Belgium start-up Robovision, which supports the integration of AI-powered machine vision within robots, has secured US$42m (£33.4m) as part of a Series A funding round led by Target Global and Astanor Ventures to expand its operations across the USA, according to data platform Dealroom.
The company also converted a loan from 2022 worth US$23m (£18.3m), growing its total financing to date to US$65m (£51.7m).
Robovision has built a no-code AI-powered computer vision platform that help robots ‘see’, which it hopes will help companies automate their processes.
The start-up hopes to use the Series A funding to expanding into the US, while also developing its R&D division. Labour shortages across North America are one of its key motivations for the expansion.
Commenting on the funding, Florian Hendrickx, chief growth officer at Robovision, said: “We’re looking to build a robust local presence to address the increasing demand for automated solutions in American factories.”
One of its major automation use cases thus far has been sorting and planting tulip bulbs by utilising 2D and 3D image recognition algorithms. Embedded with Robovision’s platform, the robot assesses the quality of the bulb and, if it is deemed suitable for planting, will then pick it and plant it.
The platform has also been used in Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt to recognise produce and automate label printing for fruit and vegetable scales. According to its developer, this system is in use within more than 1,000 robots in 40 different countries.
Some of the venture capital firms to invest so far include Berlin-based Target Global, Brussels-based
Astanor Ventures and Paris-based Red River West.
In addition to the US expansion, the company hopes to open offices in Germany, France, the UK, the Middle East and Asia.
