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From left: Kruno Stražanac, Josip Ćesić, Matija Kopić, Edin Kočo | Image credit: Gideon Brothers

According to research conducted by ABI Research, the global mobile robotics market is expected to grow to $158.6B by 2030. And, there will be over 15 million autonomous mobile robots in the world by then, and some type of Visual Perception will power 90 per cent of those machines. In this regard, Croatia-based Gideon Brothers, a company that solves industrial problems with autonomous mobile robots, announced that it has raised $31M (approx €25.48M) in its Series A round of funding.

Investors in this round

The round was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), the venture and growth arm of Koch Industries, Inc., with participation from DB Schenker, Prologis Ventures, and Rite-Hite. In addition, existing investors also invested in this round including Taavet Hinrikus (co-founder of TransferWise), Pentland Ventures, Peaksjah, HCVC (Hardware Club), Ivan Topčić, Nenad Bakić, and Luca Ascani.

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With this development, the company expands its Board of Directors with two experienced industry leaders, Annant Patel (Director, KDT) and Xavier Garijo (Member of the Board of Management for Contract Logistics, DB Schenker).

Speaking on the investment, Xavier Garijo says, “Our partnership with Gideon Brothers secures our access to best in class robotics and intelligent material handling solutions to serve our customers in the most efficient way. Our collaboration to date with Gideon Brothers has demonstrated real use cases in inbound and outbound processes within the warehouse environment, we also see wider applications and are excited at what this technology affords us in creating the ‘Warehouse of the Future’ for our customers.”

“Together with Gideon Brothers we aim to challenge what we already have in practice at DB Schenker and revolutionise logistics business models,” added Xavier Garijo.

Capital utilisation

The proceeds from this round will help Gideon Brothers to accelerate the development and commercialisation of its AI & 3D vision-based autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

Besides, the company will also expand its manufacturing, sales, marketing, and customer success operations across key markets of the European Union and the US by opening offices in Munich, Germany, and Boston, Massachusetts, respectively.

Speaking on the development, Matija Kopić, CEO of Gideon Brothers, says, “The pandemic has greatly accelerated the adoption of smart automation, and we are ready to meet the unprecedented market demand. The best way to do it is by marrying our proprietary solutions with the largest, most demanding customers out there. Our strategic partners have real challenges that our robots are already solving, and, with us, they’re seizing the incredible opportunity right now to effect robotic-powered change to some of the world’s most innovative organisations.”

Kopić further adds, “Partnering with these forward-thinking industry leaders will help us expand our global footprint, but we will always stay true to our Croatian roots. That is our superpower. The Croatian startup scene is growing exponentially – already boasting two unicorns – and we want to unlock further opportunities for our country to become a robotics & AI powerhouse.”

Solving industrial problems with autonomous robots through AI

Gideon Brothers was founded in 2017 by Matija Kopić, Josip Ćesić, Edin Kočo, and Kruno Stražanac. The company develops autonomous, mobile, collaborative and modular robots for unstructured, indoor, human industrial environments. It specialises in the flexible automation of horizontal and vertical material handling processes for logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, and retail businesses.

Gideon Brothers’ advanced mobile robots and software solutions help businesses with their complex supply chain challenges such as rising customer expectations, increased product variability and logistics volumes, growing variety of distribution channels, and ultimately, labour shortage.

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) make processes and workflows more efficient and productive. This is achieved by performing non-value-added tasks – such as transporting, picking up, and dropping off products – in order to free up labourers to perform other tasks that add value to the operation. Gideon Brothers believe their technology is a collaboration between robots and people and is now finally possible – unlocking the hidden potential of the world’s material handling operations.

Annant Patel, Director at Koch Disruptive Technologies, says, “With more than 300 Koch operations and production units globally, KDT recognises the capabilities and potential for Gideon Brothers’ AI and 3D AMR technology. Gideon’s vision to enhance current industrial warehouse and manufacturing operations through close collaboration between humans and their robotic assistants, while automating complex manual processes to make work safer and more efficient, presents a shift in an industry ready for disruption.”