Clearpath Robotics, a Kitchener-based company founded by University of Waterloo alumni in 2009, recently secured $14 million from RRE Venture Capital with iNovia Capital’s backing. This investment will enhance its software development efforts to potentially transform conventional vehicles into autonomous ones.
The firm, known for creating unmanned vehicles such as the Husky, Grizzly, and Kingfisher, serves prestigious clients like the Canadian Space Agency.
“It means we’re much more able to invest in the potential we’ve seen in robotics,” said co-founder and CTO Ryan Gariepy. “We’ve seen a lot of potential for robotics to bring more–to really change the way people work, and with this funding we’re now able to accelerate how we can get that stuff done.”
The funding will fuel Clearpath’s expansion, including hiring up to 50 new staff, mainly engineers, and welcoming RRE’s Stuart Ellman to its board.
The company, which currently boasts an 80-strong team, remains committed to ethical robotics, opposing the development of autonomous weaponized robots alongside Human Rights Watch.
“For companies, as you could imagine, in mining, in agriculture, or even in materials handling, who have dump trucks who have tractors, who have forklifts, that they already have the vehicles, now we can just provide them the software to make their existing vehicles the equivalent of self-driving cars for instance,” added Gariepy.
Featured image: Ryan Gariepy. Credit: Clearpath Robotics
