Dexterity picks up $95M in funding for container unloading robots

More robots powered by artificial intelligence could soon be unloading trucks. Dexterity Inc. has closed a $95 million funding round, bringing its total valuation to $1.65 billion.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Dexterity AI was founded in 2017. The company is hiring.

Dexterity said it uses “physical AI” to give its full-stack systems human-like dexterity, freeing workers in logistics, warehousing, and supply chain operations from repetitive and strenuous tasks.

Dexterity applies physical AI to DexR

Dexterity has developed DexR, a dual-armed system for unloading boxes from trailers and containers at the loading dock. The robot uses machine vision, force sensing, and integrated motion planning to pick up a range of items, from stiff cardboard to soft plastic.

DexR uses industrial robot arms with a 60 kg (132.2 lb.) payload, a reach of more than 5 m (16.4 ft.), and the ability to operate between 32° and 122°F (0° to 50°C). The mobile system also uses machine learning to get better at packing trailers over time, according to the company. Its stated goal is to have one pilot managing 10 or more machines.

“[Robots] can touch and recognize objects, are aware of and respond appropriately to surroundings, and will move gracefully and adjust as needed,” according to Samir Menon, founder and CEO of Dexterity. “The combination of those three is what we engineer and what we believe will drive the future of physical Al.”

Dexterity was a 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award honoree for its development and testing of DexR with FedEx, Sagawa Express, and GXO Logistics, among other companies.

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Latest funding brings total to $291M

Lightspeed and Sumitomo Corp. led Dexterity’s latest funding round, reported Bloomberg. This venture round followed a $140 million Series B investment in October 2021 and a $56 million Series A in July 2020 for a total of $291 million to date.

Sumitomo, a Japan-based multinational trading and business investment company, is a customer of Dexterity. It signed a 2022 contract to deploy 1,500 robots to Japanese warehouses by 2026.

Other companies are developing loading and unloading systems, such as Boston Dynamics‘ Stretch, Anyware Robotics‘ Pixmo, and Pickle Robot‘s Pickle Unload System. Dexterity claimed that its robot, which it described as a “humanoid,” is unique in using two arms for the picking operation.

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