Robohub.org
The Robot Report
Uber regrouping after Levandowski firing
Frank Tobe
12 Jun 2017
Uber, the global ride-sharing transportation company, has named two replacements to recover from the recent firing of Anthony Levandowski who headed their Advanced Technologies Group, their OTTO truck...
May 2017 fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
Frank Tobe
01 Jun 2017
May 2017 had two robotics-related companies get $9.5 billion in funding and 22 others raised $249 million. Acquisitions also continued to be substantial with Toyota Motor's $260 million acquisition o...
Two stars, different fates
Frank Tobe
31 May 2017
Andy Rubin, who developed the Android operating system at Google then went on to lead Google through multiple acquisitions into robotics, has launched a new consumer products company. Anthony Levandow...
The Wolf: The Hunt Continues shows calculated precision for hacking into an network
Frank Tobe
26 May 2017
Here's a video you will want to watch. "The Wolf: The Hunt Continues" is really an ad showing how a hacker can enter a network through an unprotected printer (or robot). Christian Slater stars as th...
SoftBank invests $5 billion into Didi Chuxing and $4 billion more in Nvidia
Frank Tobe
24 May 2017
SoftBank, the giant telecom company, is venturing out into the world of robotics and transportation services. DealStreet Asia said that SoftBank is trying to transform itself into the 'Berkshire Hatha...
24 research reports that dissect the robotics industry
Frank Tobe
05 May 2017
After reading the press releases for this batch of 24 research reports, although they vary widely in their forecasts, they almost all agree that most segments of the robotics industry are expected to...
April 2017 fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
Frank Tobe
02 May 2017
April 2017 had 16 robotics-related fundings totaling over $337 million - a fourth solid month for 2017 - $995 million year-to-date. Acquisitions also continued to be substantial with ABB's $2 billion...
Podcasts are the new blogs
Frank Tobe
28 Apr 2017
Most of us are familiar with the podcasts about robotics from the Robots Podcast group. For different perspectives, from the funder's point of view, here's a list of podcasts from the VC's that fund r...
CBS News outlines jobs and robotics debate; IFR fills in gaps
Frank Tobe
13 Apr 2017
CBS News, and reporter David Pogue, displayed some new technologies threatening jobs, while the International Federation of Robotics suggested that deploying robots actually increases jobs. Are either...
March 2017 fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
Frank Tobe
10 Apr 2017
March 2017 had 29 robotics-related startups get funding totaling over $222 million - another solid month for 2017 and $658 million year-to-date. Acquisitions also continued to be substantial with ...
February 2017 fundings, acquisitions and IPOs
Frank Tobe
02 Mar 2017
February fundings for 16 robotics-related startups totaled over $313 million - another solid month for the new year. Acquisitions also continued to be substantial with Ford's acquisition of Argo and M...
Recap: 2016 funding and acquisition updates
Frank Tobe
28 Feb 2017
Although the original articles (2016 was best year ever for funding robotics startup companies) and (Over $19 billion paid to acquire 50 robotic companies) have been updated to reflect the omissions o...
Ford Motor to invest $1 billion in Pittsburgh startup Argo AI
Frank Tobe
15 Feb 2017
Argo AI, a Pittsburgh startup, has sold a majority share of their company to Ford Motor Co. which has agreed to invest $1 billion over a five-year schedule but will immediately become the majority sh...
Robotic cleaning market growing exponentially
Frank Tobe
13 Feb 2017
The International Federation of Robotics forecast that the global market for vacuum cleaning robots, lawn-mowing robots and other household cleaning robots will grow at a compound annual growth rate...
January fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
Frank Tobe
03 Feb 2017
January fundings for robotics-related startups totaled over $123 million - a reasonable start for the new year. For acquisitions, three of the six companies acquired reported that $390.5 million trad...
Factory move to U.S. creates jobs with help from robot workforce
Frank Tobe
25 Jan 2017
By investing $6 million in robots, Bicycle Corporation of America (BCA) was able to take back 10% of their manufacturing from China and place it into a new factory in Manning, South Carolina employin...
$250 million awarded to new Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Innovation Hub
Frank Tobe
18 Jan 2017
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, the new institute is made up of governments, industry, academia, and non-profit organizations from across the country. Combined they have contributed $173 million t...
21 research reports forecast double-digit growth for robotics industry
Frank Tobe
16 Jan 2017
After reading all the press releases for this batch of 21 research reports, one can see that although they vary widely in their forecasts they almost all agree that the robotics market is expected to...
Parrot struggling, Lily fails and Google closes Titan Project as drone industry disunites
Frank Tobe
13 Jan 2017
Toy and entertainment drones, camera drones for professional and business use, moon-shot drones and military drones are all becoming more and more distinct as much of the drone industry gets commodit...
Rethink Robotics raises another $18 million
Frank Tobe
12 Jan 2017
Rethink Robotics, the Boston-based maker of the Baxter and Sawyer robots founded by iRobot co-founder Rodney Brooks, raised an additional $18 million in an unfinished $33 million Series E round led ...
Teledyne Technologies acquires British imaging sensor maker E2V Technologies
Frank Tobe
15 Dec 2016
Teledyne Technologies, which specializes in deepwater gas and oil exploration and production, oceanographic research, air and water quality environmental monitoring, electronics design and developmen...
Robots may save the global economy
Frank Tobe
13 Dec 2016
A recent article in The Washington Post by Morgan Stanley strategist and author of "The Rise and Fall of Nations" Ruchir Sharma, provides a nuanced overview of the issues of jobs, robots, productivi...
Liquid Robotics acquired by Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Frank Tobe
12 Dec 2016
In a move consistent with many other recent acquisitions of stars within the robotics industry, Liquid Robotics announced that they sold their company to Boeing's Autonomous Systems for Defense, Spac...
Beijing World Robot Conference drew big crowds and notable speakers
Frank Tobe
07 Dec 2016
The Beijing World Robot Conference (WRC), sponsored by Beijing City, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the China Association of Science and Technology, was held October 21-25. ...
Self-driving cars, networks, and the companies and people that are stimulating development
Frank Tobe
06 Dec 2016
Intel is establishing an autonomous driving division; hacker George Hotz is open-sourcing his self-driving software in a bid to become a network company; LiDAR and distancing devices are changing. Wh...
November fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
Frank Tobe
01 Dec 2016
Seventeen robotics-related companies got funded for a combined total of over $225 million. Four more got acquired. Three went public to raise funds. And one failed....
US auto industry installed 135,000 robots and added 230,000 jobs
Frank Tobe
24 Nov 2016
In the last six years, (2010–2015), according to the IFR (International Federation of Robotics), US industry has installed around 135,000 new industrial robots. The principal driver is automation ...
Let’s hope Trump does what he says regarding robots and robotics
Frank Tobe
23 Nov 2016
In President-elect Trump's interview with the NY Times yesterday, when discussing jobs, closed factories and factories that may leave the country, he was asked: "Are you worried that those companies w...
Two robotic stock IPOs coming to market
Frank Tobe
22 Nov 2016
For the last few years, there have been very few stock IPOs (Initial Public Offerings). Promising companies have been acquired instead, eg: Kiva Systems and Universal Robots. But two robotics-relate...
Lofty goals crash land while B2B drones prosper
Frank Tobe
15 Nov 2016
Key executives leaving (or were requested to leave) Goggle's drone delivery Project Wing; GoPro recalls all of its newly launched Karma drones and doesn't offer a replacement; DJI slashes prices. What...
Zoox raises $50 million for their stealthy Silicon Valley venture
Frank Tobe
08 Nov 2016
Zoox, the secretive Silicon Valley startup working to build its own self-driving cars, has quietly raised $50 million (in October) in a Series A round led by Composite Capital Management, a Hong Kong...
October fundings, acquisitions, IPOs and failures
Frank Tobe
02 Nov 2016
October fundings for robotics-related startups totaled $291.75 million bringing the year-to-date funding figure very close to $1.5 billion. For acquisitions, three of the six companies acquired report...
The delicate balance between brilliance, safety and arrogance
Frank Tobe
01 Nov 2016
Silicon Valley and other technology centers have their share of brilliant minds. Some of them have similarly outstanding egos. A few of those have very short fuses. Such is the story of George Hotz....
The changing landscape of drone funding
Frank Tobe
26 Oct 2016
CB Insights Drone Quarterly Financing Trends to VC-Backed Companies shows a downward trend. The Robot Report's monthly funding reports show something different: a change in the nature of drone applic...
Why DJI is succeeding in making and selling drones and 3DR didn’t
Frank Tobe
18 Oct 2016
It was clear that DJI was winning the drone commoditization war by the end of 2015. Today's best sellers are mostly DJI products. Other makers (Parrot, 3D Robotics, Autel, Yuneec et al) haven't been a...
IFR’s two reports for 2015 show double-digit growth for remainder of decade
Frank Tobe
17 Oct 2016
Each year the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) surveys and tabulates data from its worldwide network of robotics associations. The two 2016 annual World Robotics Industrial Robots and World...
