The bustling sector of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for warehouse fulfillment work gained another well-funded player this week when Japanese startup Rapyuta Robotics Co. Ltd. said it had landed $51 million in funding from the investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Backed by that “series C” funding round that brings its total capital raised to $81 million, Rapyuta says it will accelerate the expansion of its robotics solutions and artificial intelligence technologies.
Founded in 2014, the firm says its collaborative pick-assist robots (Rapyuta PA-AMR) and cloud robotics platform, rapyuta.io, can help logistics companies to boost productivity. Specifically, the automation Japanese companies to address the country’s pervasive problems of an aging population, low birth rate, and chronic labor shortage, Rapyuta says.
“While the global logistics industry is rapidly expanding due to rising e-commerce demand, it faces a wave of digitization and a challenge of labor shortage. As the industry seeks automation solutions to improve efficiency, we are optimistic about the growth of Rapyuta Robotics as a pioneer in cloud robotics platforms,” Stephanie Hui, global co-head of Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
