Agility Robotics Raises $150M to Scale Blended Human-Robot Workplaces
April 22, 2022
Agility Robotics, which manufactures robots designed to work alongside people in logistics and warehouse environments, has announced it raised $150 million in a Series B funding round. The additional capital will be used to accelerate Agility’s research and development and scale its robot production.
The Agility approach marries expertise across design, software and hardware to power robots that can manage practically limitless tasks as part of a blended workforce. The humanoid-style Digit robots can walk with two legs and lift with two arms. The company said most robotics technologies are purpose-built for single tasks, which makes them inflexible, expensive and quickly obsolete. Agility suggests that its robots are built to be versatile, cost-effective, and durable helpers to people. For example, the robots can currently move totes and packages, but also unload trailers, with last-mile delivery tasks coming soon.
“Unprecedented consumer and corporate demand have created an extraordinary need for robots to support people in the workplace,” said Damion Shelton, CEO of Agility Robotics. “With this investment, Agility can ramp up the delivery of robots to fill roles where there’s an unmet need.”
Agility said the capital raise will accelerate the delivery of the next generation of Agility’s robots, which began with its first customer shipments in 2018. The company’s most advanced robot will be deployed at customers’ sites later this year, with deployments allowing Agility to iterate with real-time customer feedback to gain insights into operating environments, discover new uses for its robots, and refine their capabilities.
“We’re deepening our investment in Agility Robotics because their robots solve the labor shortages plaguing businesses and wreaking havoc on supply chains,” said Matt Ocko, co-managing partner at DCVC. “Agility’s robots are designed to free people from repetitive or unpleasant tasks, allowing them to take on the more fulfilling work they can do better than any robot.”
The funding round was led by DCVC and Playground Global, with the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund also investing in Agility. Previous investors MFV Partners, ITIC, Robotics Hub, Safar Partners, and TDK Ventures also participated in the Series B round. The company recently opened a new office in Pittsburgh, in addition to expanding its primary Corvallis, Oregon facilities and Palo Alto, Calif. Operations. The company said it plans to double its headcount by 2024, and is actively recruiting top robotics talent in software and hardware.
For more details on the company and its technologies, visit the Agility Robotics website here.
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