US-based robotics developer Sarcos Robotics raised a reported $10.5m in funding from investors including construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, software provider Microsoft and industrial product maker General Electric on Monday.
Cottonwood Technology Fund, two undisclosed investment firms and Sarcos co-founders Ben Wolff, Fraser Smith and Marc Olivier also took part in the round. Caterpillar and GE invested through their Caterpillar Ventures and GE Ventures units respectively.
Sarcos did not disclose the amount it had raised directly, but Geekwire reported the round was sized at $10.5m and confirmed the size with a company spokesperson.
Sarcos is working on dexterous robotic systems that can be used for difficult or dangerous jobs in industries like construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, infrastructure inspection, logistics and public safety, and which utilise several Microsoft software platforms.
Originally founded in 1983, the company was purchased by military contractor and industrial equipment maker Raytheon in 2007 before being acquired by a new management team and relaunched in 2014.
Ralph Taylor-Smith, managing director of GE Ventures, has joined the company’s board, along with former Microsoft chief financial officer Peter Klein, Cottonwood Technology Fund general partner Ray Quintana and private investor Dennis Weibling.
Taylor-Smith said: “At GE, advanced manufacturing and robotics are critical to the way we work. The development of dexterous robots for use in unforgiving and unstructured environments is one of the most challenging areas in robotics today.
“Sarcos is successfully tackling these challenges head on and is working with leading robotics experts from GE. We believe the Sarcos team and its technologies have a bright future. We look forward to working together both as a customer and a technology partner.”
Michael Young, Caterpillar Ventures’ managing director, added: “Caterpillar Ventures is pleased to facilitate the connection between Sarcos and our various business units at Caterpillar, and to provide Sarcos with growth capital.
“This will allow us to explore opportunities to utilise Sarcos’ advanced robotics expertise to enhance our product offerings to our customers and get the most from our combined expertise and technologies.”
– Photo courtesy of Sarcos Corp.