Warehouse Robotics Maker 6 River Systems Grabs $15M – Xconomy

6 River Systems has scooped up $15 million from investors to help push its robots into more warehouses.

The new funding round was led by Norwest Venture Partners, with contributions from earlier backers, including venture firm Eclipse and consumer robotics company iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT), according to a press release e-mailed to Xconomy. The company announced $6 million in seed funding in March 2016.

6 River Systems was founded in 2015 by Jerome Dubois, Rylan Hamilton, and Christopher Cacioppo. Dubois and Hamilton previously were executives with Kiva Systems, the Boston-area warehouse robotics company acquired by Amazon for $775 million in 2012.

Earlier this year, 6 River Systems began selling its mobile robots that assist warehouse workers with picking operations. As TechCrunchreported, 6 River Systemsload-carrying mobile robot(dubbed Chuck) has a screen that shows warehouse workers where items are located on the shelf, how much of something they need to pick, and where they need to go to complete the next task. The machines software and sensors also track worker performance so it can provide feedback and even celebrate accomplishments.

6 River Systems says its early customers include retailers and third-party logistics companies in North America.

The company is part of a broader trend in the robotics industry around emphasizing human-robot teamwork. (6 River calls its product the Collaborative Fulfillment System.)

The warehouse robotics sector is getting more crowded. In the Boston area alone, other players with mobile robots include Vecna, Locus Robotics, NextShift Robotics, and Stanley Innovation.

Weve reached out to 6 River Systems for additional details and will share more after connecting with the company.

Jeff Engel is a senior editor at Xconomy. Email: jengel@xconomy.com

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Warehouse Robotics Maker 6 River Systems Grabs $15M - Xconomy