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Robotics investments recap: November 2020

By Eugene Demaitre | December 18, 2020


Despite an ongoing pandemic, a contentious U.S. presidential election, and stalled negotiations over the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union, investments in robotics and related technologies continued in November 2020, if at less than half the value as in the same period last year.

In November 2020, The Robot Report tracked a total of 44 transactions worth about $2.2 billion, in comparison with 52 deals worth $866 million in October 2020 and $4.7 billion in 35 transactions in November 2019. (More than $3 billion in transactions have already been recorded for December 2020.)

As usual for most of the past year, autonomous vehicle companies received the largest share of investment, with 11 transactions worth more than $1.3 billion. Other technologies getting significant funding in the past month included supply chain automation, components and software, and robots for manufacturing.

In November, 41 companies received a total of $1.9 billion in 41 investments. By comparison, there were 43 investments worth $866 million in October 2020 and $4.4 billion in 28 investments in November 2019.

The table below lists robotics company fundings in millions of U.S. dollars, where amounts were publicly available.

Robotics investments, November 2020

CompanyAmt. (M$)TypeInvestor, partnerDateTechnology
a2z1.9seedNov. 19autonomous vehicles
AEye23debt financingNov. 9lidar sensors
Biomotum0.58seedNov. 9assistive devices
Canvas19investmentNov. 27drywall robot
Emotibot Technology Ltd.30Series CBOC International HoldingsNov. 6human-robot interaction
Gatik25Series AWittington Ventures, Innovation EndeavorsNov. 23autonomous vehicles
Giraffe3604.5investmentLAUNCHub Ventures, Hoxton VenturesNov. 17real estate robot camera
GrAI Matter Labs14investmentiBionextNov. 23AI processors
Guangzhou Jifei Technology Co.183investmentBaidu Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund Phase IINov. 17agricultural drones
High Lander3seedParas Defense, AGV GroupNov. 5drone fleet management
Home Tech Innovation Inc.8.1equityNov. 18kitchen robot
Hypr10seedR7 VenturesNov. 30autonomous vehicle AI
Inceptio Technology120investmentCATLNov. 9autonomous trucks
LaunchPoint Technologies1.81seedNov. 4drone propulsion
Levitate Technologies Inc.3.5Series ANov. 5industrial exoskeleton
Lunewave7Series AFM CapitalNov. 24radar and antenna
MaidbotSeries BReckitt BenckiserNov. 17service robot
Mech-Mind Robotics Technologies Ltd.15Series B+Source Code Capital, Sequoia Capital ChinaNov. 17industrial exoskeleton
Mega Robot30Series BSinovation VenturesNov. 2collaborative robots
MegaRobo30Series BSinovation VenturesNov. 4AI, IoT
Morai Inc.1.8Series AKakao Ventures, Korea Credit Guarantee FundNov. 19autonomous vehicle simulation
Movia Robotics Inc.0.5investmentClean Fleet InvestorsNov. 2educational robots
Nuro500Series CT. Rowe Price AssociatesNov. 9autonomous vehicles
Opteran Technologies2.81seedIQ CapitalNov. 24AI processors
Orca AI2.6seedPlayfair CapitalNov. 9maritime navigation
Parallel Flight0.983seedStartEngineNov. 25drone inspection
Percepto45Series BKoch Disruptive TechnologiesNov. 24autonomous inspection
Pickle Robot Co.2equityNov. 13parcel handling robot
Plus.ai100Series CNov. 24autonomous trucks
Pony.ai267ventureOntario Teacher's Pension PlanNov. 3autonomous vehicles
Provizio6.2seedBobby HambrickNov. 6automotive sensors, AI
Psionic0.5seedNov. 30lidar sensors
Rapid Robotics Inc.5seedGreycroft, Seed PartnersNov. 18machine operator
Sense Photonics Inc.32.1Series BNov. 10lidar sensors
Shield AI52.9Series CNov. 10surveillance drones
Siera.Ai4.6Series ANov. 8mobile robots
SmartGurlz0.13seedNov. 14educational robots
TuSimple350Series ENavistar, Volkswagen GroupNov. 30autonomous trucks
ULS RoboticsseedFuture Capital, K2VC, Unity VenturesNov. 2industrial exoskeleton
Verity Studios8.28Series AInvestiereNov. 30entertainment drones
Yishi Zhi Hao Technology Co.15.12Series BKai Fu CapitalNov. 3visual intelligence

There were only three robotics mergers and acquisitions worth a total of $287 million last month, compared with eight with no values specified in October and six worth at least $330 million a year ago.

Robotics acquisitions, November 2020

CompanyLocationAmt. (M$)Acquirer, partnerDateTechnology
Aeva LabsMountain View, Calif.InterPrivate Acquisition Corp.Nov. 2automotive sensors
Haddington DynamicsLas Vegas25Ocado GroupNov. 2robot arms
Kindred SystemsSan Francisco262Ocado GroupNov. 2piece picking

Autonomous vehicles roll onward

Nuro’s $500 million Series C round was the largest single transaction of November 2020. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has been developing autonomous delivery vehicles rather than self-driving passenger cars.

Among the trends of 2020 was increasing investment in autonomous trucks. San Diego-based TuSimple reportedly raised $350 million in Series E funding from Navistar and Volkswagen. Shanghai-based Inceptio Technology raised $120 million, and Cupertino, Calif.-based Plus.ai raised $100 million in Series C funding.


Other autonomous vehicle fundings included the $267 million Series C round for Pony.ai in Fremont, Calif. The startup has partnered with China FAW Group Co. for joint development and mass production.

Gatik in Palo Alto, Calif., raised $25 million in Series A funding as it develops SAE Level 4 delivery vehicles. Gyeongsan, South Korea-based a2z received seed funding of $1.9 million.

Sensors for advanced driver-assist (ADAS) and driverless vehicles also received funding in November 2020. San Francisco-based lidar firm Sense Photonics Inc. raised $32.1 million in Series B funding.

Pleasanton, Calif.-based lidar company AEye reportedly raised $23 million in debt financing, and Tuscon, Ariz.-based radar maker Lunewave obtained $7 million in Series A funding.

Special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) InterPrivate Acquisition Corp. picked up Mountain View, Calif.-based Aeva Labs for an unspecified amount as it takes on Velodyne Lidar Inc. and Luminar Technologies Inc.

On the software and artificial intelligence side, Hypr in Alameda, Calif., received $10 million in seed funding. It was founded by some of the same people who developed robotic taxicabs at Zoox, which Amazon.com Inc. acquired in June.

Meanwhile, automotive perception developer Provizio in Limerick, Ireland, raised $6.2 million in seed funding, and simulation provider Morai Inc. in Seoul closed $1.8 million in seed funding.

Supply chain robots receive funding in November 2020

Partly because of accelerated e-commerce demand, robotics for warehouses, distribution centers, and logistics operations had another strong year, raising about $319 million last month alone. U.K.-based online grocer Ocado Group led the way with its $262 million acquisition of Kindred Systems and $25 million purchase of Haddington Dynamics.


Austin, Texas-based mobile robot startup Siera.Ai raised $4.6 million in Series A funding. Cambridge, Mass.-based parcel-handling robot maker Pickle Robot Co. raised $2 million in equity, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Components and software put together deals

Robots, drones, and vehicles are only as good as their ingredient technologies, which investors recognized with more than $231 million in November 2020. Paris-based GrAI Matter Labs, which makes processors for AI inferencing at the edge, raised $14 million.


Shanghai-based Emotibot Technology Ltd. raised Series C funding of $30 million for its human-machine interaction software, and Shenzhen, China-based Yishi Zhi Hao Technology Co. raised Series B funding of $15.12 million for its visual intelligence software.

Opteran Technologies, an AI processor firm in Sheffield, U.K., got $2.81 million in funding. Tel Aviv, Israel-based Orca AI, which makes navigation software for maritime systems, raised $2.6 million in seed funding.

LaunchPoint Technologies, a drone propulsion provider in Goleta, Calif., raised $1.81 million in seed funding, and Pittsburgh-based lidar business Psionic raised $500,000.

Drone makers spot sources of capital

Aerial drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), had another good month in November 2020. Agricultural drone provider Guangzhou Jifei Technology Co., also known as XAG, raised $183 million from Baidu Capital and SoftBank Vision Fund II.


Shield AI, a surveillance drone provider in San Diego, raised $52.9 million in Series C funding. Verity Studios, an entertainment drone provider in Zurich, raised $8.28 million in Series A funding.

Percepto, a Modi’in, Israel-based provider of industrial inspection systems that recently partnered with Boston Dynamics, raised $45 million in Series B funding.

Tel Aviv-based High Lander obtained seed funding of $3 million for its drone fleet management software. Watsonville, Calif.-based drone inspection provider Parallel Flight received $983,000 in seed funding from StartEngine.

Industrial automation makes more money in November 2020

While most robots are still in factory environments, they have not been the stars of fundraising because the companies supplying them are more mature. Automotive manufacturing in particular was set back by early shutdowns in response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, industrial automation suppliers raised a total of more than $53 million in November 2020.

Beijing-based collaborative robot provider Mega Robot received $30 million in Series B funding. San Francisco-based Rapid Robotics Inc., whose Rapid Machine Operator is intended to help companies keep production in the U.S., raised $5.5 million in seed funding.


Industrial exoskeletons also got a boost in last month. Shanghai-based Mech-Mind Robotics Technologies Ltd. raised $30 million in Series B+ funding, and San Diego-based Levitate Technologies Inc. picked up $3.5 million in Series A funding. Shanghai-based exoskeleton firm ULS Robotics obtained an unspecified amount in seed funding.

Healthcare, hospitality, and service robot firms give thanks

Rounding out the penultimate month of a challenging year is a collection of companies serving different sectors. Robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) developer MegaRobo raised $30 million in Series B funding. The Beijing-based startup is developing systems for light manufacturing, retail, and life sciences.

San Francisco-based Canvas, which is making a drywall robot for the construction industry, raised $19 million last month. London-based Giraffe360, which is developing a robotic camera for the real estate industry, raised $4.5 million.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Home Tech Innovation Inc., which is developing the Suvie kitchen robot, raised $8.1 million in equity funding, according to an SEC filing. Biomotum, an assistive device maker in Flagstaff, Ariz., raised $580,000 in November 2020.

Educational robotics startups Movia Robotics Inc. in Bristol, Conn., and SmartGurlz in Copenhagen raised $500,000 and $130,000, respectively. Austin, Texas-based Maidbot, which is developing “Rosie” the commercial housekeeping robot, raised an unspecified amount of Series B funding.

Related content: The Robot Report Podcast: Robotics investment trends; are Amazon drone deliveries coming?


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 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

Eugene Demaitre

Eugene Demaitre is editorial director of the robotics group at WTWH Media. He was senior editor of The Robot Report from 2019 to 2020 and editorial director of Robotics 24/7 from 2020 to 2023. Prior to working at WTWH Media, Demaitre was an editor at BNA (now part of Bloomberg), Computerworld, TechTarget, and Robotics Business Review.

Demaitre has participated in robotics webcasts, podcasts, and conferences worldwide. He has a master's from the George Washington University and lives in the Boston area.

Comments

  1. craig blank says

    January 14, 2021 at 5:13 pm

    Eugene,

    I had a quick question on robotics investing focused on construction specifically. I work for a family office in Pittsburgh, PA and if you have a minute, maybe we could connect.

    Craig
    412-897-9243

    Reply

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