Robust.AI

What Robust.AI does

Robust.AI, founded in 2019 and headquartered in San Carlos, California, builds collaborative mobile robots (CMRs) and supporting software for warehouse and material-handling automation. Its flagship product is Carter, an autonomous mobile robot that works alongside human pickers without requiring warehouse infrastructure changes, featuring camera-based visual SLAM (vSLAM) navigation, a patented holonomic drive, force-sensitive handlebars that allow workers to physically redirect the robot, and 360-degree AI-optimized vision. The Carter Pro variant (launched October 2024) added whole-robot force sensing, a put-to-light adaptive LED system, and a built-in barcode scanner, while the upcoming Gen 3 Carter (June 2026) integrates Aptiv's PULSE sensor for AI/ML-based radar-vision sensor fusion aimed at PL(d) functional safety certification. Companion software suite Grace provides no-code fleet orchestration, semantic and people perception, and dynamic workflow coordination across picking, putaway, point-to-point transport, and mobile sorting.

The company sells primarily through a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model — performance-based, multi-year contracts with no customer Capex, all-inclusive service, and guaranteed productivity outcomes. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, but documented customer results include 60%+ productivity gains at DHL Supply Chain's Las Vegas facility and 30% gains at DHL Mexico operations. Revenue also includes hardware sales (Carter units manufactured via a Foxconn partnership) and software-defined functionality that allows facilities to switch workflows without additional hardware. The GTM is enterprise field sales targeting large logistics, 3PL, retail/ecommerce, and manufacturing operators; flagship customer DHL Supply Chain operates under a five-year strategic alliance (announced December 2025) with plans to deploy hundreds of Carter robots across Americas operations starting with 15 units in Mexico. Secondary named customer Saddle Creek Logistics Services operates Carter at its Charlotte, NC facility for a beauty products client. Additional partnerships include Aptiv (perception technology), Foxconn (manufacturing scale), PopCapacity (3PL marketplace), Paccurate (cartonization integration), and SVT Robotics (DHL orchestration layer). The company employs 11-50 people and has raised approximately $42.5M across three disclosed funding rounds, most recently a $20M Series A-1 in April 2023 led by Prime Movers Lab.

Name

Robust.AI

Legal name

Robust.AI

Website

https://robust.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Robust.AI builds Carter collaborative mobile robots and the Grace no-code software suite for warehouse and material-handling automation, sold via a Robotics-as-a-Service model to enterprise logistics, 3PL, retail, and manufacturing customers led by DHL Supply Chain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Warehouse Robotics

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (3333), Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (333310)

SIC

Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial & Warehouse Robotics (HDAAAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins) (HDAAAIAK), Collaborative Robots (Cobots) (IMAHAHAB)

Keywords

• Collaborative mobile robots
• Warehouse automation robotics
• Robotics-as-a-service
• Human-robot interaction
• Warehouse fulfillment solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

San Carlos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS): Performance-based Robotics-as-a-Service model allowing customers to deploy quickly and scale flexibly in response to shifting demand. No Capex required with an all-inclusive solution. The company guarantees productivity gains as part of customer agreements.
2. Hardware robot sales: Sale of Carter collaborative mobile robots. Manufacturing partnership with Foxconn enables scalable production of Carter robots. Hardware can be purchased as part of deployment.
3. Software-defined functionality licensing: Carter's software-defined functionality allows facilities to operate via order fulfillment picking, point-to-point transport, and mobile sorting without additional hardware investment. Software workflows drive the robot's capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Robust.AI designs and deploys collaborative mobile robots (Carter and Carter Pro) and the Grace no-code software suite for warehouse and manufacturing environments. The robots work alongside human workers without requiring infrastructure changes and are delivered primarily through a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model.

Product overview

Robust.AI's product portfolio centers on two complementary offerings: Carter (including Carter Pro) — a Collaborative Mobile Robot (CMR) — and Grace, a no-code software suite. Carter is the hardware platform: a wheeled AMR that works alongside human warehouse workers for picking, putaway, and transport tasks. It operates in both fully autonomous and manually collaborative modes, with force-sensing that allows workers to physically redirect or reposition it at any time. Grace is the software platform that runs on Carter, providing no-code fleet management, situational awareness, and dynamic workflow coordination. Together, Grace and Carter constitute a software-defined Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) solution that requires no infrastructure changes and delivers Day One ROI. The Gen 3 Carter extends the platform with Aptiv's PULSE radar-vision sensor fusion for enhanced safety and navigation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carter™: Collaborative mobile robot (CMR) designed for warehouse and manufacturing environments, featuring AI-powered navigation, human-robot interaction capabilities, and a software-defined architecture for flexible workflow automation.
• Grace™

Products and services

• Carter Collaborative Mobile Robot A Collaborative Mobile Robot (CMR) designed to augment existing warehouse operations by working alongside human workers without requiring infrastructure changes. Provides flexible automation for picking, putaway, point-to-point transport, and mobile sorting through software-defined workflows.
• Carter Pro Enhanced Carter robot with force-sensitive handlebar, whole-robot force sensing, 360-degree AI-optimized vision, camera-based vSLAM, put-to-light adaptive LED system, and a high-visibility touchscreen. Designed for dynamic warehouse environments where workers can manually override or collaborate with the robot at any time.
• Grace Software Suite A no-code software suite that enables dynamic coordination between people and robots in any warehouse with any workflow. Provides situational awareness, semantic and people perception, mapping, and localization. Warehouse managers can customize workflows, integrations, and behavior for an entire fleet in minutes.
• Gen 3 Carter Next-generation Carter collaborative mobile robot integrating Aptiv's PULSE sensor for AI/ML-based radar and vision sensor fusion, providing 360-degree sensing, reduced blind spots, and functional safety certification for industrial applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60%+ productivity gains in picking operations at DHL Supply Chain (North America)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Saddle Creek Logistics ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2025Partnership to deploy Carter collaborative robots at Saddle Creek's Charlotte, North Carolina warehouse for a beauty products client. The AMR automates tote delivery operations between processing and labeling lines and over 20 designated drop-off points, functioning as a flexible non-integrated virtual conveyor without requiring fixed infrastructure. Deployment resulted in reduced walking time, increased tote capacity, and smoother floor operations.
• Aptiv PLCcoreTechnology or Integration · 10 November 2025Strategic partnership to co-develop AI-powered collaborative robots (cobots) for warehouse and industrial automation. Combines Aptiv's perception portfolio, machine learning technologies, and Wind River platforms with Robust.AI's Carter cobot platform. The collaboration integrates radar and vision sensing through early sensor fusion, powered by Aptiv's PULSE sensor. Companies are advancing toward Performance Level d (PL(d)) functional safety certification for industrial robotics applications. For Gen 3 Carter, Aptiv fuses radar and vision using AI/ML on raw sensor detections.
• Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 16 May 2025Strategic manufacturing partnership with Foxconn to scale production of the Carter collaborative robotics platform. Follows successful deployment at DHL Supply Chain facility in Las Vegas that delivered over 60% productivity gains. Foxconn's global manufacturing capabilities support meeting growing international demand for Carter robots.
• DHL Supply ChainflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024Strategic partnership to develop and deploy Carter collaborative mobile robots in DHL warehouses. Initial pilot underway at a DHL Supply Chain warehouse, focusing on optimizing the picking process. Partnership expanded to a five-year strategic alliance covering Mexico operations with 15 initial units and plans for hundreds of robots across Americas operations. Carter robots demonstrated 60%+ productivity gains in North America and 30% gains in Mexico operations. DHL is Robust.AI's first major publicly announced customer.
• PopCapacityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 January 2024Strategic partnership pairing flexible and adaptable AI robotics with PopCapacity's data-driven digital marketplace matching brands with the right 3PLs. Provides brands and 3PLs access to innovative robotic solutions through PopCapacity's growing network, allowing companies to compete in the evolving logistics industry.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Locus Robotics: Locus Robotics is a direct competitor providing AMR-based picking solutions for warehouses. It is explicitly named alongside Robust.AI as one of three key robotics vendors for DHL Supply Chain, making it the most direct head-to-head competitor for Carter in enterprise logistics deployments.
• Boston Dynamics: Boston Dynamics (Stretch robot) is a direct competitor in warehouse case handling and logistics automation. Like Robust.AI, it is named as one of three key robotics vendors deployed by DHL Supply Chain globally, competing for the same enterprise logistics budgets.
• 6 River Systems: 6 River Systems (owned by Shopify) provides collaborative AMRs for warehouse fulfillment, including the Chuck robot. It targets the same 3PL and retail fulfillment customer base as Robust.AI with a similar human-collaborative design philosophy.
• Fetch Robotics (Zebra Technologies): Fetch Robotics, acquired by Zebra Technologies, provides autonomous mobile robots for warehouse picking and material handling. It directly competes with Carter in the warehouse AMR space with similar enterprise sales motion and customer overlap in logistics and manufacturing.
• Geek+: Geek+ is a global AMR provider offering picking, sorting, and material handling robots for warehouses. It competes directly with Robust.AI in the warehouse AMR market, particularly in retail and 3PL verticals, with strong international presence.
• Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR): MiR (owned by Teradyne) provides autonomous mobile robots for internal logistics in manufacturing and warehouses. It competes with Robust.AI in industrial material handling with overlapping target customers in manufacturing environments.
• Otto Motors (Clearpath Robotics): Otto Motors provides heavy-payload autonomous mobile robots for warehouse and manufacturing material handling. It competes with Robust.AI in industrial logistics automation, particularly for heavier-payload use cases that Carter's current configuration may not address.
• Vecna Robotics: Vecna Robotics provides autonomous material handling robots and fleet management software for warehouses and distribution centers. It is a direct competitor in the warehouse AMR space with a similar focus on workflow orchestration software alongside hardware.

Broad incumbents

• Symbotic: Symbotic is a large-scale warehouse automation incumbent providing integrated robotic systems for retail and grocery distribution. While it operates at a different scale and scope than Robust.AI, it competes for enterprise logistics automation budgets at major retailers and 3PLs.
• AutoStore: AutoStore provides cube-based storage automation systems widely deployed in retail and 3PL warehouses. While a different storage architecture than Carter's mobile picking approach, AutoStore competes for the same enterprise warehouse automation budgets and customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/robust-ai
• Xx.com/robustai

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Robust.AI