Attabotics raises $25M Series B for supply chain robotics

CALGARY, Alberta — Attabotics, which makes robotic goods-to-person storage, retrieval, and real-time order fulfillment, today said it has raised $25 million Series B funding.

Participants in the round include Coatue, Comcast Ventures, and Honeywell alongside returning early investors Forerunner Ventures and Werklund Growth Fund. Attabotics said the new funding will go toward supporting its continued, “explosive” growth, including new hires, scaling manufacturing operations, and the development of new technologies. The company has raised $32.7 million in funding to date.

“Supply chain efficiency, particularly relative to improving fulfillment speed and capabilities, is a critical — and costly — strategic issue for brands and retailers to address as they struggle to meet the pressures of today’s competitive consumer environment while staying profitable,” said Eurie Kim, general partner at Forerunner Ventures. “Attabotics provides retailers of all sizes with an innovative back-end system that not only enables them to meet the ever-increasing bar for faster delivery, but also allows them to manage vast inventory assortment and seamless returns, all while allowing the business to focus on its most important job — delighting customers.”

Attabotics’ ‘3D supply chain system’

Attabotics claims to offer “the world’s first 3D robotics supply chain system for modern commerce.” Inspired by the framework of ant colonies, the company said it condenses the rows and aisles of traditional fulfillment centers with a patented storage structure and robotics shuttles that can move in both horizontal and vertical space. The robots can store and deliver goods to people at the perimeter to pick, pack and ship e-commerce orders.

“We applied the three-dimensional structure of ant colonies into a fulfillment system, built for modern commerce, that is flexible, scalable, and accelerates the shipping and delivery process,” said Scott Gravelle, founder, CEO, and chief technology officer of Attabotics. “Commerce is at a crossroads, and in order for retailers and brands of all types and sizes to thrive, they need to adapt and take advantage of new technologies to effectively meet consumers’ growing demands.”

By reducing space requirements, Attabotics said, the system can reduce a company’s warehouse needs by 85%, as well as save money on real estate costs. This reduction in space requirements also allows retailers to place warehouses closer to high-density urban for faster delivery times and use existing back-of-house capacity to create mini-fulfillment structures, helping to solve the last-mile gap, claimed the startup.

The company did not name its customers but said they include major brands and retailers across apparel, food and beverage, and home goods. It is based in Canada, with fulfillment centers across the U.S. and Canada.

“E-commerce is driving continued growth opportunities for advanced automation and robotics in the warehouse sector,” said Murray Grainger, managing director of Honeywell Ventures. “Honeywell continues to make strategic investments in this space, and we are excited to partner with Attabotics, who are developing innovative technologies to improve order fulfillment and enhance supply chain operations.”