Harvard-founded industrial robot supplier Soft Robotics welcomed corporates Yamaha, Honeywell, Fanuc and Tekfen for its series B round.
Soft Robotics, a US-based robotic technology spinout of Harvard University, yesterday raised $23m in a series B round co-led by Calibrate Ventures and Material Impact.
Conglomerates Yamaha and Tekfen, industrial appliance manufacturer Honeywell and industrial robot supplier Fanuc contributed to the round, as did Scale Venture Partners.
Founded in 2012, Soft Robotics develops padded robotic grippers that gently grasp objects in order to automate supply chain tasks involving unstructured and delicate items. The tools deploy artificial intelligence-driven machine vision to evaluate objects.
The spinout targets applications such as food packaging and consumer goods returns. The cash will go toward Soft Robotics’ growth strategy following the introduction of its mGrip product to Fanuc robotic systems under a strategic partnership deal.
Soft Robotics was forged from Harvard research led by George Whitesides, the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers professor in the department of chemistry and chemical biology.
