France-based logistics-focused robotics technology developer Exotec raised a $335m series D round, which included computing technology producer Dell through its corporate venturing vehicle Dell Technologies Capital. Investment bank Goldman Sachs’ Asset Management unit led the round via its growth equity division. The round reportedly valued the company at $2bn. It also featured venture capital firm 83North.
Launched in 2015, Exotec has developed an automated robot system dubbed Skypod to help warehouse workers manage and retrieve inventory. The robots are up to 12 metres in height and intended to boost operational efficiency. Exotec works with various supply chain providers across the e-commerce, grocery, retail, manufacturing and third-party logistics sectors and boasts some 300 employees globally. The fresh funding is meant to help it expand presence across North America, Europe and Asia. The company will seek to employ 500 research and development engineers by 2025 to further improve its warehouse automation.
Exotec is part of the broader robotics and drone tech space, which has attracted much interest among corporate venture investors over the years, as the GCV Analytics bar chart below illustrates. The number of corporate-backed deals in such businesses has multiplied several times in the latter half of the past decade and so have the total estimated dollars in them. In 2021, we reported 84 deals in such businesses, worth an estimated $3.22bn, compared to just 17 deals, worth an estimated $464m in 2015.
