Quebec-based Robotiq is a robotics company known for making equipment such as specially designed plug-and-play grippers that are able to handle manufacturing tasks previously done by human hands. Robotiq also makes force sensors, camera technology, and robotics software. And Robotiq’s systems can be used for manufacturing tasks such as picking up and placing components or products, light assembly, finishing, and quality testing.
Robotiq has announced it has raised $31 million Canadian Dollars ($23.2 million U.S. dollars). This round of funding came from Battery Ventures. In conjunction with this round of funding Battery General partner Jesse Feldman is joining Robotiq’s board.
With this funding round, Robotiq will be investing in product development, international expansion, and enhanced support of its partner ecosystem. Robotiq started ten years ago and spun out of a project at Laval University.
Robotiq’s founders Samuel Bouchard, Vincent Duchaine, and Jean-Philippe Jobin met as students in a robotics lab at Laval. Bouchard serves as CEO and Jobin is the CTO of Robotiq. And Duchaine is a robotics researcher and professor at the École de Technologie Supérieure in Montreal.
“Collaborative robotics is transforming industries today, offering low-cost, easy-to-deploy solutions that stand in stark contrast to the more-complicated, legacy robotics systems of the past,” said Bouchard. “What is amazing about these systems is how they work side-by-side with humans to improve quality, increase efficiency and minimize worker injuries. We could not be more excited to work with Battery Ventures—a firm that has demonstrated a commitment to innovation in both industrial technology and software—to take our company to the next level.”
Robotiq is partnered with more than 190 distributors in 48 countries. And the company sells it products to manufacturers in industries such as electronics, aerospace, and automotive. Some of the company’s customers include Assa Abloy, Continental Automotive and Saint-Gobain.
“We have been tracking Robotiq and its experienced team for several years and are extremely impressed with the business the founders have built,” added Feldman. “Robotiq’s next-generation products are improving efficiencies at companies all over the globe and, more broadly, provide a glimpse of how new, interconnected technologies including robots, sensors and software are driving a new kind of industrial revolution with huge ramifications for the global economy and workforce.”
