Jun 24, 2022

London, 23 June 2022 – BotsAndUs , a cutting-edge intelligence and robotics company has secured $13m in seed funding to expand its logistics-disrupting solution globally. Lakestar leads the round, with participation from Maersk Growth, Kindred Capital, and Capnamic. Efficient warehousing is a crucial part of global supply chains. The rapid increase in demand for near-instantaneous storage, dispatch, and delivery of goods is placing enormous time and cost pressures on companies, who now need to rethink and enhance their logistics and storage operations. 69% of companies are currently looking to improve their inventory control and lower costs. BotsAndUs collects real-time insights using fully autonomous, mobile robots to quickly process pallets at every stage in their journey throughout a warehouse. Triggered by the arrival of goods, their robots capture the volume and condition as they enter and leave the warehouse. The same robots scan goods on shelves and record their location and quantity. Robots operate without human intervention and do not require additional investments in infrastructure. These robots will save time by eliminating manual dimensioning and stock checking; ultimately allowing managers to have full and real-time visibility of their operations from the comfort of their desks. “BotsAndUs is already paving the way for artificial intelligence and robotics to completely transform logistics. Our integrated AI and robotics platform is helping companies boost their performance and unlock their full potential. We’re confident we can make our vision a reality: transforming logistics on a global scale with real time data to eliminate errors and enhance performance across all steps” says Co-founder and CEO, Andrei Danescu. BotsAndUs already won key customers across various industries. In addition to Maersk and  Huboo , BotsAndUs works with  Menzies Aviation , the air cargo company that services more than 200 airport locations, – including at Europe’s largest airport, London Heathrow. The company recently entered into a partnership with Maersk – the global integrator of container logistics, to collaborate with Maersk’s warehousing and contract logistics division, initially in one of their warehouses, exploring automating inventory management and acceptance processes, and with time to improve customers’ visibility and access to inventory across facilities. With the fresh capital, BotsAndUs is targeting markets including Germany, France, Nordics, USA, and Canada and driving product development. “More than 80% of warehouses have no automation at all. With warehouses expected to grow by 50% by 2025 and labour shortages of over 30%, automation clearly holds the key to ensuring logistics operations are as optimised as possible. Logistics is an industry that always faced margin pressures and little means to invest into a digital infrastructure. BotsAndUs real-time data capture abilities create this infrastructure and the basis for long term automation of warehousing operations. We’re delighted to join the stellar team on their journey to transform logistics and enable companies to perform at their best,” says Lakestar Partner Christoph Schuh. “Maersk Growth’s investment in BotsAndUs is a great reflection of how we in Maersk are working towards improving end-to-end customer visibility and access to inventory across our warehouses, ultimately offering our customers fulfilment tailored in real time and in response to changing demands, says Ingrid Ebner, Global Head of Contract Logistics, Maersk “We are delighted to back such a talented and inspiring team. BotsAndUs are tackling big opportunities in global logistics. Most warehouses have limited or no automation, and could benefit significantly from exploring this space. Many firms currently stretch the capacity of people and process in response to business challenges. BotsAndUs provides an easy on-ramp for warehouses to explore automation, enrich data and enable intelligent optimisation to utilise untapped capabilities from existing assets and teams,” says Oliver Finch, Investment Partner, Maersk Growth. “It’s an exciting time for tech in London, and robotics and AI is one of our most innovative growth sectors. This welcome investment in BotsAndUs further cements our position as a global hub for innovation and venture capital.” Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London for Business —- About BotsAndUs BotsAndUs captures real-time insights of warehouse operations using fully autonomous robots and Artificial Intelligence. These solutions capture real-time data to help companies drive better business decisions in the logistics and warehousing space. Their fully autonomous mobile and modular robots measure, track, and find goods across warehouses without workflow disruption. The data is fed real time into digital twins, allowing logistics and warehouses to quickly respond to operational challenges they face on a daily basis. Instant access to real time data helps optimise the present, de-risk the future and discover the intractable in each location and at every stage of the product journey through the warehouse and onto dispatch. Founded in 2015, BotsAndUs aims to transform the data gathering operations of warehouse environments. Visit BotsAndUs on  LinkedIn  and their website https://www.botsandus.com/ About Lakestar Lakestar’s mission is to find, fund and grow disruptive businesses – enabled by technology – that are founded by exceptional entrepreneurs in Europe and beyond. Founded by Klaus Hommels, the team’s early investments include Skype, Spotify, Facebook and Airbnb. Since raising its first fund in 2012, Lakestar manages an aggregated volume of over €1.2bn across three early stage funds and a growth fund. The team actively advises and supports portfolio companies in marketing, recruitment, technology, product development and regulatory insight, accompanying founders from seed to early stage to growth stage or exit. Lakestar currently has the privilege of holding investments in Revolut, Blockchain.com, Opendoor, Oscar, GetYourGuide, sennder, Eigen, Public.com, SoFi, Solarisbank, Uncapped, Yapily, Terra Quantum, accuRx, Rhino, ZEBEDEE and Hometogo to name a few. Lakestar has presence in Berlin, Zurich and London. Visit us on LinkedIn and our website www.lakestar.com About Maersk Growth democratise, and decarbonise supply chains by backing new business models and technologies. With the aim to unlock growth, we invest in and partner with promising start-ups and visionary innovators – and by injecting our very own rocket fuel we activate our portfolio companies’ full strategic potential.