Insider Brief
- Ati Motors, a leader in AI and autonomous robotics, raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and NGP Capital, alongside existing investors, to accelerate product development and global expansion, particularly in North America and APAC.
- The company has deployed hundreds of Sherpa robots in manufacturing environments worldwide, including scaled deployments with Forvia and Hyundai, leveraging a vast dataset to deliver high uptime and exceptional productivity gains.
- With operations in Mexico and a growing presence in Detroit, Ati Motors aims to revolutionize industrial automation by combining Edge AI, LIDAR, and robotics to address the need for autonomous solutions in complex, real-world manufacturing scenarios.
PRESS RELEASE — Ati Motors, a leader in AI and autonomous robotics, has announced a $20 million Series B investment led by Walden Catalyst Ventures (WCV) and NGP Capital (NGP) with participation from current investors including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners and Blume Ventures. The funding comes on the heels of Ati Motors exceptional performance, marked by a tripled order book in Q4 2024 and the addition of nine industry leading clients.
Ati Motors expertise in robotics, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing, is revolutionizing how the industrial sector approaches automation. It has deployed hundreds of its Sherpa robots across 40 leading manufacturers (30% Fortune 500), including Forvia and Hyundai with multiple scaled deployments in North America.
The capital will enable the company to accelerate the development and deployment of its robotic workforce, which leverages one of the largest and most diverse factory datasets for autonomous movement. Ati Motors autonomous robots have been deployed globally in dynamic and complex manufacturing environments, delivering industry-leading uptime and helping customers achieve exceptional productivity gains.
Manufacturers around the world are keen to adopt robots as part of their workforce given that people no longer want to put up with dull, dirty and dangerous tasks. However, the adoption has been constrained by availability of robots that perform as well as people in real world scenarios. Solving this gap has been Ati Motors’ success.
“Since our founding, Ati Motors mission has been to create advanced, reliable products that enhance both productivity and efficiency in industrial settings,” said Saurabh Chandra, Founder and CEO of Ati Motors. “This funding will accelerate our ability to leverage our extensive real-world dataset to develop next-generation AI models and further advance our industrial autonomy platform. The rapid growth we’re experiencing validates our approach of focusing on manufacturing as a vertical and conceptualising these robots as purpose-built self-driving vehicles.”
“Ati Motors represents the future of industrial automation,” said Shankar Chandran, Partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures. “Their unique combination of advanced AI capabilities and robotics, along with a deep understanding of manufacturing environments, positions them perfectly to lead the next wave of industrial automation. The impressive growth they’ve achieved validates their approach and demonstrates the strong market demand for their solutions.”
“We’re excited to co-lead this investment in Ati Motors,” said Upal Basu at NGP Capital. “The company’s ability to successfully deploy fully autonomous mobile robots across diverse industrial environments, combined with their rapidly growing customer base, makes them a standout in the industrial automation space. We believe their unique approach to combining Edge AI, LIDAR, and robotics will help address a critical need in the manufacturing sector.”
The funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand Ati Motors market presence both in North America and APAC, and strengthen its position as a leading provider of industrial automation solutions at the intersection of AI and robotics. The company recently established operations in Mexico and has strengthened its presence across US, India and Southeast Asia. The company is currently expanding its North America headquarters in Detroit, MI.
About Ati Motors
Ati Motors is a leading autonomous mobile robot manufacturer, revolutionizing industries with AI-powered robotics inspired by self-driving cars. Specializing in manufacturing facilities, Ati’s product range includes Tugs, Bin Movers, Pallet Movers, and Lifting Platforms. Their flagship Sherpa Tug, featuring 3D navigation and outdoor capabilities, has logged over 500,000 kilometers across 50+ factories. Serving global leaders in automotive, appliances, aerospace, and electronics sectors, Ati Motors has secured over $37M in funding.
About Walden Catalyst Ventures
Walden Catalyst is a venture capital firm helping early-stage companies in the U.S., Europe, and Israel build the next generation of category-defining businesses in deep-tech. The firm is led by Young Sohn and Lip-Bu Tan, deep-tech industry pioneers who between them have invested in more than 600 startups across the globe, of which 138 have gone on to IPO. Walden Catalyst is focused on deep-tech investments and their team of innovators and entrepreneurs are passionate about disruptive technologies and committed to excellence. This translates into unparalleled access to operational expertise, global reach, and a network of industry captains eager to help build and scale the companies of the future.
About NGP Capital
NGP Capital backs early-stage B2B companies from Series A onwards in the U.S., and Europe, within enterprise software, industrial tech, cybersecurity, and infrastructure. Through its $400m fifth fund launched in 2022, NGP Capital invests in companies driving the convergence of the physical and virtual. Founded in 2005, NGP Capital has over $1.6B in AUM and has invested in over 100 companies of which 18 became unicorns and 11 went on to IPO.
