Locus Robotics secures Series B funding in face of ‘significant labor challenges’

Autonomous-robot manufacturer Locus Robotics has secured US$25 million in Series B funding, led by Scale Venture Partners, as demand for robotics in e-commerce fulfillment grows and competition to lower fulfillment costs heats up.

Locus Robotics said it plans to use the Series B proceeds to fund product development and go-to-market activities, as well as to expand into international markets. In addition, the company said that it will invest in its growing, subscription-based robot fleet.

“E-commerce fulfillment warehouses are under tremendous pressure to meet increasing demands for fast, accurate order fulfillment in the face of significant labor challenges,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Locus Robotics’ collaborative robots allow warehouse operators to significantly increase worker productivity while economically closing the growing labor gap.

Faulk added that, with Amazon dominating the e-commerce space across retail and logistics, Locus is empowering independent operators with the means to compete effectively. With Amazon’s economies-of-scale advantage allowing it to sort and store packages for low prices, Locus says that its robots can help smaller players reduce labor costs and thus compete.

Locus added that its customers are already “doubling or tripling their fulfillment speed, with near-100 percent accuracy, while saving 30 percent or more in operating expenses.” And, unlike humans, robots can be stored during slow periods, allowing warehouse operators to quickly scale up, or down, as order volumes fluctuate.