As we head into holiday shopping season, here’s some news on the e-commerce warehouse front. Locus Robotics, based in Wilmington, MA, says it has secured $25 million in Series B funding led by Scale Venture Partners. The new money brings Locus Robotics’ total venture haul to at least $33 million.
Founded in 2015, Locus Robotics makes mobile robots and software for use in fulfillment warehouses; the system is designed to work collaboratively with human workers to speed up the order fulfillment process (and reduce operating expenses). Locus’s customers include DHL Supply Chain.
As part of a prepared statement, Locus CEO Rick Faulk said, “In an economy largely dominated by Amazon, Locus arms independent operators with the means to compete effectively.”
Locus faces growing competition in warehouse automation and logistics. Amazon acquired warehouse robotics firm Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012. Since then, a handful of robotics companies in the Boston area and elsewhere have made progress in this market. They include 6 River Systems, Fetch Robotics, RightHand Robotics, and Vecna.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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