Paderborn-based Unchained Robotics has closed an €8.5 million Sequence A prolonged funding spherical to scale its expertise internationally and tackle one of many largest hurdles in automation: making robots simple to function by clever software program.
The spherical was supported by Direttissima Progress Companions, Navivo Capital, Future Trade Ventures, vent.io, and D11Z.
“We’ve struck a chord with SMEs: everyone seems to be searching for easy and inexpensive automation options that may be carried out rapidly, with out requiring particular experience,” says Co-founder Mladen Milicevic.
Unchained Robotics was based in 2019 by Kevin Freise and Mladen Milicevic. The impartial automation platform allows shoppers to seek out the best automation expertise for his or her manufacturing processes. Its providing consists of individually configurable options in addition to turnkey programs with unified software program.
In line with Unchained Robotics, automation is usually complicated, costly, and troublesome to adapt inside current operations. Robots sometimes must be programmed manually, usually taking weeks earlier than they’re operational. For a lot of smaller corporations, this can be a main barrier. Unchained Robotics seems to be to alter that.
With its software program LUNA OS, Unchained Robotics has launched a standardised management system that integrates robots from numerous producers into manufacturing environments – like an working system for manufacturing unit robots, as simple to make use of as a smartphone.
Their on-line platform permits corporations to seek for, discover, and combine the best robots instantly into their manufacturing strains. Whether or not it’s palletising or packaging – the corporate additionally gives a versatile turnkey resolution known as the MalocherBot, which may be deployed with out specialised data.
Greater than 300 corporations throughout Europe already use the answer – together with names like Vorwerk, Europe‘s largest direct gross sales firm. “Unchained Robotics’ resolution allowed us to automate rapidly and simply – with none extra programming abilities or lengthy ramp-up instances,” says Joern Compernass, Managing Director of Vorwerk Logistik.
Along with its presence in Europe, Unchained Robotics is now accelerating its enlargement into the U.S. Throughout a number of places, the corporate is launching its first large-scale automation partnership with Albéa Group, a number one producers of beauty packaging. The automation will embrace packaging and palletising – with the aim of reaching opex efficiencies and rising the scalability of native operations.
Greater than 20 robots have already been deployed in factories, with plans to extend that quantity to round 70 sooner or later.
“Unchained Robotics is fixing one of many trade’s key structural issues: the dearth of standardisation. With its working system LUNA OS and the modular Malocherbot cell, robotic automation turns into simply scalable – a vital step for the way forward for manufacturing and logistics”, says Christopher Hoffmann of Direttissima Progress Companions, lead investor within the present financing spherical.
In line with a examine by Stepstone, round 3.7 million employees will depart the German labour market by 2030. Unchained Robotics believes that automation will probably be important to maintaining companies aggressive – particularly in handbook duties like machine loading or palletising.
“We envision a future the place AI-powered robotic programs not solely take over repetitive duties but additionally change into more and more adaptable by steady studying. LUNA OS kinds the essential bridge between clever software program and bodily automation for this objective,“ explains Kevin Freise, Co-founder of Unchained Robotics.
