36 robotics investments accounted for US $620M, with funding for firms providing drone enabled data and analytics services particularly strong.

February 2023 Robotics Investments Total $620 Million

Robotics funding for the month of February 2023 totaled $620M (See Table 1, below or download Table 1 HERE), the result of 36 investments. The February investments bring the 2023 totals to approximately $1.14B.

Companies offering unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), usually coupled with drone enabled data and analytics services, were particularly strong in February, with firms receiving sizable mid to late stage funding rounds. These providers typically focus on surveying and inspection applications for their offerings, with construction, agriculture, utilities and energy sectors as the target markets. Examples include Skydio ($230M, Series E), Fulfil Solutions ($60M, Series B), Garuda Aerospace ($22M, Series A), and i-KINGTEC ($20M, Series C). UK based DRONAMICS landed $40M in Seed round funding.


Table 1: February 2023 Robotics Funding and Investment

COMPANY AMOUNT TYPE COUNTRY TECH, PROD & SERVICES DESCRIPTION
AirGo $2,700,000 Seed Oman Operator Services – Drones, Data Acquisition / Processing / Management AirGo offers drone operations services.
Aniai $3,000,000 Seed USA Other Commercial Aniai has developed a robotic kitchen for quick service restaurants.
Apptronik $10,000,000 Other USA Humanoids / Bipeds Apptronik builds and designs humanoid robotics systems.
Ascento $162,543 Grant Switzerland Indoor Mobile Platforms, Outdoor Mobile Platforms Ascento offers a two-wheeled jumping robot designed for mixed environments.
Asylon Estimate Series A USA Quadrupeds, Outdoor Mobile Platforms Asylon provides perimeter security solutions using quadrapedal robots and drones.
Aurrigo International $867,136 Grant UK Outdoor Mobile Platforms, Autonomous Transportation Systems (Auto, Truck, Monorail etc.) Aurrigo offers self-driving autonomous vehicles for airport baggage cargo handling and passenger vehicles
CaPow $7,500,000 Seed Israel Power Supplies CaPow offers a solution that provides contonious power to automated robotics fleets.
Deus Robotics $1,500,000 Seed Ukraine Indoor Mobile Platforms Deus Robotics produces mobile robotics solutions for logistics operations.
DRONAMICS $40,000,000 Seed UK Drones, Networking / Connectivity, Sensors / Sensing Systems DRONAMICS provides unmanned aerial systems for commercial shipping and special cargo applications.
Fly X Aerospace $20,542 Seed India Drones, Operator Services – Drones, Data Acquisition / Processing / Management Fly-x Aerospace provides design, development and customization solutions for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
Fortem Technologies $17,800,000 Other USA Drones, Networking / Connectivity, Sensors / Sensing Systems Fortem Technologies provides airspace awareness, security, and defense solutions for detecting and defeating dangerous drones using distributed radar and autonomous drone capture.
Fulfil Solutions $60,000,000 Series B USA Indoor Mobile Platforms, Software Fulfil provides a robotic automation solution for grocery store and other retail e-commerce firms.
Garuda Aerospace $22,000,000 Series A India Drones, Operator Services – Drones Garuda Aerospace develops unmanned aerial vehicles and drones for the defense and aerospace sectors.
Huanzhi Technology $4,405,631 Other China Forklift AGVs, Indoor Mobile Platforms Huanzhi Technology offers integrated logistical solutions such as robots and unmanned control systems for industrial and dispatch vehicles.
i-KINGTEC Estimate Series C China Drones, Drones, Data Acquisition / Processing / Management i-KINGTEC is a developer of intelligent industrial drone and UAV systems.
Indrones $847,475 Other India Drones, Operator Services – Drones, Software Indrones provides high-resolution data services solutions using drones for applications across many industries.
IVEX $2,442,238 Seed Belgium Software, Sensors / Sensing Systems IVEX develops safety co-pilot technologies for autonomous cars.
Kinetic Technologies $175,000 Other USA Other Industrial Kinetic Technologies is an engineering design and build firm that offers the RT1, a robot-controlled rotary table designed to maximize welding productivity.
Kiwibot $10,000,000 Other USA Outdoor Mobile Platforms Kiwibot designs and manufactures a fleet of mobile robots used for food delivery on college campuses.
Linebird $75,000 Grant USA Drones, Other, Data Acquisition / Processing / Management Linebird provides drone-based automation solutions for utilities.
Muniu Technology $14,361,213 Series C China Sensors / Sensing Systems Muniu Technology is a provider of millimeter-wave radar intelligent system solutions for autonomous driving, smart transportation, and intelligent IoT.
Nanoflex Robotics $12,000,000 Series A Switzerland Surgical / Interventional Systems Nanoflex Robotics, a spin-off from ETH Zurich, provides advancing robotic technologies for surgical interventions for the treatment of ischemic stroke.
Oinride Oy $16,208 Pre-Seed Finland Outdoor Mobile Platforms, Software Oinride Oy offers intelligent robots for operation in hazardous environments.
Orthopus $2,180,929 Seed France Rehabilitation / Therapeutic Systems Orthopus produces robotic assistive devices for arm mobility.
Passion Intelligence Estimate Series B China Indoor Mobile Platforms, Automated Guide Vehicles Passion Intelligence is a provider of automated robotic solutions and services for warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing processes.
PuduTech $15,000,000 Series C China Indoor Mobile Platforms PuduTech offers autonomous delivery robots for the home care, food service, and catering industries.
Skydio $230,000,000 Series E USA Drones, Software, Sensors / Sensing Systems Skydio produces drone and enabling technologies that are used by consumer, enterprise, and government customers.
sliQue Robotics Estimate Seed USA Indoor Mobile Platforms sliQue Robotics develops mobile robots and other technologies for various commercial sectors.
SwarmFarm Robotics $8,384,636 Series A Australia Outdoor Mobile Platforms ADAMA offers robotics platforms for efficient and sustainable agriculture.
TETRA ELC Estimate Series B China Indoor Mobile Platforms, Outdoor Mobile Platforms TETRA ELC is a manufacturer of robotic equipment that provides robotics sensing, operation and maintenance solutions for the energy industry.
ThayerMahan $30,549,982 Other USA Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, Unmanned Surface Vehicles ThayerMahan is a provider of marine robotic solutions for the government and industry.
Third Wave Automation $15,000,000 Other USA Sensors / Sensing Systems, Controllers Third Wave Automation offers a controls and sensor package that can retrofit existing fork trucks making them autonomous or controlled remotely.
Toggle Robotics $3,000,000 Series A USA Articulated Robots, Software Toggle Robotics uses robotics hardware, software, and services to automate the pre-assembly of construction materials.
ZD Medtech $14,592,149 Series B China Rehabilitation / Therapeutic Systems ZD Medtech is a company specializing in the development and application of intelligent rehabilitation robots.
Zeabuz $1,947,089 Other Norway Unmanned Surface Vehicles, Operator Services – USVs Zeabuz offers autonomy-as-a-service platform to urban ferry operators.
Zeitview (formerly DroneBase) $55,000,000 Series E USA Drones, Operator Services – Drones, Data Acquisition / Processing / Management Zeitview is a data analytics provider that via aerial drone services.


Companies located in the USA received the most rounds (14) and the most funding ($436M), dwarfing other countries (Figure 1). Investment into Chinese firms came in at a distant second (7 rounds for a total of $81M).


February 2023 Robotics Investments

Figure 1: February 2023 Robotics Investment by Country


All funding types were well represented in the February 2023 investment survey (Figure 2). Series E rounds accounting for the bulk of the funding amounts, bouyed by investments into drone data services providers Zeitview (formerly DroneBase) and Skydio , at $55M and $230M, respectively (Figure 3).


February 2023 Robotics Investments

Figure 2: February 2023 Robotics Funding Amounts by Investment Type


February 2023 Robotics Investments

Figure 3: February 2023 Robotics Funding Amounts by Investment Number and Amounts


Editors’ note: What defines robotics investments? The answer to this simple question is central in any attempt to quantify them with some degree of rigor. To make investment analyses consistent, repeatable, and valuable, it is critical to wring out as much subjectivity as possible during the evaluation process. This begins with a definition of terms and a description of assumptions.

Investors and investing
Investment should come from venture capital firms, corporate investment groups, angel investors, and other sources. Friends-and-family investments, government/non-governmental agency grants, and crowd-sourced funding are excluded.

Robotics and intelligent systems companies
Robotics companies must generate or expect to generate revenue from the production of robotics products (that sense, analyze, and act in the physical world), hardware or software subsystems and enabling technologies for robots, or services supporting robotics devices. For this analysis, autonomous vehicles (including technologies that support autonomous driving) and drones are considered robots, while 3D printers, CNC systems, and various types of “hard” automation are not.

Companies that are “robotic” in name only, or use the term “robot” to describe products and services that that do not enable or support devices acting in the physical world, are excluded. For example, this includes “software robots” and robotic process automation. Many firms have multiple locations in different countries. Company locations given in the analysis are based on the publicly listed headquarters in legal documents, press releases, etc.

Verification
Funding information is collected from a number of public and private sources. These include press releases from corporations and investment groups, corporate briefings, imarket research firms, and association and industry publications. In addition, information comes from sessions at conferences and seminars, as well as during private interviews with industry representatives, investors, and others. Unverifiable investments are excluded and estimates are made where investment amounts are not provided or are unclear.