Sway Ventures leads $25M investment in Fetch Robotics

Dec. 6, 2017 – Fetch Robotics, a provider of collaborative autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solutions, today announced that it has raised US$25 million in Series B funding.

The round was led by Sway Ventures with participation from existing investors O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Shasta Ventures and SB Group US (Softbank). The Series B round brings Fetch Robotics’ total funding to date to $48 million. The new capital will be used to help meet growing customer demand for Fetch Robotics’ approach to delivering intralogistic technologies and systems, it says.
 
“We are seeing first-hand that the growth in e-commerce and an expanding on-demand economy are contributing to unprecedented labor challenges faced by the $5-trillion global logistics industry,” said Melonee Wise, Fetch Robotics CEO. “With labour in short supply, our customers are still able to quickly realize significant, measurable productivity increases by deploying our autonomous mobile robots.”

Deployed in warehouses, factories and distribution centres in multinational companies around the world, Fetch Robotics’ AMRs don’t require software installation or changes to a facility. After a single drive-through, the FetchCore software builds a map of the facility that all robots use for navigation, allowing them to travel anywhere they need to go. AMRs use onboard intelligence to help them avoid obstacles and ensure safety, adapting as they go and sharing what they learn, describes the company, adding that FetchCore provides an intuitive interface for creating and managing workflows and supports powerful analytics for optimizing material flow, finding misplaced inventory, and minimizing inventory shrinkage.  

“The warehouse and logistics automation market is estimated at over $40 billion today, and is poised to double over the next five years,” said Brian Nugent, founding general partner at Sway Ventures. “Our investment in Fetch complements and extends our portfolio of exceptional leaders who are transforming the global supply chain.”
 
Brian Nugent from Sway Ventures will be added to Fetch Robotics’ board of directors, joining existing board members Wise, Bryce Roberts from O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Rob Coneybeer from Shasta Ventures, Lydia Jett from Softbank, and Steve Hogan from Tech-Rx.