In lieu of the pandemic’s impact on the supply chain, tech startups are evolving to develop what is called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which aims to streamline the production of everyday items through artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing and more.
In the first half of 2021, $1.4 billion in venture capital was invested into the industrial automation sector, according to Crunchbase. And the trend seems to be continuing this year.
RightHand Robotics, a Boston-based robotic packing fulfillment startup, is one of many tech companies in the space that has raked in recent investment. On Thursday, the startup announced it raised a $66 million Series C round co-led by Safar Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners and SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
“The past few years have been an incredibly exciting time for us,” Yaro Tenzer, CEO and co-founder of RightHand Robotics, said in a statement. “This Series C funding round attracted top-tier investors who know the space and share our vision that piece-picking automation enables predictable throughput with lights-out item handling while meeting customer needs for scalable fulfillment services.”
RightHand Robotics will use the funding to accelerate production and business development, while also increasing its global reach. Additionally, the funding will go toward hiring local and remote roles. More than 30 roles are currently up for grabs.
Large businesses use RightHand Robotics’ technology to sort through items to fulfill supply chain and e-commerce orders.
“Labor shortages are stretching global fulfillment to [a] breaking point, prompting companies to invest more in automation to help improve efficiency and reliability,” Ram Trichur, partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in a statement. “We believe that RightHand Robotics is a leader in supply chain logistics with a flexible, full-stack platform that can be integrated directly into customers’ existing systems.”
