Demand for flexible automation continues to grow as warehousing and manufacturing operators seek to increase productivity, reduce non-value-added worker travel, and automate material handling without the constraints of fixed infrastructure. Vecna Robotics today said it has raised $31 million to meet that demand.
“Customers aren’t looking to automate a single task in isolation. They’re looking for flexible ways to improve the automated flow of work broadly across their operations,” stated Karl Iagnemma, CEO of Vecna Robotics. He cited doubling in orders for the company’s CaseFlow system for case picking, which it released in 2024 and integrated with Lucas Systems’ voice technology in March.
“We’re seeing that opportunity in the rapid growth of CaseFlow, as well as demand across our entire fleet,” Iagnemma said. “This investment gives us additional capital to scale what’s working today while accelerating the capabilities that will allow our customers to automate even more of their material movement with a trusted, U.S.-based robotics platform they can rely on for the long term.”
“The best way to differentiate is by proving value to customers in real production environments, and we do that every day,” he told Automated Warehouse. “With this funding, we’re going to expand the number and type of workflows that we can tackle, and that’s going to translate to even more value for the customer.”
Vecna Robotics customers get measurable results
Waltham, Mass.-based Vecna Robotics spun out of parent company Vecna Technologies in 2018. The company offers autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and its Pivotal software and services to orchestrate robots, people, and workflows.
In addition to CaseFlow, Vecna’s offerings include the Co-bot Pallet Jack (CPJ), an autonomous forklift, and an autonomous tugger. It claimed that its systems can optimize task allocation, reduce non-value-added work, and drive measurable gains in labor productivity. The company’s customers include Caterpillar, DHL, and GEODIS, and it has been recognized with eight RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards.
Logistics customer GEODIS found that CaseFlow doubled picking throughput from 125 to 250 units picked per hour. It also reported reduced training times and increased safety.
“We’re picking twice as much as we did on manual pallet jacks,” said Steve Elsbury, senior operations manager at GEODIS. “New pickers working with the robots typically start at a performance level of 200%, compared with the previous setup. Their training starts with the robot system itself, versus requiring employees to first learn how to drive the equipment, navigate the facility, and use the WMS interface.”
FCC ruling creates a ‘tailwind’ for U.S. suppliers
Supply chains and robotics have taken on greater strategic importance, according to Vecna Robotics. Geopolitical concerns about Chinese competition and cybersecurity have led to greater scrutiny of how automation is sourced. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced restrictions on new models of advanced, foreign-made mobile robots.
“The FCC action has created a tailwind for us,” said Iagnemma. “It has put a real focus on choosing real automation partners. We’ve gotten quite a lot of inbound interest as a U.S. manufacturer, and I anticipate that will increase.”
Editor’s note: How to build back U.S. manufacturing with automation will be the topic of a panel on “Reshoring With Robots: A Policy Discussion” at RoboBusiness 2026, which will be on Oct. 20 and 21 in Santa Clara, Calif. Registration is now open.
Vecna Robotics to add pallet stacking, trailer loading
Vecna Robotics said it plans use the capital to scale its deployment teams, expand go-to-market initiatives, and accelerate the development of new capabilities. They include pallet stacking and de-stacking and trailer loading and unloading.
The company said this will extend autonomous pallet movement into additional storage, staging, and dock workflows for “dock-to-dock” functionality. The capabilities will also reduce manual forklift travel, ease dock congestion, and support faster and more predictable material flow.
“Stacking and de-stacking crates to very high levels will allow our customers to utilize their floor space much more efficiently,” said Iagnemma. “There are some companies that focus only on trailer loading and unloading, which is a great business opportunity, but if you can do that with the same piece of equipment that can do other movement tasks in the warehouse, you’re making that asset, that robot, that much more valuable.”
He added that the new capabilities do not require any changes to Pivotal, which can oversee all robots regardless of form factor. Vecna has been a pioneer in helping to promote and develop interoperability standards for multi-vendor sites, which are of particular interest to enterprise-scale customers.
Iagnemma said that Vecna will invest in its sales, field service, and go-to-market teams, but improvements in efficiency do not require it to hire more remote-support people, even as its installed fleet grows.
Investment to promote inflection point of growth
Unless led Vecna Robotics’ funding round, which included participation from existing investors Drive Capital, Tiger Global, Highland Capital Partners, and Tectonic Ventures.
“High-mix, high-volume operations need automation that can improve productivity quickly and adapt as conditions change, and that’s exactly what Vecna Robotics has built,” noted Trevor Zimmerman, co-founder and managing partner of Unless. “Vecna combines intelligent orchestration, proven robotics, and U.S.-based manufacturing in a platform built to perform in real warehouse and manufacturing environments.
“As the robotics landscape evolves, that combination of proven technology, domestic manufacturing, and long-term supportability is becoming increasingly important,” he added. “This investment will help the company scale its proven solutions while extending its AMRs to more warehouse workflows across the country.”
Iagnemma expects growth based on trust
“I am 100% convinced that Vecna is at a real inflection point of growth, and that the broader autonomous material handling industry is also at an inflection point for growth,” Iagnemma asserted. “The value that we can create as an independent business over the next 24 to 36 months is incredibly exciting.”
Other automation providers that raised money so far this year include ANSCER Robotics, ATOMS, Richtech Robotics, and Mytra.
“Robotics is an industry that has the ability to have a truly durable customer base and strong recurring revenue from those customers,” he noted. “Pure software businesses can come and go relatively quickly. The ability to be disrupted by an advance in AI is a real threat to them.”
“On the other hand, for robotics businesses that are integrated in an intimate way with critical customer workflows, that is a very trust-based relationship,” said Iagnemma. “That trust is only developed through proven performance. It’s good for us from a business perspective.”