Cyngn Inc. yesterday announced that it recently secured $33 million in funding. The company said it plans to use the funding to scale the production and deployment of its autonomous tuggers and forklifts.
“This capital infusion strengthens our ability to fund operations, drive commercialization, and continue investing in groundbreaking autonomous vehicle technologies,” said Lior Tal, chairman and CEO of Cyngn.
“With increasing demand for automation solutions, especially in the automotive, heavy machinery, and logistics industries, this funding allows us to build on recent momentum, including our upcoming autonomous forklift launch and other strategic advancements,” he added.
Labor challenges increase demand for reliable automation
Forty one percent of warehouse managers have reported an inability to attract and retain workers, according to Cyngn. In addition, labor shortages are affecting 76% of today’s supply chain operations, reported a Descartes study.
In response, the smart manufacturing market could grow from $304 billion in 2024 to $1.3 trillion by 2034, estimated Precedence Research. This growth is driven by increasing demand for efficiency and workforce augmentation. Companies across logistics, warehousing, and manufacturing are accelerating automation initiatives to address rising operational costs.
Cyngn said its systems are powered by artificial intelligence and advanced autonomy. The company claimed that its automated forklifts and DriveMod Tuggers provide a path for businesses to integrate self-driving vehicles into their workflows and address these ongoing challenges.
With its latest funding, Cyngn said it remains focused on scaling robotics deployments, accelerating product innovation, and expanding its market reach. The company has begun accepting orders for its DriveMod Forklift.
Cyngn builds on 2024 momentum
Cyngn said it is entering this year with strong momentum. Some of its key 2024 milestones include:
- Advancing autonomous forklift development: In October, Cyngn announced its first paid autonomous forklift deployment. The company plans to expand the availability of its autonomous DriveMod Forklifts.
- Expanding customer deployments: In recent weeks, Cyngn announced deployments at major organizations across multiple industries. These include defense and automotive manufacturing.
- Growing partnerships: The company said it has strengthened collaborations with OEMs and industry leaders to drive innovation and deliver scalable automation.
Cyngn stated that it develops and deploys scalable, differentiated autonomous vehicle (AV) technology for industrial organizations. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company’s flagship product, its Enterprise Autonomy suite, includes the DriveMod Kit.
The kit can be installed on new industrial vehicles at the end of the line or via retrofit. This empowers customers to adopt self-driving technology into their operations without high upfront costs or the need to replace existing vehicle investments, said Cyngn.
The Enterprise Autonomy Suite includes the Cyngn Insight customer-facing suite of AV fleet management, teleoperation, and analytics tools. It also includes the Cyngn Evolve internal toolkit that enables the company to use data from the field for AI, simulation, and modeling.