I love a good pivot story. It’s something most startups will confront at some point or other, if they’re going to make it long term. In a category where luck, timing and market forces are at least half the battle, you’ve got to be willing to roll with the punches. Boxbot has been kicking around…
Like in many industries, there’s an acute shortage of security guards. This means guards still on the job have to pull extra hours and are more likely to make mistakes because of fatigue. Ascento is stepping into the gap with autonomous security patrolling robots called Ascento Guards. Distinguished by their wheel-leg design that can cover…
If fintech, robotics and hardware are your thang, then get ready to get busy on the exhibition floor at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 — it’s less than two weeks away! That’s where you’ll find the Startup Battlefield 200, our hand-picked cohort of standout startups. They span many industries, and today we’re highlighting those that fit within…
An increasing number of companies are looking to automate as a shortage of skilled workers is expected to take a toll on manufacturers through 2030. Tokyo- and Atlanta-based startup Mujin, which develops AI-based software for industrial automation, believes that robots can improve productivity and safety. Today, the startup is announcing an $85 million Series C, bringing its total…
A version of this story original appeared in TechCrunch’s weekly robotics newsletter, Actuator. Subscribe here. A big and often unremarked upon aspect of being a reporter is knowing your audience. It’s not always as straightforward as it sounds — particularly when writing about tech. You’re always walking that tightrope between over- and under-explaining. Assuming too…
In July last year, Naver, maker of the search engine known as the “Google of South Korea,” opened its new second headquarters, Naver 1784. The building’s name refers to a year commonly associated with the Industrial Revolution. Inside you’ll find a testament to automation’s growing global influence, in the form of 100 autonomous robots. The robots,…
Sooner or later, the numbers were going to contract. Broadly speaking, the pandemic has been a gamechanger for automation broadly and robotics specifically. But not even those categories are immune from macro trends. Per new numbers from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) — whose job it is to track such things — North American…
Space robotics startup Gitai has closed an additional $15 million in funding, a little over three months after announcing a $30 million Series B extension round to advance its technology for the moon. The new funding will enable the company to increase its California-based headcount and grow its relationships with NASA, commercial space companies based…
Two primary categories have emerged in the world of exosuits. The first is people with mobility issues who could use a little extra assistance getting around. The other is manual labor — jobs that require lifting heavy payloads and managing unwieldly tools, be it warehouse work or construction. Of course, these aren’t the only jobs…
Intuition Robotics isn’t hurting for funding these days. The Israeli firm announced a $36 million Series B in the early days of the pandemic, and now it’s adding another $25 million. The new raise, which includes $20 million in venture capital and $5 million in venture debt, brings its total raise up to $83 million….