igus has acquired Atronia, its partner for the iSense EC.W sensor. Source: igus

The combination of sensing with motion plastics, which eliminate the need for lubricants, promises easier-to-maintain machinery for Industry 4.0. igus, a global leader in motion plastics and moving cable management systems, last week acquired the majority stake in Atronia Tailored Sensing.

“The acquisition of Atronia by igus is a promising partnership that will undoubtedly lead to further breakthrough innovations and improved technology integration,” stated Carlos Alexandre Ferreira, manager at Atronia Tailored Systems. 

Gafanha da Nazaré, Portugal-based Atronia develops wireless products for measuring and monitoring applications. The company said it supports product-development strategies including innovation, renewables, and sensing.

Since 2016, Atronia has supported igus with smart plastic sensors. These sensors monitor the condition of the product, whether it needs to be serviced or replaced, or whether a problem is occurring. igus said this strategic acquisition is intended to help expand its market offerings for for networked plastic components.

Industry 4.0 demands mass production of critical sensors

Industry 4.0 encompasses automation, artificial intelligence, and networking for greater productivity, agility, and safety. igus said its goal is to mass-produce next-generation products and make them accessible to small and midsize businesses (SMBs).

For years, igus has invested in research and development for new types of smart plastics. The Rumford, R.I.-based company‘s lines include plain bearings, energy chains, and cables that are equipped with sensors and integrated into the Internet of Things (IoT).

“Intelligent predictive-maintenance software calculates optimum maintenance times and alerts technicians in good time via e-mail and text message in the event of critical conditions to prevent expensive system failures,” explained igus. The company recently won an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner for a gripper for its ReBeL collaborative robot.

Michael Blass, CEO of igus e-chain Systems, and Carlos Alexandre Ferreira, manager of Atronia Tailored Systems, celebrate the development of new Industry 4.0 products together. Source: igus GmbH

Atronia acquisition part of igus strategy

“By acquiring Atronia, we can harmonize the processes, systems, and teams of both companies even better, which will lead to synergies and efficiency gains in the long term,” said Michael Blass, CEO of e-chain Systems at igus. “This allows us to start series manufacturing for the Industry 4.0 era and make the products accessible to small and medium-sized companies with limited budgets and little experience.”

The collaboration between igus and Atronia resulted in the iSense EC.W sensor. Mounted on energy chain crossbars, it records the chain’s state and remaining service life.

Customers have given positive feedback about the sensor’s cost-effectiveness and intuitive design, said Atronia and igus. The partnership plans to jointly create more products in the future.

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The Intelligent Surgical Unit applies AI and machine vision to robot-assisted procedures. Source: Asensus Surgical

Asensus Surgical Inc., which has been developing “intra-operative augmented intelligence technology for operating rooms,” today announced that it has entered a definitive merger agreement with KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America Inc. KARL STORZ said the transaction will strengthen its position in the growing surgical robotics market, particularly with Asensus’ next-generation LUNA system.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with KARL STORZ, which we believe maximizes value for our stockholders,” stated Anthony Fernando, president and CEO of Asensus Surgical.

“This transaction is a testament to the value of our innovative robotic and digital technology, intellectual property, and the hard work of our talented team,” he added. “We are excited to enter the next chapter for Asensus with KARL STORZ, which will allow us to continue to develop and deliver precise, safer, predictable surgery and digital tools to patients and surgeons around the world.”

The companies have been collaborating for more than a year, and the deal follows the terms of an April letter of intent from KARL STORZ. Under the agreement, KARL STORZ will acquire all outstanding shares of the surgical robot maker for $0.35 per share in cash.

The purchase price represents a premium of about 67%, based on the per-share closing price of the Asensus common stock on the NYSE American on April 2. It also represents a premium of approximately 52% to the closing price of the common stock on the last trading day prior to the announcement. 

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Asensus works to digitalize surgery

The company was founded as TransEnterix Inc. in 2006 and rebranded as Asensus Surgical in 2021 to reflect its vision of using machine learning and computer vision to advance surgical robotics and deliver “consistently superior outcomes.”

The Morrisville, N.C.-based company has offices in Milan and Klinikum Idar-Oberstein, Germany. It said it has more than 200 employees, and over 300 surgeons have used its technology to perform more than 10,000 procedures.

Asensus said its digital laparoscopy technology is approved for use around the world. The Senhance surgical system offers precise manipulation in robot-assisted surgeries, said Asensus. It works with human clinicians through smart tracking of eye movements for minimally invasive procedures. In January, the company placed its first Senhance robot for pediatrics in Japan.

The company offers Senhance along with Performance-Guided Surgery (PGS) and Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU). Senhance Connect is designed for teleoperation, and Senhance Simulation can aid with training. Asensus said its Augmented Intelligence can deliver real-time insights beyond the robots, similar to GPS, enhancing rather than replacing human capabilities.

The LUNA system in development includes include a surgeon console with unconstrained handles, a touchscreen, and an Ultra-HD 3D monitor. It also has up to four independent robotic arms and a drive system supporting various instrumentation options.

Asensus showed LUNA to physicians in January. The company planned to manufacture LUNA with Flex and said it was aiming for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2025.

KARL STORZ to take surgical unit private

Asensus Surgical’s board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction. The company said it expects the merger to close in the third quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of approval from the Asensus stockholders.

Upon completion of the transaction, Asensus Surgical will become a subsidiary of KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America and will no longer be publicly listed or traded on the NYSE American Exchange.

KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America is a subsidiary of KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG, an independent, family-owned global medical technology company founded in 1945 in Tuttlingen, Germany. A leader in endoscopy, KARL STORZ employs 9,400 people in more than 40 countries worldwide.

The company‘s portfolio includes 13,000 products for human and veterinary medicine, and it recorded preliminary sales in fiscal of 2023 of €2.17 billion ($2.34 billion U.S.). KARL STORZ has production sites in Germany, the U.S., Switzerland, and Estonia.

Jefferies LLC served as financial advisor to Asensus Surgical, and Ballard Spahr LLP served as legal counsel to Asensus Surgical. UBS Investment Bank served as financial advisor to KARL STORZ, and Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to KARL STORZ.

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Joby Aviation says it hopes to eventually use Xwing technology for fully autonomous operations. | Source: Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation Inc. this week announced that it is acquiring the autonomy division of Xwing Inc. The acquisition will cover all of Xwing’s existing automation and autonomy technology activities and was paid for with Joby shares. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal. 

Founded in 2016, Xwing has operated autonomous aircraft since 2020 using its Superpilot software. Developed in-house, the software enables safe, uncrewed operations, supervised from the ground, said the San Francisco-based company. Xwing claimed it offers “fully autonomous gate-to-gate flight technology.”

The company said it has completed 250 fully autonomous flights and more than 500 auto-landings to date. Last year, it received an official project designation for the certification of a large unmanned aerial system (UAS) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“Xwing’s goal of connecting communities with clean and affordable autonomous flight aligns closely with Joby’s long-term vision,” stated Maxime Gariel, co-founder, president, and chief technical officer of Xwing.

“For the past seven years, our team has broken barriers to advance aviation autonomy,” she added. “Now, as we join forces with the leading electric air-taxi developer, I can’t imagine a better home for the Xwing team to realize our shared vision.”

Pilot assist to come before fully autonomous flights

Joby Aviation is developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger services. The Santa Cruz, Calif.-based company said its acquisition of Xwing will help it be a leader in aviation autonomy and will build on its 2021 acquisition of high-performance radar developer Inras GmbH.

Founded in 2009, Joby said that Xwing’s expertise in perception technology, systems integration, and certification will benefit both near-term piloted operations as well as fully autonomous operations sometime in the future.

“The aircraft we are certifying will have a fully-qualified pilot on board, but we recognize that a future generation of autonomous aircraft will play an important part in unlocking our vision of making clean and affordable aerial mobility as accessible as possible,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby.

“The exceptionally talented Xwing team has not only made unparalleled progress on the development and certification of vision systems, sensor fusion, and decision-making autonomous technologies, but they’ve also successfully demonstrated the real-life application of their technology, flying hundreds of fully autonomous flights in the national airspace,” he said.

Xwing tech to enable Joby to deliver on DoD contracts

Joby added that Xwing’s staff and technology will help accelerate its execution of existing contract deliverables with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and expand the potential for more contracts.

Xwing’s engineers, researchers, and technologists will help Joby focus on its automation and autonomy roadmap. They will also offer increased opportunities to partner with the DoD on technology development, said Joby.

Xwing’s autonomous flights were completed using a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft. They allowed the team to focus on areas such as vision system processing, detect-and-avoid algorithms, decision making, and ground control stations, said Joby. The aircraft also supported remote operations, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and mission management (including trajectory planning and real-time updates.

The U.S. Air Force gave Xwing a Military Flight Release earlier this year. The company’s aircraft participated in the Air Force’s Agile Flag 24-1 Joint Force exercise.

During this exercise, Xwing’s aircraft completed daily flights, covering around 2,800 miles and landing at eight public and military airports. The company also demonstrated its ability to integrate autonomous aircrafts into the national airspace system. 

“Autonomous systems are increasingly prolific in the private sector and bring potentially game-changing advantages to the Air Force as well,” said Col. Elliott Leigh, AFWERX director and chief commercialization officer for the Department of the Air Force. “We created Autonomy Prime to keep up with this shift and to stay engaged as a partner while this technology evolves, so that we can adapt and evolve along with the private sector, maintaining our competitive advantage.”

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Titan Medical Inc. this week provided a progress update regarding its planned merger with Conavi Inc. They said the combined entity will continue working to commercialize Conanvi’s Novasight Hybrid system for guiding minimally invasive coronary procedures.

Toronto-based Conavi Medical designs, makes, and sells imaging technologies for guiding cardiovascular procedures. Novasight Hybrid combines intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to enable simultaneous and co-registered imaging of coronary arteries. The system has FDA 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Conavi and Titan said they are continuing work on the all-stock transaction under a definitive amalgamation agreement first announced last month. That includes the preparation of submissions to list Titan shares on the TSX Venture Exchange. That listing would follow de-listing from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The companies said they also plan to complete Titan’s management information circular and related documents. Titan plans to hold a special meeting for shareholders to approve the transaction and related matters.

In addition, Conavi said it is preparing concurrent financing of subscription receipts worth at least $15 million and up to $20 million.

Titan Medical licenses IP, evaluates options

Toronto-based Titan Medical had developed patented technology for robot-assisted surgery (RAS), including through a single access point. This merger comes after more than a year of uncertainty around the future of the company.

In late 2022, Titan suspended a special meeting of shareholders meant to vote on a share consolidation plan. Management decided to begin a strategic review, and announced significant cost-cutting measures.

Titan went on to halt development of its ENOS surgical robot in February 2023. The company began selling assets and licensed much of its intellectual property (IP) to Intuitive Surgical to avoid insolvency.

The company said it is focused on “evaluating new opportunities to further develop and license its intellectual property while pursuing the completion of its agreed-upon merger with Conavi Medical.”

Editor’s note: This article was syndicated from The Robot Report sibling site MassDevice. Learn more about robots for surgery and other applications at next week’s Robotics Summit & Expo and co-located DeviceTalks Boston.

The events will include speakers from Medtronic, Asensus Surgical, Intuitive Surgical, and more, as well as the MassRobotics Healthcare Catalyst Showcase. Registration is now open for the Robotics Summit & Expo, which also features sessions and exhibits with industry leaders, an Engineering Career Fair, and networking opportunities.

Register now.

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HowToRobot is combining its marketplace with Gain & Co.’s expert advice. Credit: Adobe Stock

HowToRobot.com ApS, a provider of a global automation market platform, and Gain & Co., a robotics and automation advisor, announced a merger last week. The newly formed company has also received an investment from Sagitta Ventures, which will be taking a seat on its board. 

Now operating under the name “HowToRobot,” the combined company said that while the need for robotics is stronger than ever, most businesses still struggle to automate. By combining its automation market and vendor-independent advice, HowToRobot said it will support businesses with every aspect of their automation journeys.  

“Businesses need automation and robotics like never before to make up for labor shortages and supply chain disruptions and simply to protect them in the long run,” stated Søren Peters, now co-CEO of HowToRobot. “But without help, only few are able to fully take advantage of the technology. The merger and investment allow us to extend that help to every business that needs it.”

Founded in 2017, HowToRobot said it offers companies with an overview and easy access to automation and robotics suppliers globally. It also offers advisors that give guidance on everything from getting started with automation to technology selection and implementation.

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HowToRobot to help companies keep up with innovation

Global robot installations have more than tripled over the past decade, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). This demand has resulted in more innovation, making it difficult for prospective customers to keep up with the industry, said Peters. 

“Robotics is developing so fast that it can easily seem overwhelming,” he said. “What most need is often just someone to talk to who knows the market and who they can trust for reliable and impartial advice. By letting our two companies join forces, we can now provide all that in one place.”

The Copenhagen, Denmark-based company claimed that the new HowToRobot provides the support that businesses need when looking to automate. At the R-24 event earlier this year in Odense, Denmark, Gulshan Akhtar Din, a senior advisor then at Gain & Co., explained how it worked with hospitals to properly integrate automation with both physical infrastructure and business processes.

Despite global robot installations hitting a record high in 2022, according to the IFR, HowToRobot said it has found that the average business has explored only about 5% of its addressable potential for automation. Peters asserted that this is mainly due to limited expertise and knowledge about automation. 

“Most businesses have still only scratched the surface of what is possible and makes sense to automate,” he said. “With the right guidance and easy access to potential solutions, robot adoption can reach a whole new level.”

Inside the merger

With the merger, Peters, the former CEO of HowToRobot, and Søren Pap-Tolstrup, the former CEO of Gain & Co., will serve as co-CEOs. The company did not disclose financial details of the merger or investment from Sagitta Ventures. 

“The world of robotics is still new to many, and most need help to some extent – from technical advice to finding solutions and building the business case or simply finding the best place to start,” noted Pap-Tolstrup. “When combined, our platform and advisory have the depth, reach, and flexibility to support businesses where and when they most need it.”

HowToRobot said its latest investment will enable it to expand its platform, advisor team, and partner network across the world, adding expertise and the capacity for conducting on-site automation screening. The company said it also plans to broaden its market understanding of robotics and automation to better provide expert advice.

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Kiwibot will add intellectual property from AUTO Mobility Solutions to its delivery robot portfolio. Source: Kiwibot

Consolidation among mobile robot providers is not limited to warehouses. Kiwibot today announced that it has acquired AUTO Mobility Solutions Co.

“This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone in both companies’ journeys towards innovation and safeguarding privacy in the robotics industry, particularly for intelligent robots sourced from China and deployed in the Western markets,” Kiwibot stated.

“The acquisition of AUTO is a game-changer for us, bringing a wealth of technological innovation and a strong patent portfolio that will significantly enhance our cybersecurity measures for AI-powered robotics,” asserted Felipe Chavez, founder and CEO of Kiwibot. “This move not only strengthens our position in the market, but also connects the manufacturing expertise from Asia with the AI development in the West securely.”

Kiwibot develops delivery robots

Berkeley, Calif.-based Kiwibot has developed autonomous robots using artificial intelligence. The company claimed that it is a market leader of robotic deliveries on U.S. college campuses.

Since 2017, Kiwibot said it has successfully deployed robots across the U.S., Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. In 2020, it raised pre-seed funding and was an early guest on The Robot Report Podcast. It raised $10 million for deliveries as a service (DaaS) in December 2023.

“Kiwibot is actively exploring opportunities to expand our robotic delivery services beyond college campuses,” Chavez told The Robot Report. “We will soon announce customers in two different categories.”

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AUTO brings cybersecurity expertise

“Becoming a part of Kiwibot opens up new avenues for our technologies and patents,” noted Sming Liao, CEO of AUTO Mobility Solutions. “Together, we are poised to redefine the landscape of autonomous delivery services, ensuring greater security and efficiency.”

The Taipei, Taiwan-based company was incubated by ALi Corp. and develops integrated circuit (IC) chips for AI, self-driving vehicles, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity. Its systems feature advanced path planning, positioning, and obstacle-avoidance technology.

AUTO Mobility Solutions has built a patent portfolio in AI, IoT, and cybersecurity in Taipei. Source: Kiwibot

AUTO said its team will add more than 100 licensed patents to Kiwibot’s offerings.

“Our decision to join forces was solidified after recognizing the complementary nature of our technologies and the potential for a synergistic relationship,” said Chavez. “One of our investors from Taiwan introduced us, and we started the relationship as a customer for a custom cybersecurity chip.”

“The acquisition strategically positions us to bolster our cybersecurity infrastructure, especially considering the rising interest in AI and its associated vulnerabilities,” he added. “Together, Kiwibot and AUTO are looking to develop enhanced capabilities in autonomous navigation, AI-powered decision making, and advanced cybersecurity measures.”

Acquisition to expand global presence

The companies also said the acquisition will help the merged entity deliver leading systems globally and meet the evolving needs of both businesses and consumers.

“AUTO’s established presence in Taiwan and Shenzhen [China] will play a crucial role in helping Kiwibot navigate geopolitical and supply chain challenges,” explained Chavez. “Their expertise and strategic locations will aid in diversifying our supply chain and providing stability in our manufacturing and development processes, ensuring Kiwibot’s continued growth and scalability.”

Felipe Chavez, CEO of Kiwibot (left), and Sming Liao, CEO of AUTO (right). Source: Kiwibot

Kiwibot is still evaluating consolidation and rebranding, he told The Robot Report.

“The Taipei team will maintain a high degree of autonomy to leverage their specialized expertise and local knowledge effectively. While we are unified in our mission and strategy, we recognize the importance of fostering innovation through autonomous operations,” Chavez said. “We are currently evaluating how best to integrate our brands to reflect our unified strength while honoring the established identity and contributions of AUTO’s team.”

What are Kiwibot’s plans for the near future?

“Looking forward, Kiwibot’s roadmap includes the continuous improvement of our autonomous delivery robots, the expansion of our service areas, and the integration of AUTO’s technological advancement,” Chavez replied. “We are committed to pioneering the future of robotic services and ensuring a seamless and secure experience for our users. Stay tuned for exciting updates as we progress on this journey.”

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The Intelligent Surgical Unit powers the Senhance surgical robot system. | Source: Asensus Surgical

Asensus Surgical Inc. today announced that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent for medical device company Karl Storz SE to acquire it.

The agreement enables Karl Storz to engage in due diligence and negotiations over a potential acquisition of the surgical robot maker. Asensus and Karl Storz began working on plans for joint development and marketing just over a year ago.

Entry into the letter of intent (LOI) follows an extensive period of consideration of strategic alternatives, stated Asensus. That included potential collaborations and licensing transactions, a “go-it-alone” strategy reliant upon significant fundraising, a sale of the company, or additional development transactions.

Instead, the company’s board approved the LOI with Karl Storz, which includes a proposal to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Asensus common stock at 35¢ per share in cash. That represents a 66.7% premium to the closing price of Asensus stock on April 2, 2024. Karl Storz said that the proposed price represents its “best and final offer.”

Asensus developing Senhance, Intelligent Surgical Unit

Research Triangle Park, N.C-based Asensus is developing the Senhance surgical robot. It has also developed the Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU) for Senhance.

The company said it designed ISU as a real-time intraoperative surgical image analytics platform. It uses “augmented intelligence” to help reduce surgical variability.

Asensus unveiled its the next-generation LUNA robot in February 2023. The integrated digital system features a next-generation surgical platform and instruments, plus real-time intraoperative clinical intelligence. Its final component, a secure cloud platform, applies machine learning to deliver clinical insights.

The company suggested last year that it targeted 2025 for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for LUNA. In November, Asensus inked a manufacturing deal for its platform.

In January 2024, the company showed LUNA off to surgeons, conducting an in vivo lab evaluation of the next-generation surgical robot. 

More details on the LOI

The letter of intent provides that, during an exclusivity period of up to 10 weeks, Asensus won’t engage in negotiations for alternative transactions. During that period, Karl Storz intends to conduct diligence as the companies negotiate a merger. Both companies have the right to terminate pursuit of the proposed transaction.

In connection with the LOI, Asensus entered into a fully secured promissory note or bridge loan with Karl Storz. This allows the company to receive a loan of up to $20 million from Karl Storz to support operations through the exclusivity period and beyond.

The companies said they plan to work during the exclusivity period to negotiate and finalize a merger agreement. If agreed, Asensus said it would then plan to quickly secure stockholder approval.

Asensus said it can’t provide any assurances of a final agreement with Karl Storz.

Asensus Surgical to speak at Robotics Summit

Dustin Vaughan, vice president of robotics research and development at Asensus, will be speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo, which takes place on May 1-2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

His talk, “Leveraging Real-Time Data Insights in the Operating Room” will explore the development and introduction of cutting-edge technologies, sensing modalities, and real-time data collection capabilities of the LUNA Surgical Platform and the practical implementation of those capabilities.

The Robotics Summit & Expo focuses on the design, development, and scaling of commercial robots. WTWH Media, which also produces The Robot Report, said it expects a record 5,000 attendees and more than 200 exhibitors. The event will be co-located with DeviceTalks, an event focused on medical devices, and the inaugural Digital Transformation Forum. Registration is now open for the event.

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Editor’s Note: This article was syndicated from MassDevice, a sibling site to The Robot Report.

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Titan Medical’s Enos system can assist surgeons. | Source: Titan Medical

Titan Medical announced today that it entered into a definitive amalgamation agreement to combine with Conavi Medical.

The companies aim to combine in an all-stock transaction, focusing on commercializing Conavi’s Novasight Hybrid system. Conavi designed Novasight Hybrid to guide common minimally invasive coronary procedures.

This merger comes after more than a year of uncertainty around the future at Titan Medical. In late 2022, Titan suspended a special meeting of shareholders meant to vote on a share consolidation plan. Management decided to begin a strategic review, with a sale of the company considered a possibility. Titan also announced cost-cutting measures that included the furloughing of 40 employees.

In a news release, the company said it conducted outreach to more than 40 potential counterparties and halted the development of its ENOS surgical robot in February 2023. To avoid insolvency, the company began selling assets and licensed its IP. It struck deals on that front in May, June and August 2023, including licensing surgical robotics IP to market leader Intuitive Surgical.

Titan said it determined that merging with another surgical robotics company was “not a viable option.” It expanded its search and landed on Conavi.

“This merger is the result of a thoughtful and careful review of strategic options and reflects the continued commitment of our management team and board of directors to deliver value to shareholders,” said Paul Cataford, Titan’s interim CEO and board chair. “Conavi is an exciting commercial-stage company with groundbreaking technology and an accomplished management team. We are confident in their ability to continue to drive adoption of the Novasight Hybrid system.”

More about Conavi Medical

Conavi Medical designs, manufactures and markets imaging technologies for guiding minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures. Novasight Hybrid combines both intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to enable simultaneous and co-registered imaging of coronary arteries.

The Novasight Hybrid system has FDA 510(k) clearance and regulatory nods in other geographies like Canada, China and Japan.

With Titan Medical, Conavi expects the combined company to become a commercial-stage leader in hybrid intravascular imaging.

“This planned merger comes at a pivotal moment in the evolution of our company as we continue to advance the Novasight Hybrid system, which provides simultaneous and complementary data with which to better inform patient care, while offering providers a more cost- and space-effective option when purchasing intravascular imaging equipment,” said Conavi CEO Thomas Looby. “Gaining access to the public capital markets will enhance our financial strength and fuel our growth strategy, enabling us to unlock the full potential of our hybrid imaging technology in the United States and globally.”

More details on the Titan Medical-Conavi Medical merger

Under the terms of the agreement, Titan plans to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Conavi. In exchange, Conavi shareholders, receive common shares of Titan. The deal constitutes a reverse takeover of Titan. In connection with the merger, Titan expects to delist its common shares from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Instead, they will be listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.

The companies expect the transaction to close on or around July 15, 2024.

Titan plans to effect a consolidation of its shares. As a condition to the completion, Conavi plans to complete a concurrent financing of subscription receipts. The companies anticipate minimum gross proceeds of $15 million with a maximum of $20 million.

Following the consolidation and concurrent financing, a wholly-owned Titan subsidiary will amalgamate with Conavi. Oustanding post-consolidation Titan shares then go to Conavi shareholders. The companies value Conavi at $69.84 million and the deal includes an allocation of $5 million in the pre-transaction valuation of Titan.

Titan plans to hold a special and annual meeting of shareholders to approve a number of conditions within the deal. That includes the change of the name from Titan Medical to Conavi Medical, or such other name as approved by their boards. Other conditions include the consolidation and a new equity incentive plan.

Editor’s Note: This article was syndicated from The Robot Report’s sister site MassDevice. 

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An affiliate of private investment firm Angeles Equity Partners has acquired Acieta, a Midwest industrial robotics manufacturer and integrator, from Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.). Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

This marks Angeles’ fourth acquisition in the robotics integration sector; it previously acquired RōBEX, Mid-State Engineering, and +Vantage. Angeles said the acquisition of Acieta expands the business’ equipment tending, welding, and palletizing capabilities across a broader set of end markets including agriculture, foundry and die, welding and fabrication, and construction and building products.

Waukesha, Wisc.-based Acieta is a full-service automation solutions provider with systems, controls, and software engineering capabilities developed since its inception in 1983. Acieta said it has installed more than 5,500 robots since it was founded. It is a FANUC Authorized System Integrator employing FANUC Robotics Certified Service Engineers and FANUC Robotics Master Certified Service Engineers.

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“Our team is eager to help build what we believe is the country’s most technically capable and experienced automation systems integrator,” said Acieta CEO Robby Komljenovic. “This combination is designed to provide our customers an expanded reach, additional resources, and what we view as unmatched industry experience to advise on optimizing all processes to maximize returns on their robotic equipment investments.”

This transaction represents another key step in Angeles’ strategy to build a scaled robotics integration platform with an expanded manufacturing footprint within critical domestic markets and a broader focus on providing a robust array of robotic applications to a more diverse group of customers. Acieta’s combined 67,000 square-foot manufacturing capacity, located in Council Bluffs, Iowa and Waukesha, Wisc. will continue to operate. Combined with the business’ existing 140,000-square-foot manufacturing operations, the integrated company offers customers significant capacity, products, and services.

“We are excited about the combination of these two great companies and believe in the ongoing growth trajectory of this industry,” said Sam Heischuber, managing director at Angeles Equity Partners. “As the manufacturing and logistics sectors continue to face labor shortages, higher wages, intensifying global competition, and increased manufacturing complexity, the need for a sophisticated, robotics automation systems integrator with a national presence should only increase.”

For more information about acquisitions and investments, head over to The Robot Report‘s financial section.

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Synopsys says its acquisition of Ansys will help developers of complex electronics and software systems. Source: Synopsys

Synopsys Inc. today said it will acquire Ansys Inc. for about $35 billion to combine Ansys’ simulation and analysis portfolio with its semiconductor electronic design automation, or EDA. The companies claimed this will “create a leader in silicon to systems design solutions.”

“The megatrends of AI, silicon proliferation, and software-defined systems are requiring more compute performance and efficiency in the face of growing, systemic complexity,” said Sassine Ghazi, president and CEO of Synopsys, in a release.

“Bringing together Synopsys’ industry-leading EDA solutions with Ansys’ world-class simulation and analysis capabilities will enable us to deliver a holistic, powerful, and seamlessly integrated silicon-to-systems approach to innovation to help maximize the capabilities of technology R&D teams across a broad range of industries.” he added. “This is the logical next step for our successful, seven-year partnership with Ansys.”

Synopsys provides tools and services for electronic design automation (EDA), semiconductor intellectual property (IP) integration, application security, and quality testing. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based S&P 500 company claimed that its technologies enable innovations including autonomous vehicles, smart machines, and high-quality code and communications.

Ansys to add simulation to Synopsys testing

“For more than 50 years, Ansys has enabled customers to design, develop, and deliver cutting-edge products that are limited only by imagination,” stated Ajei Gopal, president and CEO of Ansys. “This transformative combination brings together each company’s highly complementary capabilities to meet the evolving needs of today’s engineers and give them unprecedented insight into the performance of their products.”

“The combined company will accelerate the development of our joint portfolio and deliver an increased level of innovation, which will benefit Ansys’ traditional customers,” he said.

Canonsburg, Pa.-based Ansys said its simulation software helps predict the performance of systems ranging from advanced semiconductors to sustainable transportation, satellite systems, and medical devices. It recently partnered with NVIDIA to test sensors for autonomous vehicles.

“At least once a year since 2000, Ansys has acquired and/or announced a major technology sharing partnership with another company,” wrote Shawn Wasserman, a former Ansys employee, on Engineering.com, a sibling site to The Robot Report. “Today, however, the script has been flipped.”

Companies combine complementary capabilities

“Since inception 37 years ago, Synopsys has been an innovation pioneer, central to world-changing semiconductor advances in computation, networking, and mobility, and now enabling the new era of ‘pervasive intelligence,’” said Aart de Geus, founder and executive chair of Synopsys. “Our board and management team carefully evaluated our top strategic options to lead and win in this fast-growing new wave of electronics and system design.” 

“The trends towards electrification, smart devices, AI, and larger computational resources are all cited as major factors bringing Ansys and Synopsys together,” said Wasserman. “All these trends will lead to more complex products and complicated development. In essence, everything will become more complex as mechanical and electrical tools combine in more innovative ways.”

Synopsys and Ansys said their combination will offer the following benefits:

• Combining capabilities to meet customer demand: “The complexity of today’s intelligent systems demands the integration of semiconductor design and simulation and analysis to ensure interconnected systems function properly in real-world settings,” said Synopsys. It said innovators in the semiconductor industry and beyond will be able to benefit from the combination of Ansys’ simulation and analysis capabilities with its EDA technology. 

• Accelerates strategy and growth in adjacent areas: Synopsys said the combination will enhance its silicon-to-systems strategy both across the core EDA segment and in markets such as automotive and aerospace, where Ansys has an established presence and go-to-market experience.

• Complementary fit: Synopsys and Ansys have collaborated since 2017, and they said an integrated suite of software tools will help customers solve their most difficult design challenges. They can also gain valuable insights through model-based analysis of complex systems, the partners said. 

• Expands total addressable market: Synopsys said the deal will increase its total addressable market (TAM) by 1.5x to approximately $28 billion. This combined TAM could expand at a 11% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), driven by trends such as automation accelerating the need for the fusion of electronics and physics across industries, it said.

“Currently, the duo offers engineers multiphysics design tools for the development of products from chips and systems via Ansys RedHawk-SC and Synopsys’ Fusion Compiler, 3DIC Compiler and PrimeTime signoff Platforms,” Wasserman explained. “The linking of these tools helps engineers find design weaknesses early, perform in-design analysis, optimize voltage timing, ensure thermal reliability and perform final sign off on advanced SoCs, 2.5D and 3DIC.”

“For a use case example, an engineer can use Ansys RedHawk-SC Electrothermal analysis to assess the electrical and thermal interactions of a 2.5D or 3DIC system,” he said. “Synopsys’ 3DIC Compiler can then assess system integrations and end-to-end heterogeneous implementations for 2.5 or 3DIC multi-die and multi-node designs. In other words, engineers can perform multiphysics signoff all the way down to the transistor level and all the way up to a full system analysis.”

Synopsys expects to quickly pay down debt

Under the terms of a definitive agreement, Ansys shareholders will receive $197 in cash and 0.345 shares of Synopsys common stock for each Ansys share. This represents an enterprise value of approximately $35 billion based on the closing price of Synopsys common stock on Dec. 21, 2023.

The implied per share consideration of $390.19, based on the closing price of Synopsys common stock of $559.96 as of Dec. 21. Synopsys said this is a premium of about 29% over Ansys’ closing stock price and approximately 35% to Ansys’ 60-day volume-weighted average price for the period ending on the same date. Under the terms of the agreement, Ansys shareholders would own 16.5% of the combined company on a pro forma basis.

Synopsys added that it plans to fund the $19 billion of cash consideration through a combination of its cash on hand and $16 billion it has obtained in fully committed debt financing. The company said it expects the acquisition to help it continue double-digit growth, which it said should outplace TAM market growth.

In addition, Synopsys said the combined company will generate enough cash flow to enable rapid de-leveraging of its debt and to deliver as much as $400 million in cost and revenue synergies by the fourth year after closing. The companies said they expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2025, subject to approval by Ansys shareholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions.

Evercore is serving as financial advisor to Synopsys, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is serving as legal advisor. Qatalyst Partners LP is serving as financial advisor to Ansys, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP are serving as legal advisors.

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Sevensense said its VSLAM technology can improve mobile robot navigation. Source: ABB

After a challenging year for autonomous mobile robot, or AMR, providers, industry leaders are continuing to consolidate. ABB today announced that it has acquired Sevensense, which combines artificial intelligence and 3D vision to enable AMRs to differentiate between fixed and mobile objects in dynamic environments.

“Offering more autonomy and cognitive intelligence, ABB’s unique market-proven technology paves the way for a shift from linear production lines to dynamic networks,” stated Marc Segura, president of ABB’s Robotics Division, in a release. “Intelligent AMRs autonomously navigate to production cells, tracking stock inventory as they go and sharing this information with other robots, while collaborating safely side by side with humans.”

Spun out of ETH Zurich in 2018, Sevensense’s Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) technology enables mobile robots to create maps for fully autonomous operations, reducing commissioning time from weeks to days. This allows AMRs to operate independently in complex factories and warehouses alongside people, it said.

A fleet can constantly update and share maps, allowing for scalability without interrupting operations and with greater flexibility than other navigation technologies, claimed the company.

Sevensense acquisition evolves from partnership

ABB has invested in innovation for more than 50 years, Segura told The Robot Report. It has partnered with universities such as ETH Zurich and built a partner ecosystem and startup accelerators to keep up with rapidly developing technologies, he said.

ABB had invested in Sevensense in 2021, the same year it acquired ASTI Mobile Robotics for $190 million. The industrial automation provider had added the startup’s VSLAM technology to its AMRs over the past few years, so why acquire it now?

“The decision to transition from partnership to ownership of Sevensense fulfills part of ABB Robotics’ investment strategy, which focuses on innovative AI solutions with the power to transform industries such as logistics and manufacturing,” said Segura. “Through ownership, we are able to fully integrate Sevensense’s pioneering navigation technology into our AMR portfolio and explore new markets and opportunities together.”

ABB did not disclose how much it paid for Sevensense.

ABB expects mobile robot demand to grow 

“There is also an increasing demand for this technology from our customers,” Segura said. “ABB’s analysis estimates the market for mobile robots to grow at 20% CAGR [compound annual growth rate] through 2026, from $5.5 billion to $9.5 billion. This acquisition fortifies our position as a global leader in next-generation, AI-enabled mobile robotics and allows us to address our customers’ needs for greater flexibility and intelligence.”

ABB also cited labor shortages as a driver of demand for more flexible automation.

“This marks a significant step towards our vision of a workplace where AI-enabled robots assist people, addressing our customers’ needs for greater flexibility and intelligence amidst critical skilled-labor shortages,” stated Sami Atiya, president of ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation.

“Each mobile robot, equipped with vision and AI, scans a unique part of the building,” he said. “Collectively, these robots complement each other’s view to form a complete map, enabling them to work autonomously in a rapidly changing environment.”

Ford and Michelin trialed ABB AMRs using Sevensense VSLAM. Source: ABB

ABB sees pilots as path to multiple markets

ABB had already conducted pilot projects with customers in the automotive and logistics industries.

“In automotive, trials with Ford have resulted in efficiency gains in production sites in the U.S., and Michelin has also reported efficiency gains at its site in Spain,” said Segura. “Other automotive manufacturers will roll the technology out at sites in Finland, the U.K., and Germany.”

ABB is also looking to apply the “unprecedented combination of speed, accuracy, and payload” to other markets.

“In retail and logistics, we have found that this visual SLAM technology has made it possible for a large fashion chain to use AMRs, as they can now navigate through complex and dynamic environments, automating the company’s intralogistics,” Segura explained. “Trials have found the AMRs are particularly adept at delivering supplies upstream of a production line, handling finished goods further downstream, and carting pallets around busy factories and warehouses.”

“But this is just the beginning,” he added. “This technology will enable mobile robots to work in new sectors like healthcare and life sciences. It will lower existing entry barriers for robotics, making automation more accessible, while opening up new applications.”

ABB expects its robots using VSLAM to serve the manufacturing, logistics, and service markets. Source: ABB

AI and data to add value, says Segura

In addition to collecting data for navigation, mobile robots and AI can provide more value over time, Segura noted.

“The integration of robotics and AI creates opportunities for significant productivity gains for companies of all sizes and sectors,” he asserted. “While robots are ideal for strenuous, monotonous, repetitive, or dangerous tasks; work around the clock; and can be easily adapted to different production conditions, AI enables robots to fulfil these tasks better. Robots become more adaptive as they learn through experience, and [human] workers can devote themselves to other, higher-value tasks.”

“With Sevensense and VSLAM, we firstly acquire large amount of data through 360-degree cameras,” explained Segura. “A map is created using AI to qualify the features, and then, again using AI, we enable autonomous, flexible robust navigation that can detect humans or other obstacles and navigate around them smoothly.”

“Beyond that, we will be able to fully semantically map the environment, enabling even more intelligent and autonomous decision making,” he said. “Visual SLAM is the gateway to leverage generative AI and large language models [LLMs] in mobile robotics.”

Not only can AI and LLMs help robots move more easily, but they could also improve make them more responsive to users and operators, according to Segura.

“In the past, humans had to learn the language of robots,” he said. “Today, thanks to AI, robots will learn our language. We are already conducting first experiments in collaboration with Zhejiang University in China.”

“In the future, AI-enabled robots will eventually be able to carry out tasks using voice commands, which offers enormous advantages for small and medium-sized companies that do not have programmers in their own ranks,” he said.

“AI takes robotics to the next level, enhancing human-machine interaction [HMI], equipping robots with a wider skillset, generating insights and optimizing processes,” he said. “This lowers entry barriers for applications in various industries, making automation accessible for everyone. 

ABB plans further integration of Sevensense VSLAM

ABB plans to integrate Sevensense’s technology throughout its AMR and software portfolio.

“In collaboration with Sevensense, ABB has already started to implement the Visual SLAM technology into the AMR T702V and the AMR P604V,” said Segura. “These will be followed by other AMR products incorporating VSLAM that will be rolled out in the next three years.”

ABB said that Sevensense’s approximately 35 employees will remain at its headquarters in Switzerland, and it will continue to serve customers besides ABB. 

“Sevensense is part of ABB and will become a global product center for Visual SLAM AMRs, based in Zurich,” Segura told The Robot Report. “It will continue to run its business with other customers as normal, and the technology will also continue to be sold across segments including material handling, cleaning, and other service robotics fields under the product name ‘Sevensense.'”

“This is a significant moment in our shared journey, as we introduce our home-grown technology to a wider range of markets and sectors,” said Gregory Hitz, CEO of Sevensense. “ABB is the ideal home for us to continue scaling our versatile platform for 3D visual autonomy, serving OEMs across the automated material handling and service robotics industries. Together, we will redefine the limits of AI-enabled robotics.”.

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We covered 25 acquisitions in 2023, which was down significantly from the 50 we covered in 2022. Below are eight robotics acquisitions, in chronological order, that stood out to us in 2023. Here’s a look back at the notable acquisitions of 2022 and 2021.

Note that there’s one major acquisition still pending from 2022. Amazon announced in August 2022 its intent to acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion. The deal was quickly put on hold in September 2022, when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission officially started an antitrust investigation. In late November 2023, the European Commission shared an update on its investigation into the deal. Its preliminary view is the acquisition may restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners. The European Commission’s concerns with the merger center around Amazon’s ability to throttle iRobots’ competition in its online marketplace. A final decision on the deal is expected by Feb. 14.

Subscribe to The Robot Report Newsletter or listen to The Robot Report Podcast to stay updated on the robotics stories you need to know about. For all the mergers and acquisitions, check out our special section.

John Deere acquires SparkAI

Date Announced: March 6
Amount: Undisclosed

John Deere acquired SparkAI, a New York-based startup that develops human-in-the-loop technology to help robots resolve edge cases in real time. John Deere, which has developed autonomous tractors, was a SparkAI customer for a few years before the acquisition. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

SparkAI’s role in the workflow is not to take over control and remotely pilot the autonomous tractor. SparkAI provides contextual cues that the autonomous tractor is sometimes missing to make confident decisions.

“Spark is going to expedite everything we do. We’re going to be able to ship products sooner and at higher quality with less work,” said Willy Pell, VP of autonomy and new ventures at Blue River Technology, a company John Deere acquired in 2017. “When we automate away the chunks of human intervention, we will do so with great datasets that characterize the problem across many situations and environments. And all the while we will be delivering value to the customers and learning more about our technology and the environment. And then we will apply that cognition to the next area of growth.”

Berkshire Grey joins Softbank

Date Announced: March 27
Amount: $375 million

Softbank has made several robotics investments over the years that didn’t pan out. In 2023, however, it made at least two warehouse automation-related acquisitions that appear to be safer bets. The first deal came in March when it acquired Berkshire Grey for $375 million in cash. Berkshire Grey produces a variety of robots that address use cases in retail, eCommerce, grocery, 3PL, and package handling companies. Berkshire Grey had struggled financially after going public via a SPAC in 2021.

Before the acquisition, the two companies were familiar with one another. In January 2020, Softbank participated in Berkshire Grey’s $263 million Series B financing round.

Details on the second important acquisition for Softbank can be found further down in this story.

Shopify offloads 6 River Systems to Ocado

Date Announced: May 4
Amount: $12.7M

News of UK grocer Ocado acquiring 6 River Systems broke on the morning of May 4. This came as a surprise to most in the industry. But shocking details of the acquisition were made public in Ocado’s mid-year report.

Ocado revealed it paid Shopify a measly $12.7 million for 6 River Systems, which makes autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for logistics applications. For context, Shopify paid $450 million to acquire 6 River Systems in September 2019. Ocado paid roughly 2.8% of what Shopify paid for 6 River.

6 River Systems’ Chuck autonomous mobile robots. | Source: 6 River Systems

Suffering a $437.3 million loss can’t be good, even if you’re trying to offload a business that’s no longer part of future plans. In its mid-year report, Ocado said the 6 River business “has a good client list, is debt-free, cash flow positive, and generates positive EBITDA.” Shopify offloaded 6 River as part of a shift in strategy.

The 6 River acquisition adds a new type of robot to Ocado’s portfolio – AMRs. Ocado has developed its own ASRS for years for its online grocery business. Ocado recently won a lawsuit against fellow ASRS developer AutoStore, in which AutoStore must pay Ocado a $256 million settlement over two years.

Softbank acquires Balyo

Date Announced: June 16
Amount: $13M

Softbank acquired a controlling stake in Balyo for about $13 million. Based in France, Balyo has nearly 20 years of robotics experience. Balyo now has access to SoftBank’s global network of over 470 technology-led companies, allowing it to develop new commercial relationships.

More importantly, Balyo’s portfolio of robotic forklift technologies strengthens SoftBank’s existing investments in logistics automation. In addition to the aforementioned acquisition of Berkshire Grey, Softbank in April 2021 bought a 40% stake in ASRS maker AutoStore for $2.8 billion. AutoStore generated $149.2 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2023. That represented 21.1% growth year-over-year.

Softbank’s logistics robotics portfolio includes AutoStore, Balyo, and Berkshire Grey. Not a bad start.

Rockwell Automation buys AMR developer Clearpath Robotics

Date Announced: September 6
Amount: $600M

Rockwell Automation buying Clearpath Robotics, and its OTTO Motors division, for more than $600 million is arguably the most significant acquisition of 2023. The sticker price is certainly memorable, but this is also noteworthy because of how important Rockwell Automation is in the industrial automation space. This deal is a major endorsement of AMRs.

Ontario, Canada-based Clearpath develops AMRs for research and development purposes. OTTO Motors, a division of Clearpath, develops AMRs for manufacturing and logistics applications. When announcing the deal, Rockwell Automation said AMRs “are the next frontier in industrial automation and transformation, and this acquisition will supercharge Rockwell’s lead in bringing the connected enterprise to life.”

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“The combination of autonomous robots and PLC-based line control has long been a dream of plant managers in industries as diverse as automotive and consumer packaged goods,” said Blake Moret, chairman and CEO, Rockwell Automation. “With Clearpath, Rockwell is uniquely positioned to make that dream a reality across virtually all discrete and hybrid verticals, optimizing planning, operations, and the workforce.”

Agile Robots acquires Franka Emika

Date Announced: November 13
Amount: $32M

Agile Robots swooped in and saved Franka Emika from insolvency in November. Agile said it will take over Franka Emika’s operations, keeping its approximately 100-person staff with plans to grow the company. Two months before this deal, Franka Emika cited “irreconcilable shareholder differences” as the reason it filed for insolvency.

Both companies are based in Germany and develop collaborative robot arms for research and education and industrial uses. Agile Robots was founded at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 2018.

“This transaction allows us to accelerate the implementation of our international growth strategy,” Rory Sexton, vice president of operations at Agile Robots, said. “The combination of strong AI and software expertise with leading robotics technology strengthens our innovation power and our ability to develop demand-driven and market-ready products. This is good for our location, for the teams, and for the customers of both companies.”

LIG Nex1 acquires quadruped maker Ghost Robotics

Date Announced: December 8
Amount: $240M

LIG Nex1, a South Korean aerospace manufacturer and defense company, is acquiring a controlling stake in Ghost Robotics for $240 million. Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics develops quadrupeds for the U.S. military and its allies, as well as industrial customers.

Despite ethical debates, robots in military and homeland security applications promise to improve efficiency and save lives. In March 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense specified policy, assigned responsibilities and provided procedures for automated weapons platforms.

About a year ago, Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Ghost Robotics, which replied at the time that its systems are based on original research. That case is still pending.

Robot lawnmower maker Electric Sheep Robotics buys landscaping companies

Amount: Undisclosed

Electric Sheep Robotics made perhaps the most interesting acquisitions of 2023. San Francisco-based Electric Sheep Robotics launched in 2019 as a developer of robot lawnmowers for commercial landscapers. In 2023, it acquired four commercial landscaping businesses – Caliscapes, Complete Landscaping, Phenix Landscape and Westar Landscaping. Financial terms of the deals weren’t disclosed.

This is part of a long-term strategy for Electric Sheep. It wants to acquire profitable landscaping businesses and increase their profitability and efficiency by adding robot lawnmowers into their existing workflows.

“The ESR [Electric Sheep Robotics] business model of acquiring landscaping businesses and improving their margins by augmenting workers with automation is radically innovative, and a sustainable, rapidly scalable way to build moonshot robotics,” said Pieter Abbeel, professor in AI and Robotics at UC Berkeley, co-founder and chief scientist at Covariant, and long-time scientific advisor to Electric Sheep. “As this model scales, ESR is poised to build an RL factory to train AI agents for sustainable outdoor work. I’m excited to support their mission.”

“Our intent is to roll this up to hundreds of millions, to almost a billion dollars, in revenue and deploy at the scale of tens of thousands of robots because we believe that the next shift in robotics will have to happen with this progressive automation and reinforcement learning done up to that scale,” Murty told The Robot Report in October.

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Electric Sheep Robotics, an outdoor maintenance company, has acquired two more landscaping businesses. Westar Landscaping and Caliscapes are the newest additions to Electric Sheep’s landscaping portfolio.

With these new acquisitions, San Francisco-based Electric Sheep Robotics has acquired four landscaping businesses in recent months. In October, it acquired Phenix Landscape and Complete Landscaping. These acquisitions are part of the company’s long-term strategy to consolidate the landscaping industry. Electric Sheep plans to acquire traditional landscaping companies and progressively transform their operations to include its autonomous lawn mowers and other robots.

Since implementing this model, Electric Sheep said it has grown revenue eight times. And it doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. The company said it has a growing pipeline of interested businesses that could enable it to grow by 10 times in 2024.

“Electric Sheep is at a critical point in its growth; acquiring Westar and Caliscapes builds on our successful business model of injecting advanced AI and robotics into traditional landscaping companies and significantly increasing their value,” said Nag Murty, CEO and co-founder of Electric Sheep. “We’re bringing a new business model to an industry that is ripe for innovation; by acquiring these businesses first and incorporating this full data and AI deployment engine, we are creating a fully scalable and sustainable business that is really a first in the outdoor services market.”

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Electric Sheep Robotics built to scale

Electric Sheep Robotics’ autonomous mower working alongside a landscaper. | Source: Electric Sheep Robotics

Electric Sheep’s acquisition strategy is a key aspect of its long-term business plan. Acquiring already profitable businesses, and maintaining that profitability as Electric Sheep starts to introduce robotics to their operations, means that the company can be profitable from day one.

“The ESR [Electric Sheep Robotics] business model of acquiring landscaping businesses and improving their margins by augmenting workers with automation is radically innovative, and a sustainable, rapidly scalable way to build moonshot robotics,” said Pieter Abbeel, professor in AI and Robotics at UC Berkeley, co-founder and chief scientist at Covariant, and long-time scientific advisor to Electric Sheep. “As this model scales, ESR is poised to build an RL factory to train AI agents for sustainable outdoor work. I’m excited to support their mission.”

The company considers a few factors when it’s picking landscaping companies to acquire. The first is that it’s looking for a diverse set of data, which can include a diversity of workflows and sites. Jarrett Herold, Electric Sheep’s co-founder and COO, also said company culture is a large factor when picking companies to acquire. 

“Our intent is to roll this up to hundreds of millions, to almost a billion dollars, in revenue and deploy at the scale of tens of thousands of robots because we believe that the next shift in robotics will have to happen with this progressive automation and reinforcement learning done up to that scale,” Murty told The Robot Report in October.

Full stack approach

Electric Sheep uses machine learning models it designed to automate various physical tasks. These tasks can include anything from mowing and sweeping to knowledge work like inventory management, customer success, and marketing.

The company’s robots explore, map, navigate, and manipulate the physical world around them. They’re deployed in places like HOAs, parks, university campuses, and more. Electric Sheep is developing a full stack data channel that its robots are continually trained on.

While the company’s acquisition model does help it to maintain profitability, it also plays an important role in building its full-stack data channel. Murty said that acquisitions are a good way for the company to acquire crucial data it can use to build its AI models. Electric Sheep’s goal is to build a foundational model similar to large language models like ChatGPT, but for the physical world instead of for language.

“Today, AI models really understand language, but they still have no sense of physical reality,” Herold said. “If you take a cat, it navigates the physical space effortlessly, you don’t have to train a cat to go around your house and do X, Y, Z. In the same way, I think the model that we’re building at its core is fundamentally semantically aware of its surroundings.”

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LIG Nex1 and a PE firm have offered to acquire 60% of quadruped maker Ghost Robotics. Source: Ghost Robotics

LIG Nex1 Co. has declared in a regulatory filing its interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Ghost Robotics Corp., which develops quadruped robots for the U.S. military and its allies, as well as industrial customers.

“We’ve been experiencing incredible growth over the past few years,” Gavin Kenneally, co-founder and CEO of Ghost Robotics, told The Robot Report. “We believe LIG Nex1 will be a great partner to help us grow domestically and internationally. This proposed partnership will also be positive for the national security interests of the U.S. and our close allies such as South Korea.”

Kenneally and co-founder Avik De both completed their Ph.D.s in Daniel Koditschek’s legged robotics lab at the University of Pennsylvania. They then co-founded Ghost Robotics in 2015 and were joined shortly thereafter by their first CEO, Jiren Parikh, until his untimely passing in March 2022.

The Philadelphia-based company said it has been building Q-UGVs (uncrewed ground vehicles) with customer partners for specific environments and government and enterprise uses. Its offerings include the Vision 60 UGV.

LIG plans to acquire share of Ghost Robotics at $400M valuation

Korea JoongAng Daily reported that LIG Nex1 plans to spend 187.7 billion won ($143.3 million U.S.), which reflects its 60% of the contemplated transaction value. A private equity investor would provide the remaining 40% of the total $240 million deal. 

That $240 million is 60% of Ghost Robotics’ $400 million enterprise valuation, explained Kenneally. LIG Nex1, an aerospace and defense manufacturer previously owned by LIG Group, is required to declare its intent as a public company in Korea, he said. LIG plans to conduct the purchase through a special-purpose acquisition company, said Korea JoongAng Daily.

“We’re actively negotiating definitive agreements at the moment and look forward to achieving consensus and signing soon,” Kenneally said. “We’ll be going through the appropriate regulatory review steps and anticipate closing sometime in the second quarter of next year.”

He said Ghost Robotics will have more news to share about its technologies and market outreach after the deal closes.

About a year ago, Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Ghost Robotics, which replied at the time that its systems are based on original research. That case is still pending.

Defense demand for ground robots market to grow

Despite ethical debates, robots in military and homeland security applications promise to improve efficiency and save lives. In March 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense specified policy, assigned responsibilities, and provided procedures for automated weapons platforms.

The global market for military robotics could expand from $22.78 billion in 2023 to $31.9 billion by 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.97%, according to Mordor Intelligence. The market research firm said it expects demand for ground robots to be especially strong in defense and security applications.

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An edited image showing an iRobot roomba with Amazon branding. | Source: iRobot, Amazon

The European Commission shared an update on its investigation into Amazon.com Inc.’s $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot Corp. The EC informed Amazon yesterday that its preliminary view is that the acquisition may restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners. 

iRobot shares have had a volatile week. On Friday, its shares were up 34% when Reuters reported that the EC was set to give unconditional approval for the acquisition. Reuters cited three people familiar with the matter in its reporting. 

However, the company’s shares dropped 17% on Monday when the EC made its preliminary statement. The commission first opened its investigation into the acquisition in July and is expected to rule on the deal by Feb. 14.

Amazon first announced its plans to purchase iRobot in August 2022. The deal was quickly put on hold in September 2022, when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission officially started an antitrust investigation.  

In the past few months, the European Commission has conducted a wide-ranging investigation to better understand the robot vacuum market and the potential impact of the deal. This investigation has included analyzing internal documents provided by Amazon and iRobot.

The EC has also gathered views from market participants, including suppliers of robot vacuums and other smart home devices, as well as providers of online sales channels. 

The EU specifies antitrust concerns

The European Commission’s concerns with the merger center around Amazon’s ability to throttle iRobots’ competition in its online marketplace. The commission said it is concerned that Amazon could hamper rival robotic vacuum makers’ ability to effectively compete with iRobot in the European Union or national markets. 

In particular, the EC said that “Amazon may have the ability and incentive to foreclose iRobot’s rivals.” It could do this by engaging in several strategies aimed at making it more difficult for rivals to sell robotic vacuums on Amazon. The company could do this by: 

• Delisting rival robot vacuum makers
• Reducing the visibility of rival vacuum makers in both non-paid and paid results
• Limiting access to certain widgets, such as the “other products you might like” widget, or certain commercially attractive product labels, like “Amazon’s Choice” or “Works with Alexa”
• Directly or indirectly raising the costs of iRobot’s rivals 

The commission found that Amazon was a particularly important channel for selling robotic vacuums in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Consumers in these countries rely on Amazon for product discovery and to make their final purchasing decisions, it said. 

Does Amazon has a financial incentive to limit iRobot competition?

Not only did the European Commission say that Amazon has the ability to throttle iRobot’s competition in its marketplace, but it noted that it may have a financial incentive to do so. 

The commission said that after the merger, Amazon could gain more from additional sales of iRobot’s vacuums than it would lose from fewer e-commerce sales of iRobot’s rivals and other related products. The EC said these gains could include additional data gathered from iRobot’s users. 

Any throttling of competition on Amazon’s marketplace could lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less innovation for consumers, said the EC.

The global market for robotic vacuum cleaners could experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9%, expanding from $6.41 billion in 2023 to $8.37 billion by 2027, according to Research and Markets. It noted that Asia-Pacific and Western Europe are the largest markets.

While the EU hasn’t made its final decision on whether Amazon can acquire iRobot, the situation isn’t looking great for the retail giant. 

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