Skip to main content

This week in robotics: Amazon’s iRobot deal hits an EU snag as new funding keeps hot drone summer rolling

This week brought in good news for the robotics space in the form of new investment for nascent companies, but two established players within the space hit a snag. Amazon’s potential $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot, which had previously been approved by the U.K.’s antitrust regulators, is now getting an extensive review by the European Union.

Our resident robotics expert Brian Heater has some additional analysis on the deal, and a commemoration of the late industry legend Joanne Pransky, in the latest edition of his Actuator newsletter. Subscribe to get those updates every Thursday right here.

And for the rest of the past week’s robotics news, keep on scrolling.

Verity’s $11M keeps hot drone summer soaring

The Swiss startup Verity announced a new round of funding, on top of its $32 million Series B from back in March. Its deal with Ikea, which had put 100 of its drones in 16 warehouses in Europe, has attracted a ton of industry attention, and this particular round will go toward scaling to meet the need for scale to address the growing opportunity for supply chain automation.

Wildfire detection automation nets additional $17M

Pano AI has been developing cameras capable of automatically detecting wildfires, most recently catching and sending early warnings about the Kutch Road Fire 14 minutes ahead of the first 911 call.

And with wildfires an increasing concern worldwide in the face of rising temperatures, Pano AI announced a $17 million extension to its $20 million Series A.

Simbe’s funding increases to $54M following BJ Wholesale deal

While Verity’s drones focus on warehouses, Simbe’s focused on the stores themselves, with its robots roaming through stores to monitor inventory within a customer’s reach. The company just announced a fresh round of funding with a $28 million Series B that follows its $26 million Series A from late 2019, fresh off the heels of its deal placing its Tally robots in all BJ Wholesale Club locations.

Bedrock’s ocean-mapping ambitions discover $25M in funding

Any construction project requires surveying, inspection and monitoring, and the same holds true for the increasing volume of underwater projects spurred by the demand for offshore wind. Bedrock’s autonomous underwater vehicles aim to conduct that work instead of costly crewed survey ships, and they just announced $25.5 million in new funding to expand its mission. Interestingly, their new focus is less on the hardware itself, and more on proving the commercial viability of selling the data they collect through their autonomous explorers.

If you want the latest in robotics news, plus additional commentary and insights from Brian Heater, subscribe to Actuator and get the weekly newsletter in your inbox.

 

This week in robotics: Amazon’s iRobot deal hits an EU snag as new funding keeps hot drone summer rolling by Alyssa Stringer originally published on TechCrunch



from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/NaRljzE
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Silent Revolution of On-Device AI: Why the Cloud Is No Longer King

Introduction For years, artificial intelligence has meant one thing: the cloud. Whether you’re asking ChatGPT a question, editing a photo with AI tools, or getting recommendations on Netflix — those decisions happen on distant servers, not your device. But that’s changing. Thanks to major advances in silicon, model compression, and memory architecture, AI is quietly migrating from giant data centres to the palm of your hand. Your phone, your laptop, your smartwatch — all are becoming AI engines in their own right. It’s a shift that redefines not just how AI works, but who controls it, how private it is, and what it can do for you. This article explores the rise of on-device AI — how it works, why it matters, and why the cloud’s days as the centre of the AI universe might be numbered. What Is On-Device AI? On-device AI refers to machine learning models that run locally on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or edge device — without needing constant access to the cloud. In practi...

Apple’s AI Push: Everything We Know About Apple Intelligence So Far

Apple’s WWDC 2025 confirmed what many suspected: Apple is finally making a serious leap into artificial intelligence. Dubbed “Apple Intelligence,” the suite of AI-powered tools, enhancements, and integrations marks the company’s biggest software evolution in a decade. But unlike competitors racing to plug AI into everything, Apple is taking a slower, more deliberate approach — one rooted in privacy, on-device processing, and ecosystem synergy. If you’re wondering what Apple Intelligence actually is, how it works, and what it means for your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you’re in the right place. This article breaks it all down.   What Is Apple Intelligence? Let’s get the terminology clear first. Apple Intelligence isn’t a product — it’s a platform. It’s not just a chatbot. It’s a system-wide integration of generative AI, machine learning, and personal context awareness, embedded across Apple’s OS platforms. Think of it as a foundational AI layer stitched into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and m...

Max Q: Psyche(d)

In this issue: SpaceX launches NASA asteroid mission, news from Relativity Space and more. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/h6Kjrde via IFTTT