Ultra Robotics Corp. today announced that it has raised $62 million in funding over two rounds.
Fortune reported that the company received the bulk of the capital, $50 million, through a Series A investment led by Framework Ventures. Ultra’s seed round was jointly led by Y Combinator and NextView Ventures.
Ultra sells a warehouse robot called OP1 Operator. It resembles a humanoid robot attached to the end of a traditional robotic arm. OP1 Operator uses a pair of grippers in the shape of forklift prongs to carry out its work.
The robot has a vertical reach of up to 10 feet, which enables it to take merchandise off warehouse shelves. If an item accidentally falls to the ground, OP1 operator can pick it up.
The inbound shipments that a warehouse receives often combine many different types of items in the same container. For example, an electronics supplier might group together components that belong to the same laptop series. In such situations, warehouse operators separate the contents of the container into bins that each contain a single type of component. That makes it easier to process merchandise for shipping.
Ultra says OP1 Operator can automate the task. It can also perform kitting, which is essentially the opposite operation. In kitting mode, OP1 Operator mixes and matches items from different warehouse containers into the same parcel. That’s necessary when a shopper orders multiple items from an online store.
OP1 Operator also handles the final packaging stage of the workflow. It can place the items that it assembled during the kitting stage into a package, seal it and add a shipping label. Ultra says that OP1 Operator supports multiple types of packaging including envelopes and plastic bags.
The robot is mounted on a flat base with wheels. There is no engine: Workers can move the OP1 Operator between different warehouse sections by manually rolling it. Once the robot is in place, the wheels lock to prevent it from tipping over.
OP1 Operator plugs into a standard wall outlet, which removes the need to charge and maintain batteries. A second cable links it to the local network. OP1 Operator’s computer uses the connection to share data from the onboard sensors with other robots. Ultra uses the data to enhance the artificial intelligence models that power its hardware.
The company says that its AI models don’t require extensive configuration on customers’ part. As a result, OP1 Operator can be set up in a few hours. Ultra claims that a single unit is capable of processing up to 1,000 items per day once it’s up and running.
“The robots that are actually changing the world are the ones doing valuable work for real people,” said Ultra founder and Chief Executive Jon Miller Schwartz. “And this isn’t some far-off dream. It’s happening right now.”
Ultra will use the new capital to finance engineering initiatives and expand the adoption of its robots.