A year ago, things were looking uncertain for one of Boston's most promising and distinctive technology companies, Rethink Robotics. The maker of the human-like helper robot Baxter cut 21 jobs—as part of a bid to focus on its top markets within manufacturing—even as its technology was falling behind that of its top competitor.
Rethink's technology was falling behind that of its top competitor.
Specifically, Rethink's software didn't provide the speed and precision for Baxter's movements that many customers were looking for, said Frank Tobe, who has followed Rethink closely as author of The Robot Report, a robotics industry news site. Customers were instead going for the robotic arm from top rival Universal Robots, Tobe said.
But Rethink, founded by robotics legend Rodney Brooks (of iRobot/Roomba fame), made major improvements on Baxter's speed and precision during 2014, Tobe said. "I understand that when they had their layoff it was because they needed to focus," he said. "It seems like the focusing is paying off."
And here's more evidence of that: We now know that the company's new $26.6 million funding round includes some major scores in the investor category—the round was led by GE Ventures (the venture capital unit of manufacturing giant General Electric), while a second new investor is Goldman Sachs (frequently the backer of companies headed for an IPO).
Rethink shared the investor names on Thursday, and noted that all of its previous investors returned for this round, which brings the company to about $100 million in total funding raised since its founding in 2008. Those ongoing investors include Sigma Partners, CRV, Highland Capital Partners, DFJ, Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions and Two Sigma Ventures. The valuation for Rethink isn't being disclosed, a spokeswoman said.
Baxter features two arms and a gripper on each arm, is easy to program and sells for the relatively cheap price of $25,000. It has predominantly been used in manufacturing settings for automating repetitive tasks, such as picking and placing objects.
In a news release, GE Ventures CEO Sue Siegel said that Rethink is "paving the way for a new era of manufacturing in which robots work safely alongside humans." Meanwhile, George Lee of Goldman Sachs put it this way in the release: "Smart, collaborative robotics have proven to be a significant and disruptive technology ... [and] Rethink Robotics is well positioned to lead this industry for many years to come.”
Photo of Baxter courtesy of Rethink Robotics.
