Paderborn-based Unchained Robotics has closed an €8.5 million Collection A prolonged funding spherical to scale its expertise internationally and handle one of many largest hurdles in automation: making robots straightforward to function via clever software program.
The spherical was supported by Direttissima Progress Companions, Navivo Capital, Future Trade Ventures, vent.io, and D11Z.
“We’ve struck a chord with SMEs: everyone seems to be searching for easy and inexpensive automation options that may be applied rapidly, with out requiring particular experience,” says Co-founder Mladen Milicevic.
Unchained Robotics was based in 2019 by Kevin Freise and Mladen Milicevic. The unbiased automation platform permits purchasers to search out the suitable automation expertise for his or her manufacturing processes. Its providing contains individually configurable options in addition to turnkey techniques with unified software program.
In accordance with Unchained Robotics, automation is usually advanced, costly, and troublesome to adapt inside current operations. Robots usually have to be programmed manually, typically taking weeks earlier than they’re operational. For a lot of smaller firms, it is a main barrier. Unchained Robotics seems to vary that.
With its software program LUNA OS, Unchained Robotics has launched a standardised management system that integrates robots from numerous producers into manufacturing environments – like an working system for manufacturing unit robots, as straightforward to make use of as a smartphone.
Their on-line platform permits firms to seek for, discover, and combine the suitable robots straight into their manufacturing strains. Whether or not it’s palletising or packaging – the corporate additionally presents a versatile turnkey answer known as the MalocherBot, which might be deployed with out specialised information.
Greater than 300 firms throughout Europe already use the answer – together with names like Vorwerk, Europe‘s largest direct gross sales firm. “Unchained Robotics’ answer allowed us to automate rapidly and simply – with none further programming abilities or lengthy ramp-up occasions,” says Joern Compernass, Managing Director of Vorwerk Logistik.
Along with its presence in Europe, Unchained Robotics is now accelerating its enlargement into the U.S. Throughout a number of places, the corporate is launching its first large-scale automation partnership with Albéa Group, a number one producers of beauty packaging. The automation will embody packaging and palletising – with the objective of attaining opex efficiencies and rising the scalability of native operations.
Greater than 20 robots have already been deployed in factories, with plans to extend that quantity to round 70 sooner or later.
“Unchained Robotics is fixing one of many business’s key structural issues: the shortage of standardisation. With its working system LUNA OS and the modular Malocherbot cell, robotic automation turns into simply scalable – an important step for the way forward for manufacturing and logistics”, says Christopher Hoffmann of Direttissima Progress Companions, lead investor within the present financing spherical.
In accordance with a research by Stepstone, round 3.7 million employees will depart the German labour market by 2030. Unchained Robotics believes that automation shall be important to retaining companies aggressive – particularly in handbook duties like machine loading or palletising.
“We envision a future the place AI-powered robotic techniques not solely take over repetitive duties but in addition develop into more and more adaptable via steady studying. LUNA OS types the essential bridge between clever software program and bodily automation for this function,“ explains Kevin Freise, Co-founder of Unchained Robotics.
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