Symbotic closes SPAC deal and debuts on NASDAQ

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Symbotic made its debut on the NASDAQ today under ticker symbol “SYM” after completing its business combination with SVF Investment Corp. 3. The combination was approved at a meeting of SVFC shareholders on June 3, 2022.  

Symbotic’s system includes a fleet of fully autonomous robots that receive, store and retrieve products in distribution centers. It utilizes hundreds of autonomous mobile robots called “Symbots”. 

SVF Investment Corp. 3 is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by an affiliate of Softbank Investment Advisors. In 2021, a slew of company went public, or announced their plans to go public, via a SPAC. Aurora Innovation, Berkshire Grey, Bright Machines, Memic, Sarcos Robotics, and Vicarious Surgical are just a few on the list. 

“Today marks a significant milestone for Symbotic and its employees, and we are excited to accelerate our growth with a truly disruptive technology platform used by some of the world’s largest companies,” Michael J. Loparco, CEO of Symbotic, said. “Symbotic’s long-term partnership with SoftBank and other established investors will allow us to more rapidly scale our operations, introduce new technology innovations, and expand into new markets.”

Watch Loparco ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ below. Loparco is introduced around the 21:20 mark in the video, and the bell rings around 29:00. 

The combined company, called Symbotic Inc., had an existing $363 million combined cash on the balance sheet as of March 26, 2022. It also received additional growth capital and proceeds from a May 20, 2022 warrant exercise. The combined capital will help the company grow faster, expand to new verticals and progress toward its financial targets. 

“We are thrilled to complete our business combination with Symbotic,” Yanni Pipilis, Chairman and CEO of SVF Investment Corp. 3 and Managing Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, said. “We believe Symbotic is years ahead of its peers, with an exceptional technology platform and impressive customer relationships. Symbotic’s ability to execute, from innovation to installation, gives me every confidence the company will be successful in the public markets.”

According to the company, it has over $11 billion in contracted orders. Recently, Walmart announced plans to put Symbotic’s system into all 42 of its regional distribution centers. 

Symbotic’s partnership with Walmart was announced in July 2021, when Walmart planned to outfit 25 of its distribution centers with Symbotic’s system. The companies had been working together since 2017, when Symbotic’s system began being tested in Walmart’s Brooksville, Florida distribution center. 

Symbotic’s software is able to orchestrate an entire fleet of robots to receive, store and retrieve a virtually limitless number of SKUs, according to the company. Each robot is equipped with the company’s proprietary end-of-arm tooling and vision systems, which allow them to output cases, totes and packages at industry-leading speeds.

Loparco will continue to lead the combined company, and Rick Cohen will continue his position as chairman of the board of directors and president of Symbotic. Goldman Sachs & Co. served as Symbotic’s exclusive financial advisor in the deal, and Deutsche Bank Securities served as exclusive financial advisor to SVFC.