Self-driving vehicle provider Seegrid has landed $52 million in investment funding since March for its automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in the material handling sector, saying it plans to use the additional capital to increase the size of its workforce, accelerate new product development, and consider potential strategic acquisitions.
Pittsburgh-based Seegrid had previously announced the first $25 million of the funding round in March, which was funded by lead investor G2VP LLC, a Menlo Park, California-based private equity firm. The company has now added $27 million more funding from “leading technology and robotics investors,” bringing its total funding to date to more than $150 million.
The backing is the latest fuel for fast growth by Seegrid, which said in January that it had increased employee headcount by 35% in 2019 due to rising demand for self-driving vehicles in manufacturing, distribution, and e-commerce. The coronavirus pandemic has now accelerated that trend, the company said.
“Seegrid is having a fantastic year. We expect to double revenues again this year and are seeing increased customer demand as the Covid-19 pandemic is driving many companies to greater use of automation across the material handling industry,” Seegrid CEO Jim Rock said in a release. “With this investment, we will continue to increase our market share, solidify our position as market leader and further disrupt the manufacturing, warehousing and logistics industries. And, most importantly, the continued support from G2VP and our new investors enables us to accelerate new product innovations and address customer needs in this rapidly changing climate.”
According to Seegrid, its suite of infrastructure-free vision guided vehicles (VGVs), fleet management software, and actionable analytics can help companies deploy AGVs and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to improve safety and productivity in manufacturing, distribution, and e-commerce fulfillment.
