Instock – an innovator in customer fulfillment robotics – recently announced that it raised $3.2M in new funding led by Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund – these new investments bring Instock’s Seed financing to a total of $6.2 million. This seed funding round was co-led by OneWay Ventures and Lux Capital, and funding participation also includes Commerce VC, u.ventures, Cybernetix Ventures, and other investors active in the robotics and eCommerce ecosystem.
With the new funding round, Instock continues its plans to democratize the automation of storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) using gravity-defying robots. And in January 2024, Instock will launch its first production system with a tech-forward 3PL in North America.
The company’s fulfillment operators are constantly challenged to improve speed, efficiency, accuracy and service while simultaneously driving down costs and maintaining a competitive advantage. And automation is a key enabler on all fronts, yet a staggering 80% of eCommerce fulfillment still rely on entirely manual labor (Source: SDC). Instock’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model breaks this mold by offering a significantly more cost-effective and streamlined way to enhance operations with high-performance automation.
Instock’s modular racking could be built in various shapes up to the clear height of a building. And autonomous mobile robots (AMR’s) drive inside the racking along floors, walls, and ceilings to collect bins and present them to operators picking and packing orders at ground-level workstations.
Since the mobile robot is now the only moving part of the solution, system maintenance is easily encapsulated for either the end user or for a technician located off-site. Instock’s focus on self-service is driven by a bold commitment to simplify ASRS robotics for everyday storage and picking operations.
KEY QUOTES:
“There is a growing need for highly automated, space-efficient buildings in logistics. Instock’s ASRS capabilities have the potential to improve the number of shipments per day and storage density in space constrained environments – all of which can enable faster delivery to customers and lower costs. Part of what makes Instock’s ASRS unique is that it can be easily retrofitted into existing environments, allowing for plug-and-play automation in a wide variety of building types. We’re excited to support Instock’s vision as they scale and offer production systems more broadly.”
— Franziska Bossart, the Head of the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund
“Our mission is to empower business operators with radically accessible goods-to-person automation. We provide a tool for high-density storage and quick retrieval of goods that is affordable, easy to use and delivers value on Day 1.”
— Rebecca Dyer, Chief of Operations
“The technology that Instock has built can have a material impact on the future of eCommerce fulfillment. We are excited by the unprecedented speed and efficiency Instock can bring to fulfillment operations across the country.”
— Semyon Dukach, Founding Partner of One Way Ventures
“Our innovative architecture delivers on the promise of a remarkable 10-fold reduction in fulfillment costs while simultaneously creating flexibility for eCommerce operators. Unlocking this potential and wrapping it in RaaS eliminates risks for 3PLs and retailers, enabling businesses of all sizes to transform their existing spaces starting as small as 1,500 square feet with cutting edge automation.”
— Yegor Anchyshkin, CEO and Co-Founder of Instock
“Instock has a category-defining, unique solution that can be easily adopted and scaled. We are confident that Instock will become a leader in the logistics space.”
— Fady Saad, Founder and General Partner of Cybernetix Ventures
