Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Locus Robotics lands $117 million venture backing in “series F” round

Investment will accelerate rollout of fulfillment robots beyond current installation at some 230 sites, Massachusetts firm says.

locus featured-web-locus-DHL-768x499.jpeg

Warehouse automation provider Locus Robotics has landed a hefty $117 million in backing to accelerate the rollout of its autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for warehouse fulfillment and distribution applications, the company said today. 

The funding comes as Locus already counts more than 90 customers worldwide, and its robots are installed at more than 230 sites, including some with as many as 500 LocusBots in a single facility.


"As the rapid digital transformation of the supply chain continues, warehouses increasingly seek flexible, intelligent robotics automation to improve productivity and grow their operations, despite ongoing labor shortages and exploding order volumes," Locus CEO Rick Faulk said in a release.

The “series F” round was led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and G2 Venture Partners. As part of that financing, Mark Midle, managing director at Goldman Sachs, and Zach Barasz, partner at G2 Venture Partners, will join Locus’ board of directors.

Also participating in the round were Stack Capital Group, Next47, Stafford Capital Partners, HESTA, Newton Investment Management North America, Gray's Creek Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Hercules Capital, Inc., BOND, and Scale Venture Partners. The latest funding follows a $50 million round in 2021, and brings Wilmington, Massachusetts-based Locus’ corporate valuation close to $2 billion.


 

 

Recent

More Stories

AI image of a dinosaur in teacup

The new "Amazon Nova" AI tools can use basic prompts--like "a dinosaur sitting in a teacup"--to create outputs in text, images, or video.

Amazon to release new generation of AI models in 2025

Logistics and e-commerce giant Amazon says it will release a new collection of AI tools in 2025 that could “simplify the lives of shoppers, sellers, advertisers, enterprises, and everyone in between.”

Benefits for Amazon's customers--who include marketplace retailers and logistics services customers, as well as companies who use its Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform and the e-commerce shoppers who buy goods on the website--will include generative AI (Gen AI) solutions that offer real-world value, the company said.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Logistics economy continues on solid footing
Logistics Managers' Index

Logistics economy continues on solid footing

Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in November, continuing a steady growth pattern that began earlier this year and signaling a return to seasonality after several years of fluctuating conditions, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index report (LMI), released today.

The November LMI registered 58.4, down slightly from October’s reading of 58.9, which was the highest level in two years. The LMI is a monthly gauge of business conditions across warehousing and logistics markets; a reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Keep ReadingShow less
iceberg drawing to represent threats

GEP: six factors could change calm to storm in 2025

The current year is ending on a calm note for the logistics sector, but 2025 is on pace to be an era of rapid transformation, due to six driving forces that will shape procurement and supply chains in coming months, according to a forecast from New Jersey-based supply chain software provider GEP.

"After several years of mitigating inflation, disruption, supply shocks, conflicts, and uncertainty, we are currently in a relative period of calm," John Paitek, vice president, GEP, said in a release. "But it is very much the calm before the coming storm. This report provides procurement and supply chain leaders with a prescriptive guide to weathering the gale force headwinds of protectionism, tariffs, trade wars, regulatory pressures, uncertainty, and the AI revolution that we will face in 2025."

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of top business concerns from descartes

Descartes: businesses say top concern is tariff hikes

Business leaders at companies of every size say that rising tariffs and trade barriers are the most significant global trade challenge facing logistics and supply chain leaders today, according to a survey from supply chain software provider Descartes.

Specifically, 48% of respondents identified rising tariffs and trade barriers as their top concern, followed by supply chain disruptions at 45% and geopolitical instability at 41%. Moreover, tariffs and trade barriers ranked as the priority issue regardless of company size, as respondents at companies with less than 250 employees, 251-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-50,000 and 50,000+ employees all cited it as the most significant issue they are currently facing.

Keep ReadingShow less
photo of worker at port tracking containers

Trump tariff threat strains logistics businesses

Freight transportation providers and maritime port operators are bracing for rough business impacts if the incoming Trump Administration follows through on its pledge to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on China, analysts say.

Industry contacts say they fear that such heavy fees could prompt importers to “pull forward” a massive surge of goods before the new administration is seated on January 20, and then quickly cut back again once the hefty new fees are instituted, according to a report from TD Cowen.

Keep ReadingShow less