Verity AG last week announced that it had completed a 30 million CHF ($32 million U.S.) Series B funding round. The company claimed that it has developed the first commercially successful inventory-tracking system using fully autonomous indoor drones. It said it will use the funding to address a growing backlog of deployments, with systems already installed in 30 sites across 13 countries on three continents.
“The completion of our Series B funding round is an important nod to the value our system provides to clients, and it demonstrates investor confidence in our industry-leading solution and team,” said Raffaello D’Andrea, founder and CEO of Verity. D’Andrea also co-founded Kiva Systems, which was acquired by Amazon in 2012 and rebranded as Amazon Robotics.
Founded in 2014, Verity said its drone inventory systems are trustoworthy in “environments where failure is not an option.” Warehouse operators can use the technology to gather valuable insights that enable greater operational efficiencies, said the Zurich-based company.
Verity already serves warehouses
Supply chain automation has become a top priority for third-party logistics providers (3PLs), retailers, and manufacturers to address business-critical logistics challenges, noted Verity. Inventory management is a prime use case for automation—manual inventory scanning is costly and laborious, and errors frequently lead to lost productivity and sales, the company noted.
Verity said its system allows users to fully automate the scanning process, since its self-flying warehouse drones require no operator and can fly in the dark. The inventory system can reduce labor and equipment costs, eliminate errors and disruptions, improve customer service, and cut waste and CO2 emissions, it said.
Existing clients have a combined footprint of more than 1,500 warehouses and have demonstrated Verity's value proposition, according to the company. Verity said that it offers proven automation to the more than 150,000 warehouses worldwide that still rely on manual inventory checks.
Funding to support new hiring
Verity said its new funding comes as it expands into international markets and is actively recruiting. A.P. Moller Holding led the round, with participation from Exor Ventures and existing and new investors.
“We are especially pleased to welcome A.P. Moller Holding as a key investor in Verity, a global influencer committed to supporting companies that are delivering supply chain excellence and a positive impact on the environment,” said D'Andrea.
“Raff has been at the forefront of automation technology for decades and we are excited to partner with him and the Verity team and help accelerate growth,” said Chetan Mehta, head of growth investing at A.P. Moller Holding.
“The company’s unique fully automated solution is popular with customers and is generations ahead of competitors,” he said. “We believe the company is poised for significant further expansion in the years ahead—particularly given the significant push towards warehouse automation and supply chain efficiency around the world.”
The A.P. Moller Group described itself as a diversified group of industry-leading companies. Denmark-based A.P. Moller Holding is the parent company and said it invests in and builds businesses with a positive impact on society—“nyttig virksomhed.” It said it aspires to generate long-term shareholder and societal value through its global networks and insights derived from 100+ years of entrepreneurship and business building.
Editor's notes: At ProMat this week, Verity will exhibit at Booth N8215 in Chicago's McCormick Place. For more about ProMat 2023, visit Robotics 24/7's special coverage page.
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