Brain Corp reports record sales in 2019, citing demand for AMRs in retail

SAN DIEGO – Brain Corp, which develops autonomy software for commercial vehicles and robots, today announced it achieved record sales and revenue growth in 2019 as retailers turn to robotic solutions to help reduce costs and enhance in-store experiences.

Fueled by a surge of interest for its BrainOS-powered floor care machines by major retailers, including Walmart, the company said it achieved more than a 300% increase in revenue last year. Brain Corp said it also saw a 760% increase in global deployments, and now provides the intelligent back end for one of the largest fleets of its kind in the world – approximately 10,000 robots deployed or enabled.

“A growing number of retailers are turning to next-generation mobile robots to drive better productivity and improved customer experiences within their physical stores,” said Scott Carter, chief operating officer at Brain Corp. “Last year was a landmark year for our customers and the retail robotics industry. We are looking forward to working with our strategic partners to accelerate and lead this trend in 2020.”

Brain Corp accomplishments

In addition to being named to the RBR50 in 2019, other corporate highlights for Brain include:

• Recognition by ABI Research as the No. 1 Autonomy Solution Provider for mobile robotics.
• Inclusion in Forbes magazine’s top 50 list of America’s most promising artificial intelligence companies.
• New technology agreements with Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG, RPS Corporation (which manufactures Factory Cat and Tomcat cleaning equipment), Nilfisk, and other OEMs to build intelligent machines at scale. Along with Tennant Company and Minuteman International, a subsidiary of the Hako Group, Brain Corp now counts the top four commercial floor care OEMs as partners. Last year, a number of major brands and retailers adopted Brain Corp technology, resulting in a 6X increase in units sold.
• The North American launch of Whiz commercial-grade autonomous vacuum sweepers from SoftBank Robotics America and ICE Robotics. Whiz is powered by BrainOS. This followed the successful rollout of Whiz machines in Japan in 2018.
• An expanded relationship with Walmart to more than quadruple the number of robotic floor scrubbers, showcasing the value of smart automation in retail.
• Surpassing 10 billion square feet cleaned autonomously across three continents.
• The opening of European headquarters in Amsterdam to support the sale and deployment of autonomous floor care machines from OEM partners.

Last month, ABI Research forecast than more than 150,000 mobile robots will be deployed in brick-and-mortar establishments within the next five years for cleaning, inventory management, and material handling tasks. Brain said it is enabling this trend by making it easier for strategic OEMs to produce, deploy, and support commercial robots at scale through its robotic AI platform.

After starting with floor care, the company said it is helping manufacturers expand into material handling, commercial vacuuming, shelf analytics, and more. The company said it has “helped manufacturers deploy more automated machines into the public spaces over the last three years than any other solution provider.”

At the recent NRF 2020 show in New York, Brain displayed a prototype robot that it developed with Savioke, which provides retail store shelf analytics services. The company is expected to provide more details at the retail-focused StorePoint Fresh 2020 event in Austin, Texas. In addition, Brain will exhibit at MODEX 2020 in Atlanta in March, and at the Interclean Amsterdam show in May.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on our sister site, Robotics Business Review.