A Croatian startup helping robots see to perform a variety of industrial tasks has won backing from Koch Industries Inc. in a round of financing that includes money from Milwaukee warehouse products manufacturer Rite-Hite Holding Corp.
The Koch Disruptive Technologies arm of Wichita-based Koch has led a $31 million Series A investment round into Zagreb, Croatia-based Gideon Brothers, which specializes in AI and 3D vision-based autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that, for example, can be used to manage warehouse inventory or perform material handling in a manufacturing facility.
Participating in the funding round with Koch Disruptive Technologies were Germany-based logistics company DB Schenker; startup investor Prologis Ventures; Rite-Hite, which manufactures loading docks and other items for industrial facilities and is building a new headquarters in the Reed Street Yards business park in Milwaukee, and existing Gideon Brothers shareholders.
The money will help the company further develop and commercialize the technology, and will also be used to open offices in Munich, Germany, and a U.S. location in Boston.
That expansion comes as the pandemic and associated labor shortages has accelerated the demand for automation in numerous industrial sectors, Gideon Brothers CEO Matija Kopić said in a press release.
"With more than 300 Koch operations and production units globally, KDT recognizes the unique capabilities of and potential for Gideon Brothers' technology to substantially transform how businesses can approach warehouse and manufacturing processes through cutting edge AI and 3D AMR technology,” said Annant Patel, director at Koch Disruptive Technologies. “Gideon's vision to enhance current industrial warehouse and manufacturing operations through close collaboration between humans and their robotic assistants, while automating complex manual processes to make work safer and more efficient, presents a shift in an industry ready for disruption.”
Rite-Hite products are manufactured at facilities in Tennessee, Iowa, China, Geermany, Denmark, Latvia and Poland, according to the company's website.
