Startup Raises $18M for Drone-AI Inventory Monitoring in Distribution Centers
Corvus Robotics Raises $18M for Autonomous Inventory Management System
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The startup has now raised a total of $18 million, utilizing autonomous drones and AI to monitor inventory in distribution centers.
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MMH Staff – October 9, 2024
Corvus Robotics’ drones can take off autonomously without needing additional infrastructure like reflectors, stickers, or beacons to navigate within the distribution center.
Corvus Robotics, a provider of autonomous inventory management systems, announced an updated version of its Corvus One system that enables drones to fly inside distribution centers without any additional infrastructure such as reflectors, stickers, or beacons. The latest generation product has received $18 million in Series A funding and seed capital led by S2G Ventures and Spero Ventures.
“Corvus Robotics aligns perfectly with our mission of investing in companies that truly transform business operations,” said Marc Tarpenning, co-founder of Tesla and partner at Spero Ventures. “Its drone system requires no additional infrastructure except for a landing platform, making deployment quick and easy while offering cost-effective management. It seamlessly integrates into existing warehouse environments.”
“S2G Ventures seeks innovative technologies that disrupt industry needs, and we believe Corvus is an exemplar of such innovation,” said Arthur Chow from S2G Ventures. “Its technology provides a tangible path to operational excellence by enhancing accuracy and productivity with easy implementation. We are proud to support a company revolutionizing core operations across industries.”
According to Corvus, the fully autonomous Corvus One drone system, which uses computer vision and generative AI to understand its environment, can operate in both very narrow (minimum width of 50 inches) and wide aisles. The company added that with its core obstacle detection technology, lightweight drones can fly safely at walking speed without disrupting workflow or blocking aisles, and proactively ascend when necessary to avoid collisions with people, forklifts, or robots. Its advanced barcode scanning capability reads any barcode symbol placed in any orientation on the front of boxes or pallets. Watch a video demonstrating the system.
“The ability to conduct 24/7 inventory checks without operator assistance has become a game-changer,” said Austin Feagins, Senior Director of Solutions at Staci Americas, which is using Corvus solutions. “The unattended capability of the Corvus One system allows our inventory team to correct discrepancies during non-working hours before daily production starts, reducing fulfillment delays and production impacts.”
By redeploying staff to higher-value tasks such as picking and replenishment, Corvus One improves operational efficiency while saving hundreds of thousands in labor costs, according to Corvus. The system helps maximize space utilization, avoid stockouts, and improve key performance indicators through smarter replenishment and more accurate physical inventory (PI) counts.
“The Corvus One system is a crucial component for end-to-end inventory visibility and optimization,” said Jackie Wu, co-founder and CEO of Corvus Robotics. “We are growing rapidly, and the recent funding round will help us meet the fast-growing customer demand while continuing to develop unprecedented product features on a global scale.”
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Source: Modern Materials Handling
