{"id":80684,"date":"2025-02-24T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=80684"},"modified":"2025-02-24T09:10:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T14:10:00","slug":"autonomous-warehouse-robot-maker-ati-scores-20-million-series-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=80684","title":{"rendered":"Autonomous warehouse robot maker Ati scores $20 million Series B"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\"Ati<\/figure>\n

Automation and warehouse robots have been changing the way we ship and store goods for decades. In a post-Altman\/OpenAI world, though, we get to call that kind of autonomous operation \u201cAI\u201d and slap a multimillion dollar valuation on it \u2013\u00a0which is exactly what Ati Motors did.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t get me wrong, Ati Motors seems like a solid company. Not only are their Sherpa robots perfectly fine products, the company itself is experiencing a hockey stick of growth \u2013\u00a0nearly tripling its orders in 2024 from the year before. With that in mind, the $20 million\u00a0Series B investment, led by\u00a0Walden Catalyst Ventures (WCV)\u00a0and NGP Capital (NGP)\u00a0with participation from current investors including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners and Blume Ventures, seems more like smart business and less like a late addition to the AI hype train.<\/p>\n

For their part, the executives at Walden and NPG seem to agree.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to co-lead this investment in Ati Motors,\u201d says\u00a0Upal Basu\u00a0at NGP Capital. \u201cThe company\u2019s ability to successfully deploy fully autonomous mobile robots across diverse industrial environments, combined with their rapidly growing customer base, makes them a standout in the industrial automation space. We believe their unique approach to combining Edge AI, LIDAR, and robotics will help address a critical need in the manufacturing sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sherpa Tug can haul 1,000 kg<\/h2>\n
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Ati Sherpa is at home indoors and outdoors; via Ati Motors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With both outdoor and indoor capabilities, the autonomous Sherpas are a natural fit for warehouses like Amazon<\/a> and IKEA<\/a> locations, but the bigger, 1,000 kg units could be suitable as airport luggage tugs<\/a>, as well.<\/p>\n

Ati\u2019s press material says its autonomous Sherpa robots will \u201cchange the way you work, without you changing a thing, \u201cadding that they are, \u201cprogrammed to safely and seamlessly integrate into your existing workspace, workflow and workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sherpa robots feature 360 degree cameras and lidar sensors to constantly map their surroundings, as well as autonomous obstacle avoidance and automatic parking features. Their compact, li-ion battery packs are modular, good for up to 8 hours of continuous operation (depending on model), and can be easily swapped by a human operator in a matter of seconds.<\/p>\n

Presumably, the batteries could also be swapped by a different Ati robot in a few more seconds, but that seems dystopian AF. Besides, the little Sherpas are undeniably adorable \u2013\u00a0so it\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n

Watch the video for the autonomous Sherpa PalletMover, below, then let us know what you think in the comments. (While you do that, I\u2019m going to watch Wall-E<\/em> again.)<\/p>\n

Ati Sherpa \u2013\u00a0forklift certified<\/h2>\n
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