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Warehouse tech startup SVT Robotics accelerates rollout with $25 million round

Firm says companies need more rapid deployment of industrial automation to keep up with supply chain challenges.

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Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
By Supply Chain Quarterly StaffNov 17, 2021
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
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Tech startup SVT Robotics today said a $25 million funding round will help advance the rollout of its neutral communication platform designed to help warehouses get robotic automation projects launched quickly.

The “series A” round was led by Tiger Global, with participation from Prologis Ventures, and follows a 2020 “seed round” of $3.5 million.

Norfolk, Virginia-based SVT said it now plans to expand its “Softbot” platform, which provides companies rapid deployment, interoperability, and orchestration of industrial robotics and enterprise software. That capability to provide a common data layer is critical in a time when automation deployments in the past 18 months have not been fast enough for most companies to adapt to evolving supply chain crisis conditions, according to SVT co-founder and CEO A.K. Schultz.

“With no ‘plug-and-play' integration solution for industrial robotics, warehouses and manufacturers have been prevented from quickly deploying the automation they need to keep pace with the dramatic shifts in labor dynamics we’ve seen over the past year,” Griffin Schroeder, partner at Tiger Global, said in a release. “With its Softbot Platform, SVT Robotics is solving this crucial interoperability problem. We believe the company is well-positioned to lead in the rapid and flexible deployment of automation, and we’re excited to partner with them as they grow.”
 

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