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CaseFlow orchestrates case-picking robots and staff, famous new CEO Karl Iagnemma. Supply: Vecna robotics
Vecna Robotics at this time introduced that it has closed $14.5 million in further funding from current buyers and introduced on Karl Iagnemma as CEO. The Waltham, Mass.-based firm gives cellular robots for supplies dealing with.
Iagnemma has been a robotics researcher and an entrepreneur. On the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how, he authored publications on robotics and synthetic intelligence which have been cited greater than 20,000 occasions.
“I received my Ph.D. in 2001 and led the Robotic Mobility Group at MIT from 2001 to 2013, the place I did basic analysis into wheeled cellular robots, the foundational expertise for autonomous cellular robots [AMRs] and robotaxis,” Iagnemma advised The Robotic Report.
At MIT, Iagnemma met Daniel Theobald, a fellow alumnus and founder and chairman of Vecna Robotics, whereas engaged on a DARPA undertaking. In 2020, Iagnemma made an angel funding within the firm.
“I used to be satisfied that Vecna had the world’s finest expertise to handle key workflows on this area,” he mentioned. “It’s a $275 billion alternative, with 2.5 billion sq. ft. of warehouse area.”
From autonomous automobiles to cellular robots
In 2013, Iagnemma co-founded and served as CEO of autonomous car (AV) developer nuTonomy, which carried out public robotaxi pilots in Singapore.
“nuTonomy launched the primary totally Stage 4 self-driving automobiles in city environments,” he recalled. “We raised about $20 million however noticed that we would have liked billions to proceed.”
Tier 1 automotive provider Aptiv acquired nuTonomy in 2017 for $405 million.
“We then noticed that we would have liked a fair greater associate,” Iagnemma mentioned. “That’s what led us to Hyundai in 2019.”
He was founding CEO of Motional, a $4 billion three way partnership between Aptiv and Hyundai Motor Group. In Could 2024, Hyundai acquired shares of Motional from Aptiv for $448 million.
“Automation in logistics at this time is just like the present state of robotaxis, in that there’s a huge market alternative however little market penetration,” acknowledged Iagnemma.
“I be a part of Vecna Robotics at an inflection level within the materials dealing with market, the place operators are poised to undertake automation at scale,” he added. “Vecna is uniquely positioned to form the market with state-of-art expertise and merchandise which are simple to buy, deploy, and function reliably throughout many alternative workflows.”
What’s the most important distinction between AVs and AMRs?
“With autonomous automobiles, it’s a must to be careful for drunk jaywalkers, the climate, and child strollers,” replied Iagnemma. “AMRs are able to be deployed at scale at this time.”
“One of many first issues I did after I joined Vecna is I went to a 1.2 million sq. ft. buyer web site,” he famous. “There have been remarkably few folks, and the robots had been working very reliably. It was a extra constrained atmosphere [than for AVs], however the robots are nonetheless advanced. They’re not simply expertise however merchandise that should function repeatedly.”
Iagnemma joins as CaseFlow is launched
Vecna Robotics makes autonomous forklifts, tuggers, pallet vehicles, and pallet jacks. It additionally gives the Pivotal software program and a round the clock Command Heart to assist producers, warehouses, and distribution operators automate vital duties, maximize throughput, and rapidly scale.
“Pivotal is a good instance of the large-scale considering that’s embodied in Vecna,” mentioned Iagnemma. “Some opponents are constructing widgets for particular workflow merchandise, however Vecna is creating an ecosystem. It’s not only a product for one use case however an AI system that optimizes the efficiency of each asset, together with automation and staff.”
Final month, Vecna launched the CaseFlow system for optimized human-robot case selecting. It gives CaseFlow by means of a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) mannequin.
“I used to be excited to affix with the discharge of CaseFlow,” Iagnemma mentioned. “Case selecting is without doubt one of the highest-value workflows, and that is the one really versatile solution to do it. We’ve seen buyer websites with ROI [return on investment] in lower than a yr, with greater than doubling of productiveness. It’s not only a simulation.”
Vecna prioritizes strategic partnerships, enhanced merchandise
In June, Vecna raised greater than $100 million in a Collection C spherical and named Michael Helmbrecht as chief working officer. The corporate’s earlier CEOs included Dan Patt and Craig Malloy.
Vecna mentioned it plans to make use of its newest $14.5 million in funding to speed up expertise and product enhancements.
“My aim as CEO is to proceed investing in product growth and ‘deepen our moat’ within the automated forklift space,” mentioned Iagnemma. “One other is to attain scale by means of new merchandise and strategic partnerships, not on the facility scale however on the enterprise scale.”
“Karl Iagnemma combines distinctive robotics experience with hands-on management, making him the proper match to drive innovation and propel Vecna Robotics into its subsequent section of development,” mentioned Nick Solaro, basic associate at Drive Capital. “We’re assured that his intensive community will probably be instrumental in forging key strategic partnerships, securing the corporate’s long-term management available in the market.”
