$100 Million Raised To Transform Industrial Automation

Collaborative Robotics (or Cobot), a leader in developing practical collaborative robots (cobots), announced it has raised $100 million in Series B funding led by General Catalyst and joined by Bison Ventures, Industry Ventures, and Lux Capital. Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Mayo Clinic, Neo, 1984 Ventures, MVP Ventures, and Calibrate Ventures also joined in this round as well, bringing the total funding raised to over $140 million in under two years. Cobot also announced that Teresa Carlson has joined the company as an Advisor.

Launched in 2022 by former Amazon VP of Robotics and Distinguished Engineer Brad Porter, the Cobot team includes robotics and AI experts from Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, NASA, Waymo, and many others. The new funding round will further expand the team with top talent and advance its commercial deployments. Paul Kwan, Managing Director at General Catalyst, joins Alfred Lin from Sequoia Capital on Collaborative Robotics’ Board of Directors.

Collaborative robots (cobots) are prepared to transform industrial automation by enhancing efficiency, safety, and ROI in manufacturing, healthcare, retail/e-commerce, manufacturing, and more. And Cobots offer broad utility at an affordable cost compared to more complex robots like humanoids.

These machines work with humans to improve productivity and reduce operational costs. And cobots combine the power of automation with human problem-solving, streamlining workflows, alleviating employee strain and reducing errors. The results are better product quality, safer workplaces, and improved processes.

As an Advisor, Carlson will advise and counsel the company on go-to-market at scale and industry transformation. Carlson has a distinguished career leading digital transformation as head of Worldwide Public Sector and Regulated Industries at Amazon Web Services (AWS). And Carlson previously held roles as the SVP and Executive in Residence at Microsoft; VP of Federal Sales and Operations and President and Chief Growth Officer at Splunk; and President and Chief Commercial Officer at Flexport. Carlson is an officer for The Economic Club of Washington, D.C, is the Vice Chair of the White House Historical Association, and a board member of the Pentagon Memorial Fund.

KEY QUOTES:

“Getting our first robots in the field earlier this year, coupled with today’s investment, are major milestones as we bring cobots with human-level capability into the industries of today. We see a virtuous cycle where more robots in the field lead to improved AI and a more cost-effective supply chain. This funding will help us accelerate getting more robots into the real world.”

– Brad Porter, CEO and founder, Collaborative Robotics

“In our view, Brad and Cobot are spearheading the future of human-robot interaction. Their pragmatic approach to developing and deploying capable, versatile and seamless to use robots we think will help accelerate the transformation of industrial automation. We believe the Cobot team is world-class at building the necessary hardware, software, and institutional trust to achieve their vision. Additionally, their focus on user partnership and thoughtful design is deeply aligned with General Catalyst’s stance on Responsible Innovation.”

– Paul Kwan, Managing Director at General Catalyst

“We’re in the early stages of a massive transition as AI drives productivity in the digital and physical world. Collaborative Robotics is well positioned to lead in this space. Brad and his team bring a unique combination of hardware, software and AI expertise, combined with the experience operating and driving change in some of the biggest logistics networks in the world. We’re thrilled to be a partner in this transformation.”

– Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital

“During my time at Amazon, I had the opportunity to partner with Brad on several transformative initiatives. I’m excited to work with Brad again at General Catalyst to transform and scale industrial automation for industries worldwide.”

– Teresa Carlson, General Catalyst Advisor