Spending most of our time inside over the past few years created a massive spike in online shopping, one that’s continued to grow steadily since 2021. While it may seem easy for us as consumers to receive our orders, the warehouses organizing these copious parcels each day must constantly function at top capacity.
Ensuring supply chains run smoothly without overdependence on human labor, Ambi Robotics secured fresh capital for its robotic sorting tech.
The Berkeley-based company announced a $32 million funding round from investors including Tiger Global and Bow Capital. Ambi Robotics develops AI-powered robotics systems used to sort parcels and scale alongside growing businesses.
“Consumer shopping behavior is demanding a more modern warehouse. The strains of surging parcel volume shouldn’t rest on the shoulders of the supply chains’ most valued asset — people,” Jim Liefer, Ambi Robotics’ CEO, said in a statement. “It’s humbling to see such sophisticated investors stepping forward and contributing to the success of our mission to empower people to handle more.”
Ambi Robotics builds robots that run on AmbiOS, an operating system using simulation-to-reality technology. This allows the robots to learn how to quickly pick and pack millions of unique items, according to the company. Ambi Robotics’ product serves industries like retail, consumer goods and manufacturing, offering solutions that help with parcel consolidation, subscription boxes, return sorting and more.
The company is deploying the next generation of its flagship product, the AmbiSort A-Series. These robotic systems are full-stack sorting solutions that combine picking, item analysis and quality control with an end effector that can handle boxes, plastic polybags and other items. A robotic arm picks up an item and then places it into specified receptacles that can be switched out to larger containers as needed. One employee can work alongside up to four of these systems at once, according to the company.
So far, Ambi Robotics has seen success with customers including shipping and mailing company Pitney Bowes. Ambi Robotics is in the midst of installing more than 80 of its AmbiSort systems in Pitney Bowes hubs across the country.
As it continues to grow, Ambi Robotics will put its funding toward several initiatives over the next 12 months. Its foremost focus is deploying and installing solutions like its AmbiSort A-Series systems. The company also plans to expand its product portfolio and fuel hiring across its engineering, customer support, operations and supply chain departments.
