Friday, October 2, 2020

Warehousing Logistics: "Lille-based Exotec raises €77.1 million to support the international expansion of its warehouse robotics solutions"

Amazon seems very happy with their $777 million purchase of Kiva Systems and as contracts with non-Amazon customers ran off, did not renew so that today Kiva works exclusively for Bezos.
Meaning there may be a niche to fill.

From EU-Startups, September 28:
Exotec, a leading robotics solution for logistics and creator of the Skypod 3D warehouse robots, announces today an approx. 77.1 million financing round, led by 83North, with participation from Dell Technologies Capital, and supported by historical investors, Iris Capital and Breega.

This latest funding round will allow the company to further expand and deliver their fully adjustable robotics solution to a wider range of clients in the US, Europe and Asia, across numerous B2B and B2C retail sectors such as fashion, grocery, pharmaceutical, hardware, and manufacturing.

Founded in 2015, Exotec has the ambition to become the leader in robotics solutions for logistics. Its revolutionary robots allow retailers and e-merchants to quadruple their warehouse productivity and increase up to five times their storage capacity. Their autonomous robots can move in a unique three-dimensional pattern at a speed of 13 feet per second, creating a faster and more efficient picking and preparation process. The startup forecasts they will produce up to 4000 robots per year by 2021. 

There is a global need for robotics solutions in warehouses, but logisticians are often concerned to invest in traditional fixed automation in this fast-changing world. This $50 billion market should be supplied with flexible and efficient solutions to fulfill customers’ needs and new shopping timelines. We offer a new generation of warehouse robotics and have the largest deployed and operational systems across three continents,” said Romain Moulin, co-founder and CEO of Exotec....
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Exotec
https://www.eu-startups.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Exotec.jpg

Kiva
http://www.hizook.com/files/users/3/kiva_systems_robot_warehouse_1.jpg 

Alibaba's Quicktron Robots 
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/08/02/16/42E7B2F000000578-4754078-image-a-77_1501688096581.jpg