US-based automated warehouse fulfilment technology developer 6 River Systems (6RS) raised $25m in a series B round yesterday backed by consumer robotics producer iRobot.
Menlo Ventures led the round, which also featured Norwest Venture Partners and Eclipse Ventures.
6RS has developed a collaborative fulfilment robot, called Chuck, that can increase two to three times in pick rates in warehouses. The robot is currently in use with three large-scale logistics providers and several retailers across the world.
The investment will drive further development of Chuck and allow 6RS to hire more than 80 additional staff over the next 12 months.
Norwest previously led a $15m series A round in July 2017 that included unnamed existing investors. In 2016, iRobot had already contributed to a $6m seed round, led by Eclipse.
Matt Murphy, partner at Menlo Ventures, said: “The hypergrowth in e-commerce and demand for near real-time delivery of goods has put enormous pressure on the logistics, operations and workforce of virtually every retailer.
“6 River Systems’ smart, autonomous robot and next-gen fulfilment system is the ideal solution to the problem. The 6RS team’s background at Kiva Systems, the first generation of mobile robots for warehouses, has uniquely qualified them to innovate quickly, execute to the market needs, and build a leadership position in a massive market with a huge pain point.”