Kinova raises $48M for robotic arms

Listen to this article

Kinova’s Gen3 robotic arm offers a payload of 8.8 lb and a maximum reach of 35 inches. | Credit: Kinova

Canadian robotics developer Kinova raised $48 million in funding. The funding will accelerate the development and commercialization of Kinova’s solutions. It will also use the funds to augment engineering resources to meet the demands of global customers.

Founded in 2006, Kinova makes a variety of robotic arms that are used in applications such as medical robotics, assistive robotics, research and education, and more recently industrial and professional automation. Kinova said new products for the industrial markets will be announced later in 2022.

“Kinova is expected to benefit from Graham Partners’ deep domain expertise in medical and industrial technology, as well as experience deploying automation solutions across its portfolio of advanced manufacturing and industrial technology businesses. Graham Partners will leverage its industry resources, operational expertise, and commercial knowledge to support Kinova’s growth,” stated Charles Deguire, President, and CEO of Kinova.

The funding was raised over two separate closings. A $32 million investment was led by Graham Partners with the participation of Export Development Canada (EDC). Another $16 million closing was led by the Government of Canada under the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF).

“We believe Kinova’s cobot technology and expertise in both medical and industrial applications is unique in the robotics industry. We are excited to leverage our expertise to help drive value creation and growth at Kinova,” said Dennis Dunegan, managing principal of Graham Partners.

“We are excited to have Graham Partners and EDC as shareholders,” said Marc Belanger, chief financial officer of Kinova. “They will allow Kinova to continue its impressive international growth both organically as well as through acquisitions.”

“Canadians are developing innovative solutions to real world problems and our government will always be there to support them. Kinova’s robotic products demonstrate this type of innovation and we’re proud to support them as they scale up manufacturing, create high quality jobs, and help grow Canada’s global leadership in the next-generation of robots,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.