US-based logistics robot manufacturer Fetch Robotics on Tuesday received $46m in series C funding on Tuesday from investors including communications services provider Redwood Technologies, media group O’Reilly and telecommunications firm SoftBank.
Venture capital firm Fort Ross Ventures led the round, which included Ceas Investments, TransLink Capital, Zebra Ventures, Shasta Ventures and Sway Ventures, while O’Reilly and SoftBank invested through O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV) and SoftBank Capital respectively.
Founded in 2014, Fetch markets robots that automate tasks in warehouses and other logistics settings using instructions issued through its cloud-based software platform, giving customers greater flexibility compared to conventional logistics machinery.
The company’s offering includes a robot called CartConnect, which relies on sensors to automatically move warehouse materials to a given location, and TagSurveyor, which automates inventory checks.
SoftBank subsidiary SB Group led a $20m series A round for Fetch Robotics in June 2015 that was also backed by OATV and Shasta Ventures. The same trio returned for Fetch’s $25m series B round, which was led by Sway Ventures, two years later.
OATV and Shasta Ventures had already supplied Fetch with $3m in February 2015, in a round also billed as a series A, meaning the funding could have been rolled into the subsequent round four months later.