Our Existing Backers Will Also Supply Fresh Investment
Berlin, Germany, 18 June 2020: Micropsi Industries is a robotics software company that brings artificial intelligence to robots. Headquartered in Berlin, we make a product called MIRAI, a first-of-its kind, vision-based robot control system that, by way of machine learning, enables robots to deal with complexity in production that would be otherwise impossible or extremely difficult to get around with hand-engineered solutions, prohibitively expensive as well.
Today, we are happy to announce that the VCs M Ventures and Amplifier have invested in Micropsi Industries, increasing the total amount of capital raised by our company since its launch in 2014 to €13 million. As we aim to expand our network into the application fields of lab automation and supply chain management, these specialized funds will be ideal partners. They join our current investors —Project A, Coparion, and Vito Ventures — who took the opportunity to supply fresh investment.
For the last six years, our goal has been to develop an easy, AI-driven, fully productized system that anyone can use, not least workers at small- and medium-sized enterprises. Robots with MIRAI are trained through human demonstration in just a few days. No knowledge of programming or AI is necessary. To train a robot, a human repeatedly performs demonstrations of a task by manually guiding the robot by the robot’s wrist. During the demonstrations, the MIRAI-powered robot takes in information through sensors, using the gathered data to learn how to do the task on its own.
By virtue of MIRAI, industrial robots are able to deftly deal with variance in workspaces. Up to this point, Micropsi Industries has tended to do business with customers in the manufacturing sector, but MIRAI is perfectly able to cope with complexity in other settings too. This is why collaborating with M Ventures and Amplifier makes sense for us. “With M Ventures and Amplifier, two specialized funds are joining our group of investors, facilitating our strategic expansion into lab automation and logistics after we have proven the potential of MIRAI in manufacturing,” said Ronnie Vuine, CEO and co-founder of Micropsi Industries.
“Micropsi Industries’ unique approach to addressing processes with high positional variance and low volumes represents an excellent fit with numerous tasks within laboratories globally,” said Alexander Hoffmann, investment director at M Ventures. “We see a tremendous opportunity to apply robotics paired with the right software solution in the labs of the future, further advancing R&D and scientific progress.”
Henry Palmer, a partner at Amplifier, added: “Ronnie and his team are at the cutting edge of what is possible in robotics today, applying AI to real-world applications in a way that will deliver the agility and flexibility desperately needed. In a post-COVID-19 world, we anticipate automation to accelerate rapidly, for both manufacturing and logistics. The impact of this on the supply chain will be tremendous, and we are excited to be part of this journey with Micropsi Industries.”
M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Its mandate is to invest in innovative technologies and products with the potential to significantly impact Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s core business areas. From its headquarters in Amsterdam and from offices in Germany, the US, and Israel, M Ventures invests globally in transformational ideas by great entrepreneurs. M Ventures takes an active role in its portfolio companies and teams up with entrepreneurs and co-investors to translate innovation into commercial success. M Ventures has a significant focus on early-stage investing and company creation, including the creation of spin-offs to leverage Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s science and technology base.
Amplifier is a strategic venture capital fund and innovation unit, founded and anchored by Christian Oldendorff. It invests in the interconnected supply chain, focusing on disruptive technology from deep ocean to last mile, across each platform and process involved in the logistics and the movement of things. Spun out of the shipping industry, Amplifier leverages its network of industry leaders and partners to support portfolio companies, fueling innovation and driving efficiency gains.
