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July 2021 robotics investments and acquisitions

By Steve Crowe | August 9, 2021

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An ABB robot assembles a seat into an automotive

ABB’s acquisition of ASTI Mobile Robotics was one of the more surprising robotics investments in July. 

The Robot Report tracked 37 robotics investments that totaled at least $1.14 billion in funding in July 2021. There also were 9 mergers and acquisitions worth at least $1.58 billion for the month.

The largest round of the month went to Chinese company Meituan, which raised $400 million from Tencent in a stock offering. Meituan, a consumer services company, intends to use the funding to develop autonomous vehicles and drones for local delivery services.

Here is a breakdown of the funding types for June 2021, in order of most to least: Series A (6), Seed (9), Series C (3), Series B (3), Series D (1) and other (12).

U.S.-based companies accounted for 19 funding rounds in July 2021, while China had the second-most at 4. Canada, India, and Germany each had three robotics companies funded. The table below lists robotics company fundings in millions of U.S. dollars, where amounts were publicly available. If more of the funding amounts become available, we will update the chart.

Robotics Investments July 2021

CompanyRoundAmount ($M)CountryTech
inVia RoboticsSeries C30USALogistics robots
Untether AIVenture125CanadaComputing
CovariantSeries C80USALogistics robots
Path RoboticsSeries C100USARobotic welding
HaptXSeries A12USAHaptics
Skylark DronesSeed3IndiaUnmanned aerial vehicles
Keyi TechnologySeries BChinaConsumer robots
XYZ RoboticsSeries B35USALogistics robots
AugmentusSeedSingaporeSoftware
Venti TechnologiesSeed8ChinaAutonomous driving
Kraken RoboticsPost-IPO Equity10CanadaUnmanned underwater vehicles
Pickle RobotCorporateUSALogistics robots
FernrideSeries A7.1GermanyTeleoperation
Vantage RoboticsDebt Financing2USAUnmanned aerial vehicles
OMNIQPost-IPO Equity15USAComputer vision
PicnicSeries A4.2USAFood robots
BurroVenture6USAAgricultural robots
DaVinci KitchenEquity Crowdfunding0.5GermanyFood robots
LuxonisSeed2USAComputer vision
LocomationConvertible Note40USAAutonomous driving
UdacitySecondary Market4.4USAEducation
ALBA RobotDebt FinancingItalyAutonomous driving
SkycartSeedUSADelivery drones
Swaayatt RobotsSeed3IndiaAutonomous driving
CyberdonticsSeed4USAHealthcare robots
Ghost RoboticsSeries D100USAAutonomous driving
AlgoluxSeries B18.4CanadaComputer vision
Re-Gen Robotics5.5IrelandTank cleaning robots
Digital Dream LabsEquity Crowdfunding1USAConsumer robots
Verve MotionSeries A15USAExoskeletons
Mov.aiSeed3PortugalSoftware
Noyes TechnologiesSeed3.8GermanyLogistics robots
Neuro42Series A6.5USASurgical robots
FreetechSeries A100ChinaAutonomous driving
Meuitan400ChinaAutonomous driving/drones
Dangot Computers7.6IsraelLogistics robots
Ati MotorsPre-Series A3.5IndiaLogistics robots

Robotics mergers & acquisitions

There were 9 mergers and acquisitions in July 2021. One of these acquisitions took place via special purpose acquisition companies or SPAC. Aurora, a developer of autonomous vehicle technology, merged with Reinvent Technology Partners Y in a $1 billion deal. The combined company, which will be named Aurora Innovation Inc. and trade on the NASDAQ with the symbol “AUR,” is reportedly valued at $13 billion.

SPACs have become a hot investment mechanism in robotics, as well as many other industries. Berkshire Grey, Sarcos Robotics, Vicarious Surgical, and a slew of LiDAR companies, have or will also be going public via SPACs.

Two companies developing autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) were acquired. Zebra Technologies kicked off the month with the purchase of Fetch Robotics for $290 million. Fetch Robotics generates annualized run-rate sales of approximately $10 million. And ASTI Mobile Robotics, a Spanish company, was acquired by industrial robot leader ABB for an undisclosed amount.

Novanta, a precision photonics and motion control company, made two acquisitions. It first acquired motion control provider Schneider Electric Motion USA for $115 million in cash. One week later, it acquired end of arm tooling leader ATI Industrial Automation for $172 million cash.

AcquirerAcquired CompanyAmount ($M)TechStory
Zebra TechnologiesFetch Robotics290Logistics robotsRead Story
Integrity ImplantsFusion RoboticsSurgical robotsRead Story
enVista HCM SystemsSystems integratorRead Story
NovantaSchneider Electric Motion USA115Motion ControlRead Story
Red Cat HoldingsTeal DronesUnmanned aerial vehiclesRead Story
ToyotaCarmeraAutonomous drivingRead Story
Reinvent Technology Partners YAurora1000 (SPAC)Autonomous drivingRead Story
NovantaATI Industrial Automation172End of arm toolingRead Story
ABBASTI Mobile RoboticsLogistics robotsRead Story

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on August 10, 2021 at 11:45 Eastern with the addition of Ati Motors’ investment.

About The Author

Steve Crowe

Steve Crowe is Editorial Director, Robotics, WTWH Media, and co-chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo. He joined WTWH Media in January 2018 after spending four-plus years as Managing Editor of Robotics Trends Media. He can be reached at [email protected]

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