Industrial robotics startup Ati Motors raises $10.85 million funding from True Ventures, others

Athera Ventures Partners joined as a new investor, while existing investors Blume Ventures, Exfinity Ventures and MFV Partners also participated.

The latest funding will help Ati Motors implement plans to expand into markets in the United States, South East Asia, Japan and Europe while exploring opportunities across the pharmaceuticals, chemicals, maritime, and injection moulding sectors.

The Bengaluru-based startup will also continue to invest in research and development to launch new products and capabilities in the market.

The company’s robots, which are autonomous industrial vehicles deployed in fully functional warehouses and factories, have been deployed in over 30 factories, co-founder and CEO Saurabh Chandra told ET in an interaction. The company’s clients include Bosch, TVS, CEAT and Hyundai.

Ati Motors’ main product, the Sherpa Tug, hitches to available trolleys at factories and can pull multiple trolleys indoors and outdoors. The product is waterproof and can take a payload of up to 1,000 kg.

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The company’s robots combine artificial intelligence, computer vision and hardware to perform complex tasks in dynamic environments on factory floors. While use cases of its robots include warehousing and logistics, the company has narrowed its product market fit with factories in the automotive, tyre and electrical industries. “We are pleased to back Saurabh and his team at Ati. 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 start-up ecosystem,” Parag Dhol, partner at Athera Ventures, said.

Previously, Ati Motors had raised $3.5 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Blume Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, and MFV Partners in 2021. The company has also received seed funding from Village Global, an early-stage fund based in California backed by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, among others.