Blue Ocean Robotics raises $51 million for mobile robots

Listen to this article

UVD Robots, a brand within Blue Ocean Robotics’ portfolio, build disinfection robots. | Source: UVD Robots

Blue Ocean Robotics, a provider of mobile service robots, raised more than $51 million (DKK 335 million) from A.P. Møller Holding. The investment will be used to help the company roll out its robots globally. Blue Ocean currently has three mobile robot brands in its portfolio, but the company is developing four new types of service robots.

The first of Blue Ocean’s brands is UVD Robots, a mobile disinfection robot. In December 2020, UVD Robots won a contract with the European Commission to provide 200 robots to hospitals across the European Union.

UVD Robots has two models of disinfection robots, which are clinically proven to kill 99.99% of viruses and bacteria on surfaces and in the air in a patient room in just 10 minutes of autonomous operation.

Blue Ocean’s other brands include GoBe Robots, which offers a mobile telepresence robot, and PTR Robots, which offers a mobile robot for patient handling and rehabilitation.

“A.P. Møller Holding provides us with even more financial muscle to consolidate and expand the market share for all of our robots. The expansion of UVD Robots must be accelerated, and we’ve done this with the brands, PTR Robots and GoBe Robots, two new robots, which are now also being made available on the global market,” said Claus Risager, CEO, Blue Ocean. “At the same time, by optimizing the physical robots we are improving quality, production costs and the opportunity to deliver top-quality service for all of our robots at the customers’ locations.”

The company also said it will launch a cloud-based platform in 2022 to facilitate the customer experience. Blue Ocean is A.P. Møller Holdings’ first investment in a robotics company.

“Blue Ocean Robotics has developed several robot solutions that can automate and streamline critical and routine tasks, including in healthcare systems,” Jan Nielsen, CIO at A.P. Møller Holding. “We look forward to following and supporting the company on its interesting and thriving journey.”

Blue Ocean was founded in 2013, and is based in Odense, Denmark. Blue Ocean is part of the Danish robotics cluster, which currently consists of more than 300 robotics and automation companies.

Risager was recently a guest on The Robot Report Podcast. He discussed the evolution of the Danish company, the strength of Denmark’s robotics cluster and the company’s early entry into disinfection robots before the COVID-19 pandemic. Blue Ocean won a 2020 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for its disinfection solution. You can listen to the podcast below.