Rapid Robotics Inc. has reportedly announced a Series B funding of USD 36.7 million initiated by Tiger Global and Kleiner Perkins. Back in April 2021, the robotic manufacturing company from Bay Area raised a Series A funding of USD 12 million.
The funding round, which also featured current investors Greycroft, NEA, 468 Capital, and Bee Partners brings the total funding of the company to around USD 54.2 million.
This funding brings the company valuation to USD 192.5 million, which is a commendable amount for a company that was raising seed funding in 2020. This Series B is the third round of the company in less than a year, undoubtedly stimulated by the massive interest in automation and robotics being boosted by the global pandemic that seems to be endless.
As firms look for options for non-essential workers, investments in these technologies have increased significantly. Bottlenecks in manufacturing throughout the pandemic have also brought the necessity for global and flexible production under focus.
The value prop of Rapid is an RMO (Rapid Machine Operator) robot that can be positioned in a production setting in no time, without the necessity for programming and other knowledge of robotics. The system is available under the robotics as a service (RaaS) model for USD 25,000 a year. The flexible system can accommodate different tasks, which is a great feature for companies that cannot afford dedicated systems.
Jordan Kretchmer, the Chief Executive Officer of Rapid Robotics, apparently commented that the semiconductor shortage is just one part of a much broader issue, where contract manufacturers are unable to manufacture vials, labels, gaskets. Kretchmer also alluded to cases where an entire auto line was forced to stop due to the inability of producing a single U-shaped black plastic piece.
While Rapid targets the automotive sector, the firm has noted that TruePill, a Bay-Area-based health company, is now engaging its systems to label and fill prescription bottles.
Source credits:
https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/18/rapid-robotics-raises-another-36-7m/