Third Wave Automation raises $40 million to purchase forklifts that are self-contained and can be utilised in warehouses.

Following the recent strategic alliance with Toyota Industries Corporation to develop an automated forklift, Third Wave Automation has received an additional $40 million in investment from Investors. 

The business is located in California and was founded in 2018. The company was in a position to acquire $40,000 in an investment round of the Series B that was managed by Norwest Venture Partners, including the involvement of investors in earlier rounds of Innovation Endeavors, Eclipse, and Toyota Ventures, according to the Form D submitted to the regulators. Matt Howard, General Partner of Norwest Venture Partners, will be the chief director on the board. 

The investment was announced in reaction to Howard’s announcement about the possibilities of the Third Wave and a collaboration with Toyota Industries Corporation, which manufactures the majority of forklifts across the globe Third Wave’s CEO, Arshan Poursohi, told TechCrunch as much. The announcement of the agreement was made at the close of June. Third Wave and Toyota Industries (TICO) will develop an automated forklift. This forklift is built at Toyota Industries’ TICO factory and will come equipped with sensors made by Third Wave as well as the computation stack. Third Wave will be capable of supporting the software component of it. 

They are the three members of Third Wave, comprising Mac Mason, who is the chief robotist in the company, as well as James Davidson, who is not employed by the company but is a specialist with extensive experience with the robots. They often work with other companies, including Google’s robotics department and Google Research, along with Toyota Research Institute. Toyota Research Institute. 

“We’ve covered just about every kind of robot there is,” Poursohi explained. “But every one of the robots we created ended up, as you can imagine, in a closet because eventually Google, or in my case, Sun Microsystems, would decide that it was not worthwhile to roll it out, because it’s not the main operation, or for any other reason. ” 

They were co-founders of the company, but they decided to start their own company to develop robots that could be used to address immediate requirements. 

“When we looked at forklifts, it’s this beautiful manipulation problem, so it’s a robot that actually touches the world on purpose,” Poursohi explained. “And it’s something that could be constructed and then deployed over a time that isn’t defined in terms of years.” 

The forklifts they’ve developed operate using an autonomous shared control system. The forklift, which is capable of moving and lifting pallets, can perform in a distinct manner for the majority of the time. However, every robot can be remotely controlled from a remote location if necessary. They’re user-friendly, and the person who uses them isn’t the same person, as Third Wave is able to use personnel on site to offer remote assistance if the robot faces difficulties in the course of a task. 

“There’s the potential to make an enormous impact on logistics, in both supply chains and in general logistics, by shifting pallets. We’ve chosen to focus on the main benefits of our method, which are that it’s very simple to set up and can be used in brownfield areas. Poursohi explains. 

Third Wave is still in the early stages of development, but it is moving forward. The momentum created through the investment as well as the recent conclusion of technology tests will enable Third Wave to accelerate the process of hiring and focus on commercialization, said Poursohi. He also told the media that they must be aware of the fact that Third Wave is in active talks with 20 logistics firms and retailers in the industry. 

“We’ve tackled and have solid answers on all the technical fronts,” Poursohi said. “The next year , and the two years following within the next two years to a half will be about improving our staff operationally. ” “The market demand for these solutions is immense. ” 

The plan is to build 100 housing units within areas that resemble storage spaces or buildings in 2022. After that, the number will increase up to 350 to 400 units by 2023.