Ultra Robotics Corp. announced today that it has raised $62 million in two rounds of funding.
Fortune reported that the company raised the majority of the capital, $50 million, through a Series A investment led by Framework Ventures. Ultra’s seed round was co-led by Y Combinator and NextView Ventures.
Ultra sells a warehouse robot called OP1 Operator. It resembles a humanoid robot attached to the end of a traditional robotic arm. The operator OP1 uses a pair of grippers in the form of forklift tines for his work.
The robot has a vertical reach of up to 10 feet, allowing it to pick goods from warehouse shelves. If an item accidentally falls to the ground, the OP1 staff member can pick it up.
The inbound shipments a warehouse receives often combine many different types of items in the same container. For example, an electronics supplier might group together components that belong to the same laptop series. In such situations, warehouse operators divide the contents of the container into bins, each containing a single type of component. This makes it easier to process the goods for shipping.
According to Ultra, the OP1 operator can automate the task. It can also perform kitting, which is essentially the reverse process. In kitting mode, the OP1 operator mixes items from different storage containers and adds them to the same package. This is required when a buyer orders multiple items from an online store.
The OP1 operator also handles the final packaging phase of the workflow. It can place the items assembled in the kitting phase in a package, close it and attach a shipping label. Ultra says OP1 Operator supports multiple packaging types, including envelopes and plastic bags.
The robot is mounted on a flat base with wheels. There is no motor: workers can move the OP1 operator between different warehouse sections by manually rolling it. Once the robot is in place, the wheels lock to prevent it from tipping over.
The OP1 Operator plugs into a standard power outlet, eliminating the need to charge and maintain batteries. A second cable connects it to the local network. The OP1 operator’s computer uses the connection to share data from the onboard sensors with other robots. Ultra uses the data to improve the artificial intelligence models that power its hardware.
The company says its AI models do not require extensive configuration from customers. This means OP1 Operator can be set up in just a few hours. Ultra claims a single unit is capable of processing up to 1,000 items per day once up and running.
“The robots that actually change the world are the ones that do valuable work for real people,” said Ultra founder and CEO Jon Miller Schwartz. “And this isn’t a distant dream. It’s happening right now.”
Ultra will use the new capital to fund technical initiatives and expand the adoption of its robots.
Photo: Ultra Robotics
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