LA is home to some of the most exciting e-commerce brands in the world, but today, it’s a startup most consumers will never hear of that’s making headlines.
InVia Robotics, a company that offers e-commerce brands a “robot-as-a-service” supply chain management platform, closed a $20 million Series B to boost robot production and ramp up deployment. With the funding, the company plans to expand across the U.S. and double its employee count by the end of the year.
“To compete with behemoths like Amazon, warehouse automation is critical for e-commerce companies; but the overhead cost of purchasing a fleet of robots is often beyond reach,” said Founder and CEO Lior Elazary in a statement. “We’re excited to have this funding to fuel the growth of our subscription-based RaaS technology to optimize warehouse performance and increase productivity for our customers.”
Founded by three USC employees working on a DARPA-funded project to create a set of threat-detecting binoculars similar to the set used by Luke Skywalker in “The Empire Strikes Back,” the company deployed its robots to LA-based Hollar in February, helping the company boost warehouse efficiency by over 300 percent.
“E-commerce industry growth is driving the need for more warehouse automation to fulfill demand, and AI-driven robots can deliver that automation with the flexibility to scale across varied workflows,” said Daniel Gwak, the co-head of AI investments at Point72 Ventures, which led the round. “Our investment in inVia Robotics reflects our conviction in AI as a key enabler for the supply chain industry.”
LA-based Upfront Ventures and Embark Ventures — both of which contributed to the company's Series A in February — also participated in the round. Founded in 2015, the Series B brings the company's total fundraising to $29 million.
