Telexistence picks up $170M – The Robot Report

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Telexistence, a developer of autonomous inventory restocking robots, has brought in $170 million in Series B funding. The company’s TX SCARA robots can handle the specialized work of replenishing shelves in refrigerators with bottles and cans. 

The Series B round was made up of returning investors from previous rounds, like Monoful Venture Partners, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, and Airbus Ventures, as well as new investments from SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG), HH-CTBC Partnership (Foxconn Co-GP Fund), Globis Capital Partners (GCP), and more. 

As part of the investment, Kenichi Yoshida, from SBRG, and Ryohei Nomoto, from GCP, will be appointed as directors.

“With this latest funding, we aim to amplify our search for top, diverse talent to enhance our global capabilities at scale,” Tomioka said. “Regardless of nationality, age, or length of tenure, TX believes that there are countless opportunities for individuals with demonstrated skills to thrive, and in fact, current team members hail from 25 different countries. TX adheres to the organizational principle of providing compensation, including salaries and stock options, that is commensurate with performance to the greatest extent possible.”

Along with the funding announcement, Telexistence announced that it entered into a strategic business partnership agreement with SoftBank Robotic Group Gorp., a subsidiary of SBG, to promote their business collaboration globally. The partnership will have a particular focus on accelerating commercialization in North America. 

Telexistence will also initiate a collaboration with Foxconn to establish production technology and carry out mass production for its next-generation robot model called “GHOST”. 

“With the proud backing of our new partners SBG and Foxconn, TX increases its commitment to accelerate the rapid expansion of its existing robot operations and drive the development of robots with human-level versatility, which is the goal of anyone involved in robotics,” Jin Tomioka, CEO of Telexistence, said. 

Telexistence was founded in 2017, and has since brought its robots from R&D to proof-of-concept with small-scale robots to deploying hundreds of its own robots in dynamic environments at commercial scale. In August 2022, the company announced its TX SCARA robots would be installed in 300 FamilyMart convenience stores in Japan. 

The TX SCARA can work around-the-clock, restocking shelves at a rate of up to 1,000 bottles and cans per day, and depending almost entirely on its artificial intelligence (AI) system, known as “GORDON,” to determine when and where products should be stocked.