Formic, a leading provider of Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) automation solutions for U.S. manufacturers, has secured an additional $27.4 million in Series A funding, bringing their total Series A round to over $52 million since January 2022. This round was led by Blackhorn Ventures, with participation from Mitsubishi HC Capital America, NEC, Translink Capital, Alumni Ventures, FJ Labs, Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, and Lorimer Ventures.
Formic offers comprehensive robotic automation services at a competitive hourly rate, encompassing system deployment, continuous monitoring, and maintenance to ensure optimal performance. Over the past 2.5 years, Formic’s robotic fleet has amassed 100,000 production hours with over 99% uptime, with another 100,000 hours projected within the next 170 days.
With the new funding, Formic aims to achieve several key objectives:
- Expand their fleet of standardized equipment to facilitate rapid deployment and reduce lead times, focusing on automating material handling processes for new adopters (75% of Formic’s customers).
- Scale their network of support experts across the U.S. to enhance responsiveness and uphold high service level agreements for maintenance.
- Enhance their equipment-agnostic robotic automation software leveraging AI for motion planning, predictive maintenance, system design, and user interfaces.
Saman Farid, co-founder and CEO of Formic, emphasized the importance of simplifying automation solutions to address labor challenges in manufacturing. He highlighted Formic’s role in managing the entire lifecycle of automation projects, from financing to ongoing support, to maximize productivity outcomes.
Despite the potential benefits, only 10% of U.S. manufacturers currently utilize automation. With projections indicating a significant shortfall in manufacturing labor by 2033, automation adoption becomes critical for industry resilience and growth.
Melissa Cheong from Blackhorn Ventures underscored their commitment to bolstering U.S. industrial capacity through strategic investments in technologies like Formic’s, which democratize access to automation.
Formic also announced a strategic partnership with Mitsubishi HC Capital America to streamline financing for their RaaS model, ensuring accessibility for small- to mid-size manufacturers.
Key milestones from 2022 to 2023 include a substantial increase in robot production hours, system deployments, customer base expansion, and a high renewal rate among existing customers.
For more information on how Formic can enhance manufacturing productivity through their RaaS solutions, visit Formic’s website for a three-month trial.
