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Dexory, a company that serves warehouses with real-time inventory management data using AI software and autonomous robots, has raised $19 million in a Series A funding round led by Europe’s VC Atomico.
Founded in London in 2015, Dexory’s product can be split into two segments. On the hardware side, the company is developing robots loaded with sensors and cameras to capture data as they traverse a given warehouse, taking continuous pictures of racks as it moves at about a normal walking speed (say, half a meter/second). The robots capture 3D scans of the site, which can provide insight into things like dimensions, shapes and sizes, and quantities of goods on shelves.
Dexory then uses computer vision and machine learning to process the captured data, while linking it to the physical location of the stock, but within a digital twin – that is, a full virtual equivalent of its real-world counterpart.
“The robots can be deployed several times a day or once a day around their shifts, including overnight,” Dexory co-founder and CEO Andrei Danescu told TechCrunch via email. “The collection of data insights in a short amount of time, all the time, enables analysis to identify issues on the ground and make decisions to drive warehouse operational efficiency.”
Dexory software Image credits: dexory
Dexory says its customers use its platform for any number of use cases, such as running autonomous inventory checks throughout the day, reducing the need for labor-intensive manual inventory counts. This can also be useful for solving some common warehouse pain points, such as identifying misplaced pallets or other goods that have stopped working.
Instinctively, however, this will never be a perfect solution in every scenario, as it’s certainly not possible to see every item on a shelf, especially if they’re stacked in rows or high on shelves. But Danescu thinks it will largely help solve at least some inventory control issues.
“If the goods are back to back, the solution may not be able to identify exactly what the goods are — no label to read, of course, means nothing to identify,” Danescu said. “But thanks to the 3D scans, it will let the operators know something otherwise there is, and show them a picture of what that is, which solves over 80% of the problem.”
In addition, inventory checks are not the only purpose of Dexory’s platform. It can also be used to keep an eye on space optimization, such as when there are large gaps with nothing in them. Or it can be used to predict capacity, or even as part of a company’s safety compliance workflow, where it can detect dangerous situations.
While there are countless robotics companies already infiltrating the retail world with similar smarts, including Bossa Nova, Simbe, and Zippedi, Danescu says they want to stand out from the pack by focusing on larger warehouse-like environments, rather than retail stores — its robots can scan up to 15 meters (50 feet) high by physically expanding.
“We have new solutions on the roadmap to go beyond that (19-20m-plus), but that’s barely 2-3% of the market,” said Danescu.
Dexo in action Image credits: dexory
Bowls
For now, Dexory is active in the UK and Ireland in the logistics and supply chain sectors; air freight; retail & ecommerce; and manufacturing, with clients such as Menzies Aviation; Denso Manufacturing UK, Huboo and Maersk. Indeed, today’s news comes a week after Maersk revealed it was expanding its partnership with Dexory to include more warehouses in the UK and Ireland, having entered into an initial proof-of-concept partnership in January, shortly after Dexory was rebranded from BotsAndUs .
With its new cash injection, Dexory has now raised a total of $37.9 million in several rounds, and it plans to scale its platform into new markets, including the US, Germany and the Netherlands.
Aside from lead investor Atomico, Dexory’s Series A round included participation from early Facebook and Spotify investor Lakestar; Maersk Growth, the investment arm of Danish shipping and logistics giant (and Dexory customer) Maersk; and London-based early stage VC Kindred Capital.
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