Slip Robotics announces $28M Series B for automated truck-loading robots-as-a-service

Atlanta-based Slip Robotics, a provider of automated truck-loading robots-as-a-service, announced it has raised a $28 million Series B financing led by DCVC, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm specializing in deep tech.

The investment, according to the company, reflects Slip’s rapid growth with industry-leading customers - including John Deere, GE Appliances, Valeo, and Nissan - who are using SlipBots to load and unload any truck in just 5 minutes.

Automating the truck unloading segment of the supply chain

Slip Robotics is tackling one of the supply chain’s universal inefficiencies: truck loading and unloading. For over 100 years, truck trailers have been loaded and unloaded using the same basic methods.

Because of this, truckers spend 23% of their workday idling at loading docks waiting for forklift operators to load and unload their trailers, while forklift operators rush to carry freight between the trailer and staging area despite 25% of all industrial accidents taking place at the loading dock.

“Modernizing loading and unloading is an enormous problem waiting to be solved. Slip Robotics is driving a level of change in the supply chain industry not seen since the containerization of sea freight,” said James Hardiman, general partner at DCVC. “Their solutions are not just theoretical - they work, and they deliver value and scale today.”

Slip Robotics allows people to auto-load and auto-unload any truck in just 5 minutes using SlipBots. SlipBots, according to the company, cut conventional 30 to 60-minute loading times to just 5 minutes, providing a faster, safer and scalable offering for growing logistics demands.

Unlike other automated offerings, Slip Robotics said its SlipBots can handle any type of freight, at any dock, with no infrastructure modification, and with zero Wi-Fi or complex IT integration required. This broad applicability and ease of deployment have fueled Slip’s rapid adoption and expansion with customers.

Valeo, a multinational automotive parts manufacturer, used SlipBots to reduce their trailer load/unload times from 30 minutes to just 5 minutes. SlipBots integrated into their operations, enabling employees to increase dock throughput by 6x, reduce forklift traffic by 8x and increase safety at the loading dock.

“Slip Robotics makes our lives easier and proves that automation doesn’t have to be difficult,” said Lou D’Allura, productivity manager at Valeo. “It’s the real deal.”

Slip has raised $45 million to date from investors such as Eve Atlas, Tech Square Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Overline, and Pathbreaker Ventures, all of whom participated in the Series B financing.

“Slip’s solutions don’t just represent the future - they solve today’s challenges,” said Chris Smith, CEO of Slip Robotics. “We’re moving freight faster, more safely and at a lower cost for industry-leading brands across the supply chain.”

Following this latest funding round, Slip is expanding its team to support rapid growth, increase deployments and enhance its product offerings. Slip is investing in continued commercial growth along with research and development with a focus on delivering greater value to customers. The company said these initiatives will strengthen its ability to transform loading dock operations across industries.