Robotics startup Magazino raises $25m funding
German robotics startup Magazino has closed a $24.8m (€20.1m) financing round with new investors including the international technology group Körber, Cellcom, Zalando and Fiege Logistics.
In a statement issued yesterday (27 February), Magazino said its technology enables “dynamic warehousing and order picking as well as intelligent material disposition in e-commerce and assembly lines”.
“The Magazino team has developed real innovations with its robotics solutions that have the potential to make a lasting impact on intralogistics,” said Michael Horn, Member of the Executive Board of Körber.
Magazino has developed a software stack called ACROS (Advanced Cooperative Robot Operation System), which forms the “brain” of the robot. According Magazino, ACROS enables “perception-driven robots to operate in environments that were originally made for humans”.
Magazino’s product portfolio includes a number of robot systems and its central development is the mobile order picking robot TORU. According to Magazino: “Whereas, previously, only entire load carriers such as pallets or boxes could be automatically retrieved, TORU enables the picking and handling of individual objects, such as shoe boxes. Using 3D camera technology and numerous sensors, the robots can localise, identify and securely grasp objects on shelves. Having been ‘picked’, TORU stores objects for transportation before delivering them to the desired destination. The development of this technology means that, for the first time ever, the process “Pick-byRobot” becomes a reality, working in parallel with human coworkers.”
One of the investors announced yesterday – Fiege Logistics – is also a customer. Fiege has been using the TORU system and intelligent robots in a distribution centre in Northern Germany to support the warehouse team in picking shoes that have been purchased online. In yesterday’s statement, Magazino said that Fiege has already order 30 additional robots to continue the rollout of the technology.
