December 2022’s 55 robotics investments totaled US $1.14B, a 7.7% increase over December 2021’s funding total. Investment into companies providing robotics solutions for autonomous ground transportation such as sensors, autonomy ‘stacks’ and ‘drivers’, and whole cloth systems, was particularly strong.
Robotics investments for the month of December 2022 totaled US $1.14B (See Table 1, below). This figure was the result of 55 investments, and represents a 7.7% increase over December 2021’s funding total of $1.06B (representing 65 investments).
December 2022 investment into companies providing robotics solutions for autonomous ground transportation such as sensors, autonomy ‘stacks’ and ‘drivers’, and whole cloth systems, was robust (Einride, Helm.ai, Jiuyao Intelligent, Kuandeng, Kodiak Robotics, PhiGent Robotics, and Fixposition provide examples). Firms providing products and services for industrial inspection, mapping and surveying also attracted solid funding amounts (Energy Robotics, Flybotix, and Exyn Technologies, for example).
Companies developing robotic interventional systems, primarily surgical platforms, were well represented (i.e. LEM Surgical, Ronovo Surgical, and Sinovation Medical), as well as developers of field robotics solutions such as Scythe Robotics and Naïo Technologies.
Table 1: December 2022 Robotics Funding and Investment
| COMPANY | AMOUNT | TYPE | COUNTRY | TECH, PROD & SERVICES | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerocámaras | $904,000 | Series Unknown | Spain | Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones), Operator Services – UAVs (Drones) | Aerocámaras provides drone piloting training services. |
| Aerones | $38,900,000 | Series A | USA | Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Aerones develops robotic technology for wind turbine blade maintenance services. |
| ARIX Technologies | $4,529,211 | Series Unknown | USA | Outdoor Mobile Platforms | ARIX Technologies manufactures pipe crawling robots for oil and gas pipe inspection. |
| Astrobotic Technology | $3,000,000 | Grant | USA | Other Education / Research | Astrobotic Technology is developing space robotics technology for planetary missions. |
| Axiles Bionics | Estimate | Other | Belgium | Prosthetic / Orthotic Systems | Axiles Bionics develops bionic feet for amputees. |
| Barnstorm Agtech | $228,955 | Seed | Canada | Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Barnstorm Agtech provids an open platform for precision and powered deployment of farm technology. |
| BaseTracK | $1,053,667 | Other | Estonia | Software | BaseTracK develops all-weather automated driving solutions based on the concept of “Virtual rails”. |
| Beagle Systems | $2,002,618 | Grant | Germany | Operator Services – UAVs (Drones) | Beagle Systems provides Drones-as-a-Service for powerline / pipeline inspections. |
| Benewake | Estimate | Series C | China | Sensors / Sensing Systems | Benewake manufacturers LiDAR systems. |
| Cheelcare | $10,000 | Grant | Canada | Lifestyle Enhancement, Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Cheelcare develops robotic mobility devices and accessories for people with disabilities |
| Copperstone Technologies | $5,800,000 | Series Unknown | Canada | Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Copperstone Technologies provides robotic services for survey and investigation in challenging and remote locations. |
| Cyberworks Robotics | $10,000 | Grant | Canada | Tech – Controllers, Sensors / Sensing Systems | Cyberworks is an autonomous mobile robotics engineering company. |
| EGROBOTS | $90,000 | Other | Egypt | Outdoor Mobile Platforms, Services – Operator UGVs | EGROBOTS provides Precision-Agriculture as a Service for tree farms. |
| Einride | $500,000,000 | Other | Sweden | Autonomous Transportation Systems (Auto, Truck, Monorail etc.) | Einride develops technologies for transportation systems. |
| Energy Robotics | Estimate | Grant | Germany | Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Energy Robotics is a developer of software solutions for mobile inspection robots. |
| Exyn Technologies | $35,000,000 | Series B | USA | Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones), Operator Services – UAVs (Drones), Sensors / Sensing Systems | Exyn Technologies is a developer of autonomous aerial robot systems. |
| FABU.ai | Estimate | Series B | China | Sensors / Sensing Systems | FABU produces ADAS and autonomous driving technologies. |
| Fixposition | $2,000,000 | Other | Switzerland | Sensors / Sensing Systems | Fixposition offers precise and compact positioning sensors for autonomous guidance systems. |
| Flybotix | $6,935,179 | Series A | Switzerland | Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones), Operator Services – UAVs (Drones) | Flybotix develops a collision tolerant drone for in-structure and indoor inspection. |
| fruitcore robotics | $24,466,731 | Series B | Germany | Articulated Robots | fruitcore robotics develops and manufacturers easy-to-operate industrial robots. |
| Galaxis Automotion | Estimate | Series E | China | Indoor Mobile Platforms | Galaxis Automotion provides integrated logistics automation and robotics solutions. |
| German Bionic | $15,928,132 | Other | Germany | Exoskeletons | German Bionic develops exoskeleton technology that people can wear to augment their physical abilities. |
| Gosion Robot | Estimate | Seed | China | Indoor Mobile Platforms, Articulated Robots | Gosion Robot focuses on intelligent safety inspection and operation solutions. |
| Helm.ai | $31,000,000 | Series C | USA | Software | Helm.ai develops AI software for driver assistance systems, autonomous driving, and robotics. |
| i-KINGTEC | $20,000,000 | Series C | China | Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones), Operator Services – UAVs (Drones) | i-KINGTEC is a developer of intelligent industrial drone and UAV systems. |
| Innok Robotics | $5,305,028 | Seed | Germany | Indoor Mobile Platforms, Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Innok Robotics makes robots that assist humans in their work. |
| Isochronic | Estimate | Grant | Switzerland | Other Commercial | Isochronic manufactures industrial robotic products for pick and place applications. |
| Jiuyao Intelligent | $12,927,319 | Series A | China | Sensors / Sensing Systems, Software | Jiuyao Intelligent develops and manufactures unmanned driving products. |
| Kodiak Robotics | $49,900,000 | Grant | USA | Software, Sensors / Sensing Systems | Kodiak Robotics develops autonomous technology for long-haul trucking. |
| Kuandeng | $14,386,626 | Series B | China | Software, Sensors / Sensing Systems | Kuandeng offers a variety of applications for autonomous driving. |
| LEM Surgical | $9,370,183 | Series A | Switzerland | Surgical / Interventional Systems | LEM Surgical develops robotic systems for spinal surgery. |
| Liu Ma Rui Chi | $12,906,556 | Series A | China | Other Commercial | Liuma Ruichi develps autonomous parking and ADAS solutions. |
| MORFO | $4,198,628 | Seed | France | Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones), Operator Services – UAVs (Drones) | MORFO incorporates biological symbioses, drones, and AI technologies for reforrestation operations.. |
| Multiway Robotics | $28,773,252 | Series B | China | Indoor Mobile Platforms | Multiway Robotics is an logistics solutions provider. |
| Naïo Technologies | $33,781,037 | Series B | France | Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Naïo Technologies develops and markets robots for agriculture and viticulture. |
| Odd.Bot | $2,800,000 | Seed | The Netherlands | Outdoor Mobile Platforms, Services – Operator UGVs | Odd.Bot produces autonomous, mobile weed removal robots. |
| Optimotive Technologies | Estimate | Other | Canada | Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Optimotive Technologies develops autonomous mobile robots for use in extreme environments. |
| PaXini Tech | $500,000 | Seed | China | Sensors / Sensing Systems, End Effectors (Grippers) | PaXini Tech develops high precision 3D tactile sensors that can be used for robotics, wearables, and general automation. |
| PhiGent Robotics | $14,000,000 | Series A | China | Sensors / Sensing Systems | PhiGent Robotics develops autonomous driving solutions. |
| RobCo – The Robot Company | $15,000,000 | Series A | Germany | Collaborative Robots, Services – System Integration / Programming | Robco provides connected end-to-end robot solutions for repetitive manual worker tasks in industrial SMBs |
| RoboBurger | $10,000 | Grant | USA | Articulated Robots | RoboBurger is a developer of a smart robotic chef machine. |
| Ronovo Surgical | $5,000,000 | Series B | China | Surgical / Interventional Systems | Ronovo Surgical deelops minimally invasive (MIS) and digital surgery solutions. |
| Rossum Robot | Estimate | Series B | China | Surgical / Interventional Systems | Rosenbot provides medical robot technology.. |
| Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporation | $30,000,000 | Grant | Canada | Software | Sanctuary is focused on developing human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots |
| Scythe Robotics | $42,000,003 | Series Unknown | USA | Outdoor Mobile Platforms | Scythe Robotics develops autonomous machines for maintaining off-road environments. |
| Senyun Intelligent | $12,980,831 | Series A | China | Sensors / Sensing Systems | Senyun Intelligent is a provider of imaging products for autonomous driving. |
| Shield AI | $60,000,000 | Series E | USA | Software | Shield AI produces and AI and autonomy stack for aircraft. |
| silana | $212,000 | Grant | Austria | Articulated Robots | silana develops technologies to automate the production process in the fashion industry. |
| Sinovation Medical | $43,089,827 | Series D | China | Surgical / Interventional Systems | Sinovation Medical focuses on developing medical robot technology and intelligent medical product innovation. |
| Skygauge Robotics | $2,452,000 | Seed | Canada | Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) | Skygauge develops thrust-vectoring drones designed to conduct ultrasonic inspections at height. |
| Tesseract Ventures | $508,000 | Seed | USA | Indoor Mobile Platforms | Tesseract Ventures autonomous mobile robots (and other technologies) suitable for a wide range of applications. |
As described in Figure 1, China and the USA received the bulk of the funding rounds. The same holds for the total amount of December 2022 investment, with the exception of outlier Sweden which was buoyed by hundreds of millions poured in Swedish firm Einride, a producer of driverless electric trucks.
Figure 1: December 2022 Robotics Investment by Country
December 2022 funding and investment types followed a familiar pattern, with numerous early stage investments, and with large investments coming in later rounds or by other means.
Figure 2: December 2022 Robotics Funding Amounts by Investment Type
Editors’ note: What defines robotics investments? The answer to this simple question is central in any attempt to quantify them with some degree of rigor. To make investment analyses consistent, repeatable, and valuable, it is critical to wring out as much subjectivity as possible during the evaluation process. This begins with a definition of terms and a description of assumptions.
Investors and investing
Investment should come from venture capital firms, corporate investment groups, angel investors, and other sources. Friends-and-family investments, government/non-governmental agency grants, and crowd-sourced funding are excluded.
Robotics and intelligent systems companies
Robotics companies must generate or expect to generate revenue from the production of robotics products (that sense, analyze, and act in the physical world), hardware or software subsystems and enabling technologies for robots, or services supporting robotics devices. For this analysis, autonomous vehicles (including technologies that support autonomous driving) and drones are considered robots, while 3D printers, CNC systems, and various types of “hard” automation are not.
Companies that are “robotic” in name only, or use the term “robot” to describe products and services that that do not enable or support devices acting in the physical world, are excluded. For example, this includes “software robots” and robotic process automation. Many firms have multiple locations in different countries. Company locations given in the analysis are based on the publicly listed headquarters in legal documents, press releases, etc.
Verification
Funding information is collected from a number of public and private sources. These include press releases from corporations and investment groups, corporate briefings, imarket research firms, and association and industry publications. In addition, information comes from sessions at conferences and seminars, as well as during private interviews with industry representatives, investors, and others. Unverifiable investments are excluded and estimates are made where investment amounts are not provided or are