Since the beginning of this year, Tracxn—which touts itself as “the research partner of choice for 850+ Investors, Corporates and Government bodies across the globe”—has been releasing a series of lists covering the top emerging startups for 2022 in various industries and sectors. Each list categorizes the companies included as “Unicorns,” “Soonicorns,” and “Minicorns.”
As noted in our article last week, “Autonomous Unloading Robots: Two Companies Making a Big Impact,” Fox Robotics made Tracxn’s 2021 list as a “top emerging startup in the Professional Startup Robots space.”
This week, we thought it’d be interesting to see what robotics companies made Tracxn’s 2022 list for the logistics sector.
In early November, Tracxn published “Emerging Startups 2022: Top Logistics Tech Startups”—which includes the following 17 companies that offer some type of robotic solution for logistics. Although the Tracxn list includes “Unicorns,” “Soonicorns,” and “Minicorns,” the robotics companies listed fell within the first two categories only—which is why that’s all we’re including here.
For each company highlighted below, a short Tracxn description is provided—which includes the company’s start date and location—as well as a brief description from the company’s website. A sample video is also included for each to provide a glimpse of the offering. Since many of the companies have multiple products and offerings, please visit the companies’ video channels for more.
But before we dig in, here’s a little background on how Tracxn came up with its results.
Emerging Startups 2022: Top Logistics Tech Startups
According to Tracxn, the “Logistics Tech sector is one of the most active sectors for investors, with an overall funding of USD 118B in 3.74K companies.” The research firm also notes that “around half of the funding has been raised in the last 3 years (2019-2021).”
The following provides further insight into the selection and categorization process:
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“The Emerging Startup Series comprises of Unicorns – companies with over $1 billion valuation, Soonicorns – companies with high valuation and good chances of soon becoming Unicorns, and Minicorns – early-stage companies that have the potential to be Unicorns in the long term.”
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“Tracxn Emerging Startups provides a handpicked selection of high growth and high potential companies, founded since 2013, that are making an impact in the new-age sectors. The shortlisting is based on a combination of multiple publicly available signals and detailed analysis of the company by our internal sector specialist teams. The companies that make the cut are the ones that show promising performance on multiple parameters – market size, investment by marquee investors, execution excellence and future growth prospects.”
The company says its curated list, “Logistics Tech startups 2022,” includes “the most promising startups leading the Logistics Tech industry, from across the globe.”
Unicorns
According to Tracxn, “Unicorns, with their valuations exceeding the billion dollar mark, and even multi-billion mark in a few cases, represent the top Logistics Tech startups globally.”
The following companies offer robotics solutions for logistics and are included on Tracxn’s Unicorn list. For more details, please see the Tracxn post.
Nuro
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of AI-enabled autonomous delivery vehicles for deliveries”
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2016, Menlo Park (United States)
From the Nuro website: “Less driving. More thriving. We’re on a mission to better everyday life through robotics.”
Exotec
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of warehouse automation robots”
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2015, Croix (France)
From the Exotec website: “At Exotec, we make fulfillment smarter. Our signature Skypod system deploys robots to bring items directly to warehouse workers. We make it simple to deliver sustainable, accurate, and profitable order fulfillment. …”
Locus Robotics
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of warehouse fulfillment and automation solutions using robots”
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2014 , Wilmington (United States)
From the Locus Robotics website: “The Right Robot for the Job. Powered by LocusOne – the industry’s only fully integrated system that seamlessly orchestrates and manages all of your product movement needs. …”
HAI ROBOTICS
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of AI & web-based storage automation solutions for warehouses”
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2016 , Shenzhen (China)
From the HAI ROBOTICS website: “HAI ROBOTICS…aims to empower every warehouse and factory with logistic robots. The HAIPICK solution is the world’s first autonomous case-handling robot (ACR) system.”
Dexterity
Tracxn description:
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“Developer of AI-enabled robots for picking and packaging purposes”
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2017, Palo Alto (United States)
From the Dexterity website: “Dexterity helps people thrive and grow by freeing them to do work that humans do best. For warehouse robotics, we focus on AI, machine learning, and platform-based robotic intelligence to make warehouses more productive, efficient, and safe.”
Fabric
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of AI-based robots for logistics micro-fulfillment operations”
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2015, Tel Aviv (Israel)
From the Fabric website: “The Fabric Smart Cube: High-density robotic fulfillment enabled by Fabric software and AI, unlocks instantaneous capacity, system reliability and high efficiency throughput.”
Soonicorns
According to Tracxn, “The Soonicorns – soon to be Unicorns – are the handful of highly valued startups which have successfully grown out of their nascency to attract valuations of over a few hundred millions. Watch out for these companies in the coming years as they take on the journey to becoming the elite Unicorns.”
Starship
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of autonomous local delivery robot”
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2014 , San Francisco (United States)
From the Starship website: “Starship robots are revolutionising food and package deliveries, offering people convenient new services that improve everyday life. …”
Agility Robotics
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of bi-pedal robots for multiple applications”
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2015, Albany (United States)
From the Agility Robotics website: “We make human-centric robots that walk into existing spaces without the need for costly retrofitting. Our approach marries science, design, software, and hardware to build robots that are ready to work.”
Flashhold (aka Quicktron)
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of AGVs for warehouse automation”
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2014, Shanghai (China)
According to Crunchbase, Flashhold is also known as Quicktron. Here’s the description from the Quicktron website: “Quicktron accelerates intralogistics automation… With more than 22,000 units installed and operational worldwide, we deliver future-proof robotic products that help our customers to optimize their warehouse management and manufacturing efficiency across 50+ industries.”
Outrider
Tracxn description:
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“Developer of cloud-based automation solutions for yard operations management”
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2017, Golden (United States)
From the Outrider website: “Your path to yard automation. Outrider automates yard operations for logistics hubs with an integrated system.”
RightHand Robotics
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of an AI-enabled object picking robotic gripper”
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2014, Cambridge (United States)
From the RightHand Robotics website: “RightPick™ Piece-Picking Solutions. The RightPick system provides businesses with a vital productivity boost as part of a lean and efficient material handling process. RightPick learns as it picks, building a database of knowledge that allows our customers to benefit from fleet learning.”
XYZ Robotics
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of deep learning-enabled sorting robot for warehouse automation”
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2018, Allston (United States)
From the XYZ Robotics website: “Xingyuanzhe Technology is committed to giving robots the ability to perceive and operate fully autonomously, transforming production methods, and liberating human hands. …”
OTTO Motors
Tracxn description:
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“Autonomous AGVs for material movement”
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2016 , Kitchener (Canada)
From the OTTO Motors website: “OTTO Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) automate common material handling tasks, big and small, to help manufacturers tackle labor shortages, scale their business, and outperform the competition.”
ATTAbotics
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of web-based warehouse automation robots”
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2015, Calgary (Canada)
From the ATTAbotics website: “Inspired by the efficiency and structure of ant colonies, Attabotics automates the fulfillment needs of digital commerce globally, driving supply chains into the future.”
(Note: The following video is from 2020)
Youibot
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of commercial service robots and robotic autonomous mobile solutions”
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2016, Shenzhen (China)
From the Youibot website: “Youibot is the innovative high-tech company with core algorithms for mobile robots and a lot of experience in unmanned transformation of business scenarios. Based on AGVs (mobile robots), Youibot Robotics is committed to providing intelligent manufacturing, intelligent inspection and maintenance covering the entire industry, comprehensive products and solutions.”
ForwardX
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of AI-based AMRs for warehouse automation”
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2016, Beijing (China)
From the ForwardX website: “ForwardX is a global technology developer focused [on] the Artificial Intelligence and its successful application to intelligent robotics. …”
VisionNav
Tracxn description:
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“Provider of AI and cloud driven robotics solutions for logistics”
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2016, Shenzhen (China)
From the VisionNav website: “VisionNav Robotics is a leading global supplier of autonomous forklifts and intralogistics automation solutions. VisionNav autonomous forklifts utilise 5G networks, AI & machine learning, environment perception and servo control technologies to deliver reliable performances without human interference. …”
For more information about the companies listed, please visit their respective websites. To see the full Tracxn list, please see “Emerging Startups 2022: Top Logistics Tech Startups.”
