Artificial intelligence company raises $5m as robotics demand "skyrockets"

A London AI company has announced that it has secured $5m to help meet demand from firms looking to use robotics.

SLAMcore, which develops spatial AI algorithms for robots and drones, has raised $5m in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures and MMC Ventures, with participation from Amadeus Capital Partners and Toyota AI Ventures.

The funding will be used to meet the “skyrocket” in demand for the robotics market, with interest jumping in drone, robots and AR/VR usage as robotics solutions that can support the post-COVID-19 world.

Owen Nicholson, CEO at SLAMcore, commented: “Even before the crisis, SLAMcore was engaged in many conversations with companies - big and small - who needed a better way to solve spatial intelligence issues in robotics.

“Especially across sectors such as drones, robots, and AR/VR, the coronavirus pandemic has lit the touch-paper and we are primed to meet exploding demand.

“In the past few weeks alone, we have seen a huge spike in enquiries as robotics companies want fast solutions to get their robots to market sooner.”

Mina Samaan, principal at MMC Ventures, said: “We are very excited by the advancements in next generation software platforms used to drive the future of robotics.

“The ability to locate and map in real-time is still unsolved in the vast majority of autonomous designs.

“Therefore, affordable SLAM delivered as-a-service at scale is fundamental to unlocking the adoption of self-driving robots across all indoor and outdoor applications including agriculture, warehousing and last-mile delivery.”

Zoe Chambers, principal at Octopus Ventures, added: “In a post pandemic world, where contactless and hygienic interactions are vital, demand for robotic solutions will only increase.

“Whether they’re moving around warehouses, delivering food, disinfecting hospitals or operating as security guards, robots will be interacting with multiple dynamic environments and even with humans.

“This means that their ability to move autonomously is absolutely fundamental.

“SLAMcore’s solution lies at the heart of this by giving robots spatial intelligence and we are excited to continue to back the business as the market accelerates.”

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