The founders of Photoneo Brightpick Group, which is separating its imaginative and prescient and robotics models. Supply: Photoneo
Photoneo Brightpick Group immediately introduced that it has agreed to Zebra Applied sciences Corp.’s acquisition of its Photoneo s.r.o. unit, which gives imaginative and prescient sensors and synthetic intelligence for robotics.
“Zebra is the proper accomplice to assist Photoneo in its subsequent chapter as an organization,” said Jan Zizka, co-founder and CEO of Photoneo Brightpick Group. “By combining Photoneo’s industry-leading 3D imaginative and prescient expertise with Zebra’s international attain and broad portfolio of robotics and machine imaginative and prescient options, Photoneo is well-positioned to speed up its development and growth.”
Bratislava, Slovakia-based Photoneo Brightpick Group stated it has greater than 8,000 expertise installations throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Its Brightpick unit gives AI robots for warehouses to automate order success, from order choosing and consolidation to dispatch and inventory replenishment. The firm spun off in 2021 from Photoneo Brightpick Group.
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Brightpick to proceed international growth
After the acquisition, Photoneo Brightpick Group stated it would rename itself as Brightpick and proceed working as a separate entity targeted on growing and deploying AI robots to automate warehouse operations.
The corporate stated it plans to reinvest the vast majority of the proceeds from the sale to speed up deployment throughout the U.S. and Europe. In October 2024, Brightpick raised $12 million, and it stated it has secured a complete of $47 million in funding so far.
“This transaction gives vital capital to reinvest in Brightpick and supply some return to shareholders,” asserted Zizka, a visitor on The Robotic Report Podcast. “With Brightpick’s ARR [annual recurring revenue] rising 8x in 2024 and our 2025 manufacturing capability practically absolutely booked, this funding will allow us to scale manufacturing and deployment to fulfill hovering demand for our AI robots and serve much more clients.”
Autopicker takes simply weeks to deploy and allows corporations to attenuate labor for success, stated Brightpick. The cell manipulator can choose and consolidate orders immediately in warehouse aisles, like a human with a cart.
The robotic is powered by superior AI, which allows it to function in any warehouse surroundings and autonomously fulfill orders throughout a variety of product classes, in response to the corporate. Erlanger, Ky.-based Brightpick received Utility of the 12 months within the 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards for Autopicker.
Zebra, Photoneo to mix AI, imaginative and prescient experience
Each Zebra Applied sciences and Photoneo have developed notion {hardware} and software program for robotics purposes.
Photoneo claimed that its patented parallel structured mild expertise delivers quick, correct, and high-resolution data. The firm added that its sensors are licensed to combine with many main robotic arms.
Zebra stated its product portfolio relies on greater than 50 years of expertise in in scanning, track-and-trace, and cell computing methods. With an ecosystem of 10,000 companions throughout greater than 100 nations, the Lincolnshire, In poor health.-based firm counts over 80% of the Fortune 500 amongst its clients.
In 2021, Zebra acquired autonomous cell robotic (AMR) supplier Fetch Robotics for $290 million. At MODEX 2024, it launched new cell robots, equipment, and scanners. In Might, the corporate expanded its choices for producers.
“The mix of Photoneo’s 3D machine imaginative and prescient options with Zebra’s superior sensors, vendor-agnostic software program, and AI-based picture processing will present a novel portfolio of choices to our clients globally,” stated Joe White, chief product and options officer at Zebra. “Collectively, we are going to assist our clients throughout automotive manufacturing, logistics, and different key markets maximize the potential of machine imaginative and prescient inside their frontline operations.”
The businesses didn’t disclose the phrases of the transaction and stated it’s topic to customary closing situations. They stated they count on to shut the deal within the first quarter of 2025.