Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Vecna Robotics adds another $40 million in venture backing

Complete “series C” round totals $100 million in backing as company plans to develop new robots for tasks in warehousing and distribution.

vecna Screenshot 2024-06-20 at 2.31.28 PM.png

Material handling automation vendor Vecna Robotics has raised another $40 million in venture funding to fuel its plans to expand ground-to-ground and low-lift workflow capabilities and develop of new robots for tasks in warehousing and distribution, the Waltham, Massachusetts company said today.

Today’s news marks the closing of the firm’s “series C” fundraising round, which had previously collected $65 million in backing, announced in 2022. That complete round now totals some $100 million, and nearly doubles the company’s valuation from its previous round. The fresh funds came from the investors Tiger Global Management, Proficio Capital Partners, and IMPULSE.


The cash infusion will be used to fund new workflow-specific innovations that enable the company to deliver rapid ROI to cost conscious warehouse operators served by the $165 billion pallet-moving autonomy market, Vecna said. Over the past year, the company said it has combined cloud software updates and investments in its Pivotal Command Center to help customers like GEODIS, FedEx, Caterpillar, and Shape to realize upwards of 70% performance improvements in ground-to-ground warehouse workflows like case picking, packaging, and cross-docking.

In an independent announcement, Vecna also named a new chief operating officer, saying Michael Helmbrecht would help support its planned rapid expansion. Following experience at Dell, Lifesize, and Ring Central, the new executive will oversee operations, manufacturing, IT, product, and customer success.

 

 

 

 

 

The Latest

More Stories

two women shopping and buying goods

Study: Over 15% of all retail returns in 2024 were fraudulent

As retailers enter 2025, they continue struggling to slow the flood of returns fraud, which represented 15.14%--or nearly one-sixth—of all product returns in 2024, according to a report from Appriss Retail and Deloitte.

That percentage is even greater than the 13.21% of total retail sales that were returned. Measured in dollars, returns (including both legitimate and fraudulent) last year reached $685 billion out of the $5.19 trillion in total retail sales.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

a collage of bioelements packaging
Photo courtesy of Bioelements Group

Composting isn’t just for food waste anymore

The next time you buy a loaf of bread or a pack of paper towels, take a moment to consider the future that awaits the plastic it’s wrapped in. That future isn’t pretty: Given that most conventional plastics take up to 400 years to decompose, in all likelihood, that plastic will spend the next several centuries rotting in a landfill somewhere.

But a Santiago, Chile-based company called Bioelements Group says it has developed a more planet-friendly alternative. The firm, which specializes in biobased, biodegradable, and compostable packaging, says its Bio E-8i film can be broken down by fungi and other microorganisms in just three to 20 months. It adds that the film, which it describes as “durable and attractive,” complies with the regulations of each country in which Bioelements currently operates.

Keep ReadingShow less
Transportation leaders to meet January 5-9

Transportation leaders to meet January 5-9

Transportation leaders, policymakers, administrators, and researchers from government, industry, and academia will gather January 5-9, 2025, in Washington, D.C., for the 104th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), sponsored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The meeting’s program covers all modes of transportation and features hundreds of sessions and workshops on various transportation-related topics. The theme for this year’s conference is how innovations in technology, business, and processes help support transportation’s role in a thriving society, according to TRB.

Keep ReadingShow less
a saia ltl freight truck on the road
Photo courtesy of Saia

Saia celebrates 100 years in trucking

When the trucking giant known as Saia LTL Freight was founded back in 1924, the “company” consisted of just one employee, Louis Saia Sr. of Houma, Louisiana. And it didn’t own a single truck: Saia removed the rear seats from his family car in order to haul his customers’ goods to New Orleans, where he traveled to pick up produce.

One hundred years later, the firm has been bought and sold, acquired some competitors, and moved to Johns Creek, Georgia. And it has added a few more workers. Saia today employs more than 15,000 people who operate 213 terminals across the country and a fleet of over 6,500 tractors and 22,000 trailers.

Keep ReadingShow less
2024 International Foodservice Distributor Association’s (IFDA) National Championship

2024 International Foodservice Distributor Association’s (IFDA) National Championship

Truckers, warehouse workers get some love

It’s probably safe to say that no one chooses a career in logistics for the glory. But even those accustomed to toiling in obscurity appreciate a little recognition now and then—particularly when it comes from the people they love best: their kids.

That familial love was on full display at the 2024 International Foodservice Distributor Association’s (IFDA) National Championship, which brings together foodservice distribution professionals to demonstrate their expertise in driving, warehouse operations, safety, and operational efficiency. For the eighth year, the event included a Kids Essay Contest, where children of participants were encouraged to share why they are proud of their parents or guardians and the work they do.

Keep ReadingShow less