ANYbotics Secures $50M Series B Funding

ANYbotics Secures $50M Series B Funding to Revolutionize Industrial Inspection with its Four-Legged Robotic Workforce

The additional funds will fuel the development of new capabilities and scale international deployments in response to increased industry demand.

From Anybotics

ZURICH, Switzerland, 16 May 2023 — ANYbotics, a Swiss robotics pioneer, today announced a $50 million Series B funding round led by international deep tech investors Walden Catalyst and NGP Capital with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Aramco Ventures, Swisscom Ventures, Swisscanto Private Equity, and other existing investors. The funds will be used to scale deployments internationally, fuel the development of new capabilities, and solidify ANYbotics' leading competitive position in robotic inspection solutions.

The investment comes as demand for robotic solutions surges in heavy industries such as oil & gas, chemicals, power, mining, metals & minerals, and utilities. Faced with an aging workforce and labor shortages, these industries increasingly rely on innovative robotics solutions to streamline operations, reduce environmental impact, and increase worker safety.

ANYmal, the company’s groundbreaking robot platform, is both highly mobile and ruggedized for industrial use, a combination crucial for technology adoption and not seen in competitive offerings. ANYbotics’ end-to-end solution returns value in operational deployment and is used by international market leaders such as PETRONAS, Shell, SLB, Outokumpu, Siemens Energy, BASF, and Vale. For its ANYmal X platform, the world’s only Ex-proof legged inspection robot, ANYbotics has significant pre-orders and reservations for over $150M from global oil & gas and chemical companies participating in the product launch program. The additional funding aims to scale sales, delivery, and after-sales service globally to leverage the strong market traction.

"This funding validates our unique approach to addressing fundamental challenges of operating complex industrial facilities,” said Dr. Péter Fankhauser, Co-Founder and CEO of ANYbotics. “Our legged robots have already proven their value in increasing productivity and safety. With this investment, we will expand internationally and accelerate the development of our robots’ AI capabilities such as manipulation for maintenance work to revolutionize automated industrial operations."

As the robotics industry evolves, ANYbotics' close ties to leading robotics research from institutes such as ETH Zurich, University of Oxford, and NVIDIA have been instrumental in maintaining its cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions. 

“We are thrilled to invest in ANYbotics, a pioneering technology originated at ETH Zurich that combines AI and Reinforcement Learning with robotics to create highly robust and autonomous four-legged robots,” said Young Sohn, Managing Partner at Walden Catalyst. “This unique technology allows robots to be easily deployable in complex industrial environments, making it an efficient solution for inspection applications in environments that are dangerous for human beings. Moving forward, we see a significant opportunity to leverage the company’s robust mobility platform and locomotion software stack to enable new use cases and expand their addressable market beyond robotic inspection.”

“We are deeply impressed with the progress ANYbotics has made in achieving early commercial success in key verticals and establishing trust with marquee customers globally,” said Nicolas Autret, Partner at Walden Catalyst. “We are excited to partner with Péter, Fredrik, and the entire team to build the next global leader in robotics.”

“ANYbotics' state-of-the-art technology coupled with a clear global value proposition is exciting – it enables humans to do what they do best and replace dangerous and repetitive tasks with a fully automated AI-powered robot,” said Christian Noske, Partner at NGP Capital. “We are excited to work together towards large-scale deployments and further internationalization.”

"At Bessemer Venture Partners, we firmly believe in the transformative potential of robotics companies like ANYbotics, which are not only redefining the market but also creating a significant positive impact on society," said Alex Ferrara, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. "ANYbotics has demonstrated exceptional capabilities in developing innovative robotic solutions that address the growing needs of heavy industries, simultaneously enhancing productivity, worker safety, and environmental sustainability."

About ANYbotics

Founded in 2016, ANYbotics is a Swiss robotics company specializing in the development of advanced legged robots for industrial inspection. Its flagship products, ANYmal and ANYmal X, are powered by cutting-edge artificial intelligence and provide unparalleled performance across multiple industries. ANYbotics' mission is to transform the way heavy industries operate by automating manual and hazardous tasks, enhancing productivity, and improving worker safety.

To learn more about ANYbotics' innovative robotic solutions and stay updated on the latest news, visit www.anybotics.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.

About Walden Catalyst

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. We back the bold and the daring—trailblazers who are changing the world and making life better for all of us. 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 131 have gone on to IPO. Walden Catalyst’s inaugural is focused on early stage deep-tech investments and their team of innovators and entrepreneurs are passionate about disruptive technologies and committed to excellence. For startups, 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.
Visit us at www.waldencatalyst.com or follow @Walden Catalyst Ventures

About NGP Capital

NGP Capital backs early-stage B2B companies from Series A onwards in Europe, the US, Israel, and China 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 more than 100 companies of which 18 became unicorns and 11 went on to IPO. Some of the companies NGP has backed include Scandit, Lime, Coda, Shippeo, Deliveroo, SecurityScorecard, and many others.