Investors are pouring money into warehouse automation as more companies turn to robotics to help speed distribution in a tight labor market.
Logistics operators that once relied largely on human labor are now testing autonomous forklifts, self-driving carts and other technology intended to improve efficiency and cut costs by automating repetitive tasks and freeing workers up to handle more complex jobs.
There have been some $1.2 billion in U.S. venture-capital deals in logistics-focused robotics and automation companies since 2015, according to data firm PitchBook. Last year saw $357.2 million in deals in the category, which also includes self-driving truck startups and companies specializing in freight data and tracking.
The latest such startup to draw investor attention is Waltham, Mass.-based Vecna Robotics. Its technology helps companies automate industrial equipment such as forklifts and coordinate human and robot workflows. The company said Tuesday it raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Blackhorn Ventures, with participation from new investors Highland Capital Partners and Fontinalis Partners and existing investors Drive Capital and Tectonic Ventures.
Vecna Robotics plans to use the funding to expand its development and support staff and hire more engineers to build out applications to help automate processes such as truck loading and unloading and large bulk order fulfillment, said founder and Chief Executive Daniel Theobald.
“A big part of it is scaling up to meet the massive wave of demand coming at us,” Mr. Theobald said in an interview.
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The broader market for warehouse and logistics automation topped $53 billion last year and is forecast to exceed $80 billion in 2023, said Jeremie Capron, head of research at ROBO Global LLC, a research and investment-advisory firm.
Online giant Amazon.com Inc. has set the pace in the logistics sector with its vast network of increasingly mechanized fulfillment centers that have siphoned off much of the available warehouse labor pool while using an array of robots to speed the delivery of orders to customers. Last year, Amazon bought Boulder, Colo.-based autonomous warehouse robotics startup Canvas Technology for an undisclosed sum.
Rival retailers are embracing automation as they hustle to meet consumer e-commerce expectations in the Amazon era. Meanwhile, robotics, software and other technology are also gaining traction in distribution of industrial and consumer packaged goods, where operators face similar competition for labor and pressure to deliver products more quickly.
Nearly 28% of warehouses globally will be using commercial robots by 2025, compared with around 3% in 2018, market advisory firm ABI Research estimates.
In October, Israeli-U.S. robotics startup Fabric, which builds automated micro-fulfillment centers for retail customers, said it closed a $110 million Series B funding round to help fund growth in the U.S. And in July, China-based logistics automation provider Geek+ Inc., which says it has deployed 10,000 robots world-wide, announced $150 million in C1 Series funding. Geek+ is working on completing a C series round.
Vecna Robotics has raised $63.5 million in funding since it was spun off from parent company Vecna Technologies Inc. in 2018. It has about 90 employees and last year generated $6 million in revenue from customers including FedEx Corp. , Medline Industries Inc., and Caterpillar Inc. distributor Milton CAT.
The company’s main product is an autonomy kit that uses software and sensors to retrofit customers’ existing warehouse equipment. Mr. Theobald calls the technology a “glide path toward autonomy,” allowing customers to use robotic capabilities without having to “rethink from day one how they are doing their business.”
Vecna Robotics is also working with equipment-maker UniCarriers Americas on a robotic forklift line that incorporates the startup’s workflow orchestration software.
Write to Jennifer Smith at jennifer.smith@wsj.com
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