GrayMatter Robotics Raises $20M to Expand Surface Finishing Tasks
August 16, 2022
GrayMatter Robotics, an artificial intelligence robotics company that creates smart automation solutions, has announced raising $20 million in Series A investment. The company’s smart robotic cells taim to help high-mix, high-variability manufacturing companies increase their productivity, enhance quality consistency and save costs while meeting global demand for manufactured products and improving the quality of life for shop-floor workers.
The investment round was led by Bow Capital and joined by existing investors B Capital Group, Calibrate Ventures, OCA Ventures, Pathbreaker Ventures, Stage Venture Partners, and 3M Ventures. New investors, including Swift Ventures, also joined the round. GrayMatter Robotics said it will use the funding to expand its team to meet rapidly growing customer demands. Last September, the company raised $4.1 million in seed funding.
The company’s Scan&Sand application is a flexible robotic sander that can adjust to different object shapes and sizes in minutes. While other robotic sanders are used in mass production to work on pieces of the exact size and shape, Scan&Sand can adjust to objects with complex geometry precisely and quickly.
“Our biggest concern was that our part-mix is very high, so it seemed like a very daunting task to automate such operations,” said Jon Coners, a senior manufacturing manager at Bega North America. “Scan&Sand has the ability to work on a component or a group of components and has a simple one-button operation. Not worrying about having a fixed setup; you can move parts around and the robot will look again. This was our first foray into robotics, so we had to have a partner, not just a vendor, that will really be there for us and GrayMatter has stepped up to the plate.”
“Customer demand has never been higher for robotics and automation solutions, helping manufacturers improve productivity, obtain cost savings, and provide consistent high-quality performance,” said Adi Leviatan, president of 3M’s Abrasive Systems Division. “Reinvesting in GrayMatter Robotics aligns with 3M’s efforts to deliver easy-to-use automated abrasive processing systems that address the challenges posed by high-mix manufacturing operations.”
“We are improving shop workers’ lives, enhancing their productivity, and enabling them to focus on higher-value tasks,” said Ariyan Kabir, co-founder and CEO of GrayMatter Robotics. “Manufacturing drives our economy, and without automating surface finishing and treatment, there is a significant risk the global economy may suffer due to the increasing labor shortage.”
The company said it is actively hiring for several roles to help meet customer demand, expand operations and accelerate the development and deployment of its systems. For more details on the company, visit the GrayMatter Robotics website here.
Related content: Q&A with GrayMatter Robotics CEO Ariyan Kabir
