Veo Robotics awarded by World Economic Forum for industrial robot safety technology

Veo Robotics, a Massachusetts-based company building technology to make industrial robots safe for humans in manufacturing environments, has been named one of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers.

The robotics company provides standard industrial robots the ability to perceive and respond to their surroundings so they can work safely alongside humans.

As of February 2019, Veo had raised $28 million in venture capital funding from investors such as Google Ventures, Lux Capital Management, Siemens Next47, Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund, SBI AI & Blockchain Fund, and Baidu Ventures. Veo currently partners with four major robot manufacturers FANUC, Yaskawa, ABB and KUKA.

The World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers are early- to growth-stage companies from around the world that are involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations, and are poised to have a significant impact on business and society.

Many of the 2020 Technology Pioneer firms are working on advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain and biotechnology.

As a result of Veo Robotics’ selection as a Technology Pioneer, CEO Patrick Sobalvarro will be invited to participate at The World Economic Forum activities, events and discussions throughout the year.

Veo Robotics will also contribute to The World Economic Forum initiatives over the next two years, working with policymakers and private sector leaders to help define the global agenda on key issues.

“With our technology, we aim to improve productivity, safety and working conditions in factory environments through dynamic human-machine collaboration,” says Sobalvarro, co-founder and CEO of Veo Robotics.

“The need for flexible automation in manufacturing is more important than ever in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to contributing our expertise and perspective to The World Economic Forum dialogues on the inevitable transformation of the industry.”

This year’s cohort selection marks the 20th anniversary of the Technology Pioneers community, which includes past recipients such as Airbnb, Google, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Spotify, Twitter and Wikimedia.

The Technology Pioneers were selected based on the community’s selection criteria, which includes innovation, impact, and leadership as well as the company’s relevance with the World Economic Forum’s Platforms.