We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Berkshire Grey scores $263 million for global expansion and acquisitions
newsworthy

Berkshire Grey scores $263 million for global expansion and acquisitions

January 21, 2020
Ben Ames
No Comments

Just over a year since it emerged from stealth mode, robotic fulfillment solution provider Berkshire Grey has hired two top executives and landed $263 million in venture capital funding to fuel its global expansion, acquisitions, and team growth.

The "series B" financing round was led by with SoftBank, Khosla Ventures, and New Enterprise Associates, with additional participation from Canaan Partners.

The news comes shortly after Berkshire Grey added to its leadership ranks, moving last week to name technology executive Craig Hattabaugh as vice president and general manager, following his previous position as CEO of the business software application vendor Cimcon Software. Hattabaugh will report to Steve Johnson, who was named just a month earlier as Berkshire Grey's president and chief operating officer after working as chief commercial officer of Intelex, a global enterprise software provider.

The new executives did not replace anyone, but were hired to fill new positions and to accelerate commercial growth, Berkshire Grey's vice president of marketing, Peter Blair, said in an email. Tom Wagner remains as the firm's founder and CEO, and both of the new hires ultimately report to him.

Addressing the Lexington, Massachusetts-based company's expansion plans, Blair said that certain customers had asked the company to deploy in international locations, so some of the new funding will be used to establish Berkshire Grey's international capabilities. That investment will complement additional spending to drive growth "in all dimensions - customers, team members, solutions, technology, geographies," Blair said.

At the center of those ambitious growth plans is the company's technology solution set. Aside from Berkshire Grey's product catalog, the fulfillment automation market offers a healthy menu of choices to retail, e-commerce, and logistics providers, ranging from autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to each-picking robot arms, self-driving forklifts, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), good old fashioned conveyors.

However, Berkshire Grey argues that its robotics solutions can significantly accelerate the transformation of customers' logistics operations at a time when they are under more pressure than ever to cope with consumer expectations, labor shortages, and competition from rivals.

"As the recent holiday shopping period showed, online buying habits combined with very high consumer expectations have put tremendous pressure on operations and supply chains of both brick-and-mortar and ecommerce retailers," Hattabaugh said in a release after his hiring. "That pressure will not go away and must be proactively mitigated by new technologies."

The company says it combines artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to automate omni-channel fulfillment, deploying intelligent robotic solutions to automate tasks never before performed by machines in commercial settings. Specifically, the firm's solutions automatically pick, pack, and sort individual items, inner packs, cases, and parcels to automate omni-channel warehouse and distribution operations.

 

Berkshire Grey, a robotics and AI company delivering retail, ecommerce, and logistics fulfillment automation, raises $263M financing to fund global expansion, acquisitions, and team growth. https://t.co/6Mg1CeEtLc

— Berkshire Grey (@BerkshireGrey) January 21, 2020
Material Handling Robotics
KEYWORDS Berkshire Grey
  • Related Articles

    BERKSHIRE GREY RAISES $263 MILLION SERIES B FINANCING

    BERKSHIRE GREY APPOINTS JESSICA PINCOMB MORAN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER FOR 3PL BUSI

    Berkshire Grey Announces Robots as a Service (RaaS) for Solutions

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

UPS sells off its LTL and truckload arm for $800 million

Biden Administration names Oberman to chair Surface Transportation Board

Biden names dozens of senior leaders to DOT, including FMCSA and FRA

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • Biden names dozens of senior leaders to DOT, including FMCSA and FRA

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Sale of 170 Acres plus Lease for 1MSF Build-to-Suit for Home Improvement Retailer in Commerce City, CO.

  • Thriving in the long haul: interview with Colin Yankee

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Sick agv demo thumbnail

Optimize Load Handling Tasks with Industrial Mobile Robots

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Intelligent sensors detect the presence of goods, check for empty shelves, or the correct alignment on the mobile platform towards the freight. The solutions range from simple detection sensors, thorough measuring devices, and 2D LiDAR sensors.

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing