Vecna Robotics

Vecna Robotics provides material-handling autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) with a fleet management and workflow optimization software platform, Pivot.al. The platform distributes and adjusts workflow tasks in real time, shares information between workers and robots, and integrates with legacy automation, robots, warehouse management systems (WMS), and management execution systems (MES). Vecna also offers the modification of existing machines into AMRs. Vecna Robotics spun off from parent company, Vecna Technologies (health care solutions manufacturer, research, and software firm). Although having received funding from a few government agencies initially to develop a humanoid robot, Vecna Robotics had shifted its focus to the development of logistics and delivery robots before the spin-off. 

Vecna Robotics has produced a variety of automated material-handling products to stay competitive: pallet jacks that can carry a maximum of 3.97 tons at a maximum speed of 4.5 mph; conveyors that can carry a maximum of 1.65 tons at a top speed of 4.5 mph; and tuggers that can carry a maximum of 4.96 tons while being able to carry 2.98 tons at a maximum speed of 3.4 mph. The pallet jacks can handle block, stringer, and plastic pallets, with or without bottom boards, and can run 24/7 with opportunistic charging. The tuggers are fork-free for safety and can tow different types of carts and navigate narrow aisles. In December 2020, Vecna introduced its autonomous counterbalanced fork truck, the first in the company’s Silverback Series line of vehicles. The fork truck can lift a payload of up to 3,000 lbs up to 72” vertically. The truck operates using Vecna’s orchestration platform, Pivot.al. In March 2022, Vecna also partnered with Big Joe Lift Trucks, a pedestrian material handling equipment provider, to introduce a collaborative robot (co-bot) pallet jack named Vecna CPJ for manufacturing facilities and warehouses.

In November 2023 , Vecna Robotics introduced a performance guarantee to make automation more accessible and streamline the deployment of mobile robots in warehouses and manufacturing facilities across the US. The guarantee was based on customer-defined success criteria, such as throughput, task completion, and uptime. 

Key customers and partnerships

Vecna Robotics’s clientele includes FedEx (delivery services), Milton CAT (Caterpillar distributor), and Medline Industries (a manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies). Vecna Robotics has partnered with competitors, such as RightHand Robotics (offers robot-picking solutions), integrating their material handling and autonomous mobility expertise to enhance e-commerce order fulfillment operations. The company has also partnered with tech companies, such as Humatics (a microlocation product and software maker), integrating Humatics’ KinetIQ 300 microlocation system into Vecna’s AMRs, and Ouster (a developer of  digital lidar sensors), to use Ouster lidar in its autonomous vehicles until 2025. Moreover, via a partnership, advanced material handling technology solution provider Alta Material Handling Company (Alta MH) offers Vecna’s solutions to their clients in around 55 locations across the US.

Funding and financials

The company’s revenue stood at USD 6 million in 2019. Vecna Robotics’s most recent funding round was Series B funding worth USD 50 million in January 2020, led by Blackhorn Ventures. The funds were to be used to expand globally and to speed up product development in material-handling automation.

In June 2021, Vecna Robotics appointed Craig Malloy as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Daniel Theobald, who co-founded the company. Malloy was to lead the business’s international growth to meet rising demand, focusing on organizational and operational needs. Meanwhile, founder Daniel Theobald will continue as Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Chairman of the Board. This appointment follows Vecna Robotics’ addition to Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2021” list, revealed in March, where Vecna took fourth place in the logistics category. The company was part of the group that published the world’s first AMR interoperability standards (enabling robots from different suppliers to “speak” the same language to work cooperatively). Furthermore, Vecna Robotics reported that it has more than doubled its customer base over the last six months.