“We have strong validation from the market – be it grocery, ecommerce, cold chain, case picking, industrial parts, truck or transload – that our AS/RS is a genuine breakthrough,” adds Dr. Robert Szczerba, CEO of Freespace Robotics. “However, it’s the backing of the team at NFI Ventures that positions us well to get to these markets, solve for the pain points in their supply chain, and do so in far less time.”
The COVID pandemic illustrated how critical automation and supply chain operations are to everyday, modern life. The global addressable market for warehouse automation is expected to reach $320B by 2026 driven largely by e-commerce trends and the demand for automated solutions. Higher costs for labor, real estate, construction, energy, and capital are driving businesses to solutions that automate the movement of more goods – using less space, less energy and doing so in existing ‘brownfield’ or back-room facilities. The Freespace Robotics solution is ideal for installations into existing spaces given its unique and more forgiving structural requirements.
“Our system is not battery dependent, does not require perfectly plumb and level floors, and doesn’t need expansive open spaces for robots. We work in every space our competitors can and in nearly every space they can’t,” says Karl Sanchack, COO of Freespace Robotics.
Freespace Robotics was formed in early 2022 with seed financing from Carnegie Foundry LLC, a Robotics and AI venture studio that develops and commercializes next-generation, industry specific solutions in autonomous robotics and AI with the National Robotics Engineering Center (“NREC”), a semi-autonomous applied research and development unit of Carnegie Mellon University’s world renown Robotics Institute. Carnegie Foundry is backed by U.S. Steel and Oshkosh Corporation. To date, Freespace Robotics has built relationships with top retailers, grocers, defense logistics agencies, food distributors, 3PL’s and others who need reliable, scalable, and economical solutions for automating the elements of their business to enhance profitability or to resolve labor, economic or other market stresses.