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Robotics investments recap – April 2021

By Steve Crowe | May 4, 2021

April 2021 robotics investments

Softbank invested $2.8 billion into AS/RS developer AutoStore in April 2021.

The Robot Report tracked 38 robotics investments worth more than $4.8 billion in April 2021. This is quite the rebound from the same time last year when, amidst the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, robotics companies raised about $600 million. This marks a 700-plus percent increase in robotics investments year-over-year. There also were eight mergers and acquisitions and one IPO in April 2021.

Robotics investments

The bulk of the funding in April 2021 came from two categories of robotics technologies – AS/RS systems and autonomous vehicles. AutoStore, a leading developer of AS/RS systems, raised $2.8 billion from Softbank, accounting for nearly half of the month’s total funding. Companies working on autonomous vehicles or autonomous vehicle technologies raised at least $839 million. San Francisco-based Cruise raised another $750 million for its work on autonomous vehicles, adding Walmart to its already impressive list of investors.

The table below lists robotics company fundings in millions of U.S. dollars, where amounts were publicly available. U.S.-based robotics companies accounted for 17 of the funding rounds, followed by China (6), India (3) and Israel (3).

Robotics Investments April 2021

CompanyTypeM$CountryTech
EasyMileSeries B66.7FranceAutonomous vehicles
Plus One RoboticsSeries B33USAPerception software
EAVISIONSeries C30ChinaAgricultural drones
Scale AISeries E325USATraining data for machine learning
Manna Drone DeliverySeries A25EuropeDrone delivery
GroqSeries C300USATensor processing unit
DeepliteSeed4CanadaNeural network optimization
AutoStoreOther2800NorwayAS/RS
Memic Innovative SurgerySeries D96IsraelSurgical robots
OxboticaSeries B13.7UKAutonomous vehicle software
CanvasSeries B24USAConstruction robots
CruiseOther750USAAutonomous vehicles
Multiply LabsSeries A20USAManufacturing robots
Rapid RoboticsSeries A12USARobots for manufacturing
MikoSeries B6.6IndiaConsumer robotics
OttopiaSeries A9IsraelTeleoperation
Tortuga AgTechSeries A20USAAgricultural robots
Ronovo SurgicalSeries AChinaSurgical robots
infiniDomeSeed2.4IsraelGPS security
Pickle RobotSeed5.8USAPackage handling robots
Gaussian RobotSeries B100ChinaCleaning robots
Unbox RoboticsSeed1.2IndiaParcel sorting robots
CloudMindsSeries B152.6ChinaCloud infrastructure
MowitoOtherIndiaMobile robot software
Reactive RoboticsOtherGermanyRobot-assisted therapy
MightyFlySeed5.1USAAutonomous aircraft
RoboticPlus.AISeries B20ChinaConstruction robots
Halodi RoboticsOtherNorwayConsumer robots
Above RoboticsOtherUSAFleet management
Genesis Systems GroupOther2.3USAIntegrator
RobomartSeedUSAAutonomous vehicles
DroneSeedSeedUSAForestry management
Hermes RoboticsOtherUSAAutonomous trucks
OttonomyOtherUSALast-mile delivery
RobottoPre-SeedDenmarkDrones
LiftiansSeed0.25USAAGVs
MicrosureSeries B3.3NetherlandsSurgical robots
EDDA TechnologyOther33ChinaSurgical robots

Robotics Mergers & Acquisitions

April 2021 was a busy month for mergers and acquisitions (M&As), too. The Robot Report tracked 8 M&As worth at least $1.7 billion, including two via special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or blank check companies.

Vicarious Surgical is going public through a $1.1 billion SPAC deal with Hong Kong–based D8 Holdings. The acquisition adds more than $425 million in cash to Vicarious’s balance sheet. This deal came about a year and a half after the FDA provided breakthrough device designation for Vicarious’ robot, which includes features such as arms that replicate human motion.

The capital-intensive autonomous vehicle industry continued to consolidate in April 2021. Toyota subsidiary Woven Planet Holdings acquired Lyft’s autonomous vehicle division, Level 5, for $550 million in cash. Lyft will receive $200 million upfront and $350 million of payments over a five-year period. Lyft launched Level 5 in 2017 and said that by 2021 “a majority” of its rides would take place in autonomous vehicles. Like predictions made by other autonomous vehicle companies, Lyft’s never came to fruition.

The table below lists the M&As from April 2021. Click on the “Story” links for more information about each of the M&As.

Mergers & Acquisitions - April 2021

Acquired CompanyAcquirerAmount ($M)TechnologyStory
Lyft Level 5Woven Planet Holdings550Autonomous VehiclesStory
Precise AutomationBrooks Automation70CobotsStory
MowbotRobin AutopilotRobotic lawnmowersStory
13 Robotics LtdaKraken Robotics0.22Unmanned maritime systemsStory
Root AIAppHarvest60Agriculture roboticsStory
Kyoto RoboticsHitachiVisionStory
Vicarious SurgicalD8 Holdings1100 (SPAC)Surgical robotsStory
Sarcos RoboticsRotor Acquisition CorpSPACExoskeletonsStory

IPO

And, amazingly, autonomous truck developer TuSimple raised $1.08 billion in an IPO after debuting on the Nasdaq on April 15. TuSimple said it has 5,700 reservations for self-driving trucks from Navistar that are scheduled to go into production in 2024, with 70 trucks already on the road in the U.S. and China.

Robotics IPOs - April 2021

CompanyAmount ($M)Tech
TuSimple1000Autonomous trucks

Editors’ note: What defines robotics investments? The answer to this simple question is central in any attempt to quantify them with some degree of rigor. To make investment analyses consistent, repeatable, and valuable, it is critical to wring out as much subjectivity as possible during the evaluation process. This begins with a definition of terms and a description of assumptions.

Investors and investing
Investment should come from venture capital firms, corporate investment groups, angel investors, and other sources. Friends-and-family investments, government/non-governmental agency grants, and crowd-sourced funding are excluded.

Robotics and intelligent systems companies
Robotics companies must generate or expect to generate revenue from the production of robotics products (that sense, analyze, and act in the physical world), hardware or software subsystems and enabling technologies for robots, or services supporting robotics devices. For this analysis, autonomous vehicles (including technologies that support autonomous driving) and drones are considered robots, while 3D printers, CNC systems, and various types of “hard” automation are not.

Companies that are “robotic” in name only, or use the term “robot” to describe products and services that that do not enable or support devices acting in the physical world, are excluded. For example, this includes “software robots” and robotic process automation. Many firms have multiple locations in different countries. Company locations given in the analysis are based on the publicly listed headquarters in legal documents, press releases, etc.

Verification
Funding information is collected from a number of public and private sources. These include press releases from corporations and investment groups, corporate briefings, industry analysts, and association and industry publications, including Crunchbase PitchBook and Tracxn. In addition, information comes from sessions at conferences and seminars, as well as during private interviews with industry representatives, investors, and others. Unverifiable investments are excluded.

About The Author

Steve Crowe

Steve Crowe is Executive Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media, and chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo and RoboBusiness. He is also co-host of The Robot Report Podcast, the top-rated podcast for the robotics industry. He joined WTWH Media in January 2018 after spending four-plus years as Managing Editor of Robotics Trends Media. He can be reached at scrowe@wtwhmedia.com

Comments

  1. Daniel Glozman says

    May 5, 2021 at 1:00 am

    You missed ForSight Robotics here.

    Reply
    • Steve Crowe says

      May 5, 2021 at 9:34 am

      Daniel, thanks for the comment. Didn’t ForSight’s round come in early March?

      https://www.therobotreport.com/forsight-raises-10m-robotic-eye-surgery/

      Reply
  2. Samir K says

    May 10, 2021 at 1:25 am

    Nice compilation, Steve. Thank you !

    Reply

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