Robotics Startup Ati Motors Bags $10.85 Mn Funding From True Ventures, Others

Bengaluru-based industrial robotics startup Ati Motors on Friday (July 21) said it has raised $10.85 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist (VC) True Ventures. 

The round also saw participation from Athera Venture Partners and existing investors like Blume Ventures, Exfinity Ventures, and MFV Partners. 

Ati Motors plans to use the fresh funds to expand its business in the US, South East Asia, Japan, and Europe and accelerate the development and deployment of its existing and new product lines.

Founded in 2017 by Saurabh Chandra, Ati Motors is an autonomous mobile robot manufacturer that helps manufacturers in various sectors optimise productivity and streamline operations by deploying its robotics technology. The startup, which was focused on the automobile sector so far, counts the likes of TVS Motor, CEAT, and Hyundai among its clients. 

With the latest fundraise, Ati Motors will also explore opportunities across the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, maritime, and injection molding sectors.

“A major differentiating factor for us is that while a lot of robotics companies are only targeting ecommerce, which is, of course, a great market, we have found our product market fit in the manufacturing sector,” Ati Motors CEO Chandra told Inc42.

“There is a lot of trolley movement inside factories – it could be from store to the shop floor, the reverse movement of finished goods from the shop floor to the warehouse, or from one part of the factory to another. We have been able to completely automate these with our technology,” he said.

Besides selling its robots, the deeptech startup also provides robotics-as-a-services (RaaS).

“The team’s ability to design autonomous robots that operate in demanding manufacturing environments, is a testament to the availability of multidisciplinary skills in the Indian startup ecosystem,” said Parag Dhol, partner at Athera Ventures, in a statement on the fundraise.

Currently, Ati Motors has customers across India and the US. Chandra said that the startup’s products are deployed in over 30 manufacturing plants currently. With further expansion in the pipeline, it plans to have its industrial robots deployed in more than 100 plants by next year.

The company has two products deployed right now – Sherpa Tug (1-tonne trolley mover) and Sherpa RollerTop (carries up to 50kg payload bridging conveyor systems).

Along with the fundraise, Ati Motors is also unveiling a product called Sherpa Pivot today in Bengaluru. This robot can carry bins, or, mount a robotic arm, or work as a flexible assembly line carrying a bike from one station to another. Besides, the startup will also unveil Sherpa Tug v4, an updated version of the existing Sherpa Tug. 

Ati Motors claims to have developed mechanical vehicles, electronics, and the complete software stack in-house.

The startup has raised $17 Mn in total, including the latest fund infusion. It had raised $3.5 Mn in pre-Series A round in 2021. Prior to that, it raised seed funding from US-based early-stage VC Village Global, which is backed by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, among others.

Ati Motors competes with the likes of GreyOrange and Ottonomy, among several others.

The market for autonomous robots is growing at a rapid pace and the space is brimming with opportunities in India as well as globally. As per a report, the Indian industrial automation market’s size is expected to soar to $25.8 Bn by 2028 from $13.25 Bn in 2023.