This Week in Robotics: Chinese startups score a string of fundraising successes
[ad_1]
Before we dive into this week’s biggest news within the robotics space, there’s an announcement of its own to highlight.
We will receive several experts from the robotics industry in our first stage of hardware in TechCrunch outage 2023. The stage kicks off on the third day of Disrupt on September 21 and features speakers from Alphabet’s Intrinsic, Open Robotics, Agility Robotics, and Farm-ng, with more reveals to come.
Resident robotics expert Brian Heater is taking the lead on the hardware stage, and you can stay tuned for future updates and his continued coverage of the space. signing up for the Actuator newsletter right here.
With that self-promotion out of the way, let’s dig in.
Kitchen robot company Botinkit raises $13 million
Restaurant chains value consistency and efficiency, two things that lend themselves well to automation. Shenzhen-based startup Botinkit has taken its food processors beyond the borders of China to Japan and the US, and will now use the $13 million he raised in a Series A bring its culinary creators to Europe and the Middle East.
Beyond reducing ingredient loss and energy use during the cooking process, Botinkit sees another benefit for its robots.
“Cooking used to be restricted by time and geographical borders. However, with the digitization of the kitchen, a range of new possibilities arise, including remote cooking. Suppose I’m in Shenzhen and you’re in the US, I can use our software and hardware system to ‘cook’ for you remotely,” co-founder Shirley Chen told TechCrunch earlier this week.
SoftBank invests in Rice Robotics deliveries
Workers at SoftBank’s new Tokyo headquarters have been using delivery robots with adorable, big eyes to transport 7-Eleven orders between stores and delivery points. The cartoon messengers, made by Hong Kong-based Rice Robotics, can run for 12 hours and take just an hour to recharge between onigiri and UCC coffee.
And SoftBank announced this week that it would be contributing to Rice’s $7 million pre-Series A funding round, which will go towards continued expansion in Japan, the company’s main source of revenue.
ForwardX Robotics Efforts Reach $140M in Fundraising
Warehouse logistics and inventory management have been discussed in past editionsAnd for good reason: it’s a huge industry full of opportunities for robotics and automation. And Beijing-based ForwardX has been raising a significant amount of investment since its launch in 2016.
The company, which has already shipped 3,000 robots to a client list that includes IKEA, UNIQLO, Walmart and Mitsubishi, just announced a $30 million fundraiser that brings its Series C to $61 million and its total funding to $140 million.
Women in Robotics Launches Scholarship in Honor of Joanne Pransky
Joanne Pranski, who recently passed away after decades of working within the robotics industry, he left an indelible mark on the space as he sought to stimulate understanding of the human side of our relationships with robots.
The nonprofit Women in Robotics seeks to honor her legacy by helping the next wave of women and non-binary students with a scholarship named after her. Anyone can help contribute to the fund right here via Bold.org.
“As a pioneer in the field of social robotics and the sales and marketing of robots and robotics magazines, Joanne was often the only woman in the room.” Women in Robotics president Andra Keay told TechCrunch. And with the help of the Joanne Pransky Celebration of Women in Robotics Fellowship, that will be a thing of the past.
Do you want the best robotics news in your inbox every week? Sign up for the actuator here.
[ad_2]
Source link
