LexxPluss expands to the US with its warehouse robots

Image Credits: LexxPluss

While working on autonomous driving technology at Bosch in Japan and Germany, Display Aso realized that “more than 85% of warehouses had no automation, so many jobs were still manual.

To help solve the problem, Aso founded Lexx Plus, a now two-year-old Japan-based startup that designs and develops autonomous mobile robots to transport loads and streamline workflows in warehouses and logistics centers.

Aso, the outfit’s chief executive, co-founded robotics and autonomous vehicles with Bosch, Amazon, Honda and others, and now the Japanese outfit is preparing to inject $10.7 million ($1.45 billion) into the US. JPY) Series A funding valued the company at approximately $38.8 million (¥5.26 billion).

Drone Fund led the latest financing along with SOSV’s HAX, Incubate Fund, SBI Investments and DBJ Capital.

LexxPlus initially targeted the logistics and automotive manufacturing industries because those industries are deploying robots beyond their production lines. Its main customers are in the logistics and automotive sectors in Japan; Some current automotive component makers have facilities in the U.S., Aso said. It wants to use its existing customer relationships to tap into the US market, which is expected to be the largest market for autonomous mobile robots at $762 million by 2021. It is expected to grow to 3.2 billion dollars by 2028It accounts for 40 percent of the global market volume.

Apart from the US expansion, CRIA said the funding will help the company’s product growth, increasing its payout to 500K. Remote control and monitoring operations.

In terms of competition, Otto Motors, OMRON and Locus Robotics have developed autonomous mobile robots. According to Aso, the distinction of the Lexus Plus centers on larger payloads (up to 500 kg) and a more open mechanical design. Enrollment of intellectual creativity (IP) and application programming interfaces (APIs) make maintenance and integration easier for customers. He added. Some of the company’s competitors tend to have closed IPs, which is a pain for their customers.

“Because we disclose a lot of technical information, our partners can see every detail of our technology,” explained Aso. “So you can understand how it works and how it’s deployed and used in warehouses or factories. You can even.” [handle] Self maintenance. Our approach is to increase product transparency and make collaboration much easier.

The startup launched its sales strategy last year and now has seven customers and 32 partners who are part of the Open Industrial Robotics Program, which launched last June.. “The program aims to accelerate cooperation with industrial robotics companies by specifying most of the technical information such as 3D CAD design, electrical design, embedded software, manufacturing process documents, utility tools, maintenance documents, APIs and so on,” said Aso. TechCrunch.

The startup currently generates sales through a monthly subscription model, or half upfront and half monthly subscription fees, Aso said.

Naturally, the company’s investors think the company is well-positioned to capture a meaningfully large market share. Recent studies have predicted that the autonomous mobile robots market will reach $8.70 billion by 2028, up from $1.97 billion in 2021.

“LexxPluss has an advantage over other warehouse automation companies because they have a large technical team in Japan, both for industrial robotics (37% of the global market) and the automotive sector (35% of the US automotive industry),” he said. Duncan Turner, General Partner of SOSV and Managing Director of HAX.

“Their technical strength, combined with decades of industry experience, will help them disrupt the key US market for seamless integration.”