Automation Technology Raises $26 Million in Funding from Investors, Including Tyson Ventures, Johnsonville
Soft Robotics’ Inc. (SRI) recently announced the company has raised $26 million in an initial Series C, led by Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, and onboarded new investors, Marel and Johnsonville, to expand commercial deployment of its mGripAI robotic picking solutions.
The system combines “ultra-fast 3D vision and artificial intelligence technologies” to create a robot with human-like, hand-eye coordination to automate bulk picking processes throughout the protein, produce, dairy, baked goods and prepared foods operations.
“SRI's technologies are increasingly crucial to enabling and scaling efficient and safe production of several food categories. This round of growth capital strengthens SRI's ability to rapidly develop, deploy and support those technologies,” says Jeff Beck, CEO of SRI.
Mark Chiappetta, COO of SRI, adds that for decades, food producers have been unable to automate many of the most labor-intensive, bulk production processes using robots. This technology will increase throughput, improve food quality, reduce facility footprint and break the critical dependence on labor across all stages of food production.
Companies, such as Tyson Foods and Johnsonville, look to robotic automation to help improve safety and increase production in their facilities to meet the demand for high quality, safe and nutritious protein products.
"At Tyson, we are continually exploring new areas in automation that can enhance safety and increase the productivity of our team members," says Rahul Ray, senior director of Tyson Ventures. "Soft Robotics' revolutionary robotic technology, computer vision and AI platform have the potential to transform the food industry and will play a key role in any company's automation journey."
As the global demand for quality and sustainability produced food increases at a time of labor scarcity, food producers struggle to meet supply demands. As a result, SRI has experienced a rapid surge in demand for its technology solutions, says the release.
Soft Robotics, headquartered in Boston, Mass., has received support from several investors, including ABB, Calibrate Ventures, FANUC, Johnsonville, Marel, Material Impact, Scale Venture Partners, Tekfen and Tyson.
