What Soft Robotics does

Soft Robotics Inc. was a US-based, privately-held robotics company that developed soft robotic gripper technology, principally its mGrip Flexible Gripping platform, which used flexible elastomeric materials and advanced control systems to mimic the gentleness of a human hand for handling delicate, fragile, or irregularly shaped items. Its flagship deployed use case was in food and beverage manufacturing, where it partnered with integrators such as JLS Automation to deploy lines for customers including Just Born Quality Confections, handling over 5.5 million Peeps marshmallow treats per day with zero human contact during packaging. Beyond food and beverage, the company stated applicability across industrial manufacturing (automotive, logistics, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor) and medical/healthcare (rehabilitation and assistive mobility) segments. Pricing, headcount, revenue, and funding history are not publicly disclosed in the available sources.

On August 6, 2024 the company executed a fundamental strategic transformation: it divested its gripper business assets to Schmalz Group and rebranded as Oxipital AI, repositioning the business around a Visual AI platform for inspection, defect detection, and robotic guidance in manufacturing and logistics. Under the post-divestiture structure, Schmalz owns and distributes the gripper hardware, while the rebranded Oxipital AI entity supplies the integrated vision and defect-detection software layer. The company's go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales (as evidenced by the Just Born deployment) with technology/OEM partnerships (Schmalz, JLS Automation) and a stated vertical segmentation strategy. Operating status in the source data is recorded as 'acquired,' reflecting the divestiture and rebrand rather than a third-party acquisition of the corporate entity.

Name

Soft Robotics

Legal name

Soft Robotics Inc.

Website

https://softroboticsinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Soft Robotics (now Oxipital AI) provides AI-powered vision inspection and defect detection for manufacturing and logistics automation, evolved from its legacy soft robotic gripper technology for gentle handling of delicate items, serving food, industrial, and healthcare sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Automation Robotics

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Robot Hardware, Actuators & Components (sensors, grippers, motors) (HDAAAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial Robots (Articulated, SCARA, Delta, Cartesian) (IMAHAHAA)

Keywords

• Soft robotic grippers
• Machine vision inspection
• Defect detection automation
• Picking and packaging robots
• Collaborative robotic automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Bedford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Core offering

Soft Robotics provides soft robotic gripper systems (mGrip) designed to gently handle delicate and irregularly shaped items such as food and confectionery products. Following its August 2024 transformation, the company now operates as Oxipital AI, delivering Visual AI software for in-line inspection, defect detection, and robotic guidance that integrates with the mGrip gripper platform (now under Schmalz Group).

Product overview

Soft Robotics Inc. transformed into Oxipital AI on August 6, 2024, following the divestiture of its gripper business assets to the Schmalz Group. The company's core offering is the Oxipital AI visual inspection and defect detection platform, which powers quality control in robotic applications. The mGrip Flexible Gripping Technology, now under Schmalz Group ownership, continues to integrate Oxipital AI's vision capabilities for enhanced inspection functionality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• mGrip Flexible Gripping Technology: Flexible gripping technology with advanced defect detection capabilities for industrial automation applications.

Products and services

• Oxipital AI Visual Inspection Platform Visual AI platform providing inspection, defect detection, and robotic guidance for manufacturing and logistics applications; integrates with mGrip gripper systems to enable smart, vision-guided automation and in-line quality control.
• mGrip Flexible Gripping Technology

Quantifiable outcome

• Handles over 2 billion Peeps annually (5.5 million per day) without product damage
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Schmalz GroupcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 6 August 2024On August 6, 2024, Soft Robotics Inc. announced the divestiture of its gripper business assets to the Schmalz Group. This strategic move allows both companies to focus on their respective advancement areas - Schmalz Group on gripper technology and Soft Robotics/Oxipital AI on Vision Inspection and Defect Detection technologies. The mGrip Flexible Gripping Technology integrates advanced defect detection capabilities through Oxipital AI and collaborates with Schmalz Group for optimal performance.
• Oxipital AIcoreTechnology or Integration · 6 August 2024Oxipital AI provides Visual AI for Inspection and Robotic Guidance, transforming the gripper business assets landscape by enhancing defect detection capabilities. The integration of Oxipital AI with mGrip technology enables efficient vision inspection processes and reliable defect detection for soft robotics applications.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Keyence: Global supplier of industrial sensors, machine vision, and inspection systems with broad coverage across manufacturing automation — overlapping customer base with Oxipital AI's vision inspection focus.
• Cognex: Leading provider of machine vision systems, industrial barcode readers, and surface inspection vision — a broad incumbent in the same visual AI/inspection space Oxipital AI now targets.
• SICK AG: Major manufacturer of industrial sensors and machine vision systems used for quality control, identification, and defect detection across factory automation — comparable industrial vision portfolio to Oxipital AI.

Direct peers

• SCHUNK: Global leader in gripping technology and clamping systems for robotics — directly comparable to mGrip and now a Schmalz-adjacent competitor serving the same industrial automation customers.
• Berkshire Grey: Develops AI-enabled robotic picking and sortation systems integrating vision, grippers, and machine learning — comparable technology stack and enterprise automation customer profile.
• Plus One Robotics: Vision-guided robotic picking and parcel handling solutions combining 3D vision AI with grippers — directly comparable to Soft Robotics' integrated gripper + vision inspection approach.
• RightHand Robotics: Provides piece-picking robotic systems that combine gripper hardware with computer vision/AI for warehouse and order fulfillment automation — closely comparable to Soft Robotics' original soft-gripper-plus-vision stack.
• OnRobot: Manufactures end-of-arm tooling and grippers (including soft/compliant grippers) integrated with vision for collaborative robot applications — directly comparable to mGrip's gripper-plus-vision positioning.
• Robotiq: Specializes in adaptive grippers and vision systems for collaborative robots in manufacturing and food handling — directly comparable technology and customer overlap with Soft Robotics/Oxipital AI.

Emerging players

• Mech-Mind Robotics: Emerging industrial 3D vision AI provider for robotic guidance, bin picking, and quality inspection — an emerging competitor in the same AI vision-for-robotic-guidance category as Oxipital AI.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors10 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 Soft Robotics