Mercedes-Benz Backs Apptronik, Contoro's $13.5M Win, and Rerun's $17M Boost - Robotics Brief #10
March 27, 2025 -
Robotics Brief
Hi there,
In this edition of the Robotics Brief, we're diving into some exciting developments in the world of robotics and AI. Mercedes-Benz has made a strategic investment in Apptronik, a robotics firm, to explore the use of humanoid robots in their production lines. Meanwhile, Sniffer Robotics has partnered with BRa Tecnologia Ambiental S.A. to enhance methane detection capabilities in South America, particularly focusing on landfill and renewable natural gas facilities.
Additionally, Rerun has secured $17 million in seed funding to advance its Physical AI technology, which will aid in the development of commercial database offerings for robotics and autonomous vehicles. On the other hand, Contoro has raised $13.5 million to further its autonomous robots designed for unloading trailers and containers. These stories highlight the ongoing innovation and investment in AI and robotics, promising significant advancements in various sectors.
Contoro Raises $13.5 Million for Robotics Development
Austin-based startup Contoro has secured $13.5 million in funding to advance its autonomous robots for unloading trailers and containers. Read more
Contoro Inc. Raises $13.5 Million After SXSW Win
Austin-based robotics startup Contoro Inc. has secured $13.5 million in funding from 11 investors, including Amazon, following its victory at the SXSW Pitch Award. The funds will help scale its AI-powered unloading robots. Read more
Mercedes-Benz Invests in Robotics Firm Apptronik
Mercedes-Benz has invested in Apptronik to test humanoid robots in its factories, aiming to address labor shortages in repetitive and hazardous tasks. Read more
Sniffer Robotics Partners with BRa Tecnologia for Methane Detection
Sniffer Robotics has partnered with Argentina-based BRa Tecnologia Ambiental S.A. to enhance methane detection in South America, focusing on landfill and RNG facilities in Argentina and Brazil. Read more
Rerun Secures $17M for Physical AI Development
Rerun, a Stockholm-based company, has raised $17 million in seed funding to advance its multimodal data stack for Physical AI, focusing on robotics and autonomous vehicles. Read more
LEM Surgical Develops Humanoid Surgical Robotics with NVIDIA
LEM Surgical AG is creating a humanoid surgical robotic system using NVIDIA Holoscan technology to improve surgical precision and outcomes. Read more
SoftBank Unveils Remote Driving Support with Traffic AI
SoftBank Corp. demonstrated its remote autonomous driving support system at Keio University, aiming to enhance safety in Level 4 autonomous vehicles by managing sensor malfunctions using a 5G network and AI. Read more
Northwestern Medicine and Vitestro Partner on Robotic Phlebotomy
Northwestern Medicine and Vitestro have announced a collaboration to develop the Aletta™, an autonomous robotic device for blood collection. The partnership aims to improve efficiency and patient care in phlebotomy. Read more
TARS Raises $120 Million for Embodied AI
Chinese AI startup TARS has secured $120 million in angel funding to further its development of embodied AI, integrating machine intelligence with physical agents like robots. The funding round was co-led by Lanchi Ventures and Qiming Venture Partners. Read more
Shield AI and Korea Aerospace Industries Partner on AI Autonomy
On March 20, 2025, Shield AI announced a partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries to enhance AI pilots using Hivemind Enterprise software, aiming to advance autonomous systems for defense. Read more
Stereolabs Launches ZED SDK 5 with Terra AI
On March 19, 2025, Stereolabs announced the release of ZED SDK 5, featuring Terra AI, which significantly enhances vision-based sensing technology for robotic applications. Read more
L&T Technology Services Launches AI-Powered TrackEi™ for Railway Safety
On March 19, 2025, L&T Technology Services introduced TrackEi™, an AI-driven solution for railway track inspection using NVIDIA Jetson™ technology. This tool aims to enhance safety by automating inspections and providing real-time defect detection and predictive maintenance. Read more
Magna and NVIDIA Partner for Automotive AI
Magna International has partnered with NVIDIA to integrate the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX platform into its automotive technology solutions. This collaboration focuses on developing AI-powered systems for advanced driver-assistance and autonomous driving. Read more
XCath Integrates NVIDIA Isaac for Stroke Treatment Robotics
XCath has integrated AI-driven simulation from NVIDIA Isaac for Healthcare into its robotic system to enhance stroke treatment and improve surgical training. Read more
Shield AI Partners with Singapore Air Force for AI Development
Shield AI has announced a collaboration with the Republic of Singapore Air Force and DSTA to develop AI technology for autonomous flight operations, utilizing Shield AI's Hivemind Enterprise. Read more
Maxar Intelligence Unveils GPS-Free Navigation Software
On March 25, 2025, Maxar Intelligence launched Raptor, a software suite that allows autonomous drones to operate without GPS by using 3D terrain data. This innovation aims to improve the reliability of unmanned systems in defense and commercial sectors. Read more
Shield AI Cofounder Calls for Affordable Military Drones
Brandon Tseng, cofounder of Shield AI, highlights the importance of developing cost-effective drones for the US military to maintain global competitiveness. Shield AI is expanding its operations internationally, including in Japan and Ukraine. Read more
Harvested Robotics Secures Seed Funding for AI Laser Weeder
Harvested Robotics has raised INR 5 crore in seed funding to advance its AI-powered laser weeding technology, with backing from Arali Ventures and notable investors. Read more
Overland AI Introduces SPARK for Military Vehicle Autonomy
Overland AI has launched SPARK, a system that transforms existing military ground vehicles into fully autonomous units by integrating its OverDrive software with current hardware. Read more
Galam Robotics Secures €10M for Expansion
Galam Robotics, a Paris-based startup, has raised €10M in Series A funding to enhance production and expand its modular warehouse robots across Europe. Read more
Pudu Robotics Opens US Headquarters and Fulfillment Center
Pudu Robotics has opened a new US headquarters in Santa Clara, California, and a fulfillment center in Hamilton, New Jersey, to enhance service delivery in North America. Read more
TIER IV Unveils Robotaxi Prototype
TIER IV has introduced a new robotaxi prototype without a steering wheel or pedals, aiming to boost industry adoption by sharing its autonomous driving system design. Read more
DeepMind's Pete Florence Starts Robotics Startup Backed by Nvidia
Pete Florence, formerly of DeepMind, has left Google to start a new robotics venture, Generalist AI, with backing from Nvidia. The startup is focused on developing general-purpose robots. Read more
Boston Dynamics and Nvidia Enhance AI in Humanoid Robots
Boston Dynamics is partnering with Nvidia to improve AI capabilities in humanoid robots, focusing on the Atlas model at the Nvidia GTC 2025 conference. Read more
Elu.AI Secures $14M in Pre-Series A Funding
Hangzhou-based robotics firm Elu.AI has raised over US$14 million in a pre-series A funding round, led by Leading Capital and others, to advance its work in intelligent robots and AI solutions. Read more
Oxa and Nvidia Collaborate on AI for Autonomous Vehicles
UK-based startup Oxa has teamed up with Nvidia to enhance AI model training for self-driving technology, using Nvidia's Cosmos platform for synthetic data generation. Read more
Nvidia Launches Cosmos-Transfer1 for Robot Training
Nvidia has introduced Cosmos-Transfer1, an AI model designed to create realistic simulations for training robots and autonomous vehicles, available on Hugging Face. Read more
Tera AI Raises $7.8M for Robot Navigation Software
Tera AI, based in San Francisco, has secured $7.8 million in seed funding to develop a software solution for visual navigation in robots. The funding will aid in deploying their technology on embedded devices and expanding their technical team. Read more
Lab0 Appoints New Board Members from U-Haul and Amazon Robotics
Lab0 has appointed Jim Grogan from U-Haul and Kelly Riedel from Amazon Robotics to its Board of Directors, aiming to enhance its AI-driven warehouse automation and logistics. Read more
Subscribe to Robotics Brief
Weekly coverage of AI-driven robotics advances in industrial automation, autonomous vehicles, and robotic systems.