free money on the market, so fundraising required a considerable amount of networking,” said Fankhauser. “Existing investors gave us credibility. We’re building a company to be sustainable in the long term, not just something around AI, which gave us a good story to go to market. Investors new to robotics have a fear of missing out on AI, but others like Qualcomm know what a good business plan looks like.”
“ANYbotics is transforming industrial operations with innovative AI-powered robotics,” said Michel Glezer, director of Qualcomm Ventures Europe (Qualcomm Wireless GmbH). “Their ability to deliver proven solutions for critical challenges in global industries positions them as a leader in the robotics market. We’re proud to support their mission to enable the automation of industries through edge AI and connectivity.”
ANYbotics said it plans to expand its team from more than 200 autonomous mobile robot (AMR) experts representing over 35 nationalities. Its goal is to ensure that customers and partners continue to benefit from advanced robotics and customer care. Fankhauser said it will also work on cybersecurity certifications, expand its North American presence, and move up the software stack to add value to customer asset data.
“Other robots for heavy-industry inspection automation provide interesting technology, but ANYbotics offers an out-of-the-box product,” stated Nicolas Sauvage, president of TDK Ventures.
“ANYbotics is tackling some of the most critical challenges in industrial automation with a truly groundbreaking approach, and the market’s response underscores the immense potential of their solutions,” said Michael Thomas, partner at Supernova Invest. “We are thrilled to support their journey as they scale globally and set new benchmarks in robotics innovation.”
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