Robotics

BGRY / Berkshire Grey
Berkshire Grey (“BG” or the “Company”), a developer of integrated artificial intelligence (“AI") and robotic solutions for e-commerce, retail replenishment, and logistics, has entered into a definitive agreement with Revolution Acceleration Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: RAAC) (“RAAC”), a special purpose acquisition company, to create a leading publicly listed robotics and automation solutions company with a post-transaction equity value of up to $2.7 billion.

Founded in 2013 by the current Chief Executive Officer, Tom Wagner, Ph.D., the Former Chief Technology Officer at iRobot, BG is a pure-play robotics company offering fully integrated, AI-based software and hardware solutions to automate business operations in warehouses and logistics fulfillment centers. The Company’s powerful solutions help retailers and logistics companies meet the exponential growth of e-commerce and ever-increasing consumer demands. BG’s management, engineering, and commercial teams each have extensive robotics expertise and deep industry experience.

The Company has achieved strong momentum since emerging from stealth mode in 2018, propelled by the accelerating consumer shift toward e-commerce and the resulting need for retailers to adapt their supply chain and warehouse operations to meet consumer demands for better selection, lower prices, and faster shipping. Roughly 5% of warehouses are automated today, which highlights the substantial market opportunity for BG’s solutions.

IRBT / iRobot
iRobot Corp. is a robot company, which engages in designing and building robots. Its products include robot vacuums, robot maps, and pool cleaners. The company was founded by Rodney Allen Brooks, Colin M. Angle and Helen Greiner in August 1990 and is headquartered in Bedford, MA.

'''A slew of robotics companies went public or announced plans to go public via SPAC in 2021. The list includes'''


 * Aurora Innovation / AUR
 * Berkshire Grey / BRGY
 * Bright Machines, (SPAC deal terminated)
 * Memic / MTAC
 * Memic Innovative Surgery announced a SPAC merger with MedTech Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:MTAC) Friday. The merger values Memic at $665 million. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
 * Memic is pitching the device as the first FDA-authorized surgical robot with miniature arms that bend like human arms and have 360-degree articulation. The arms are attached to a system that is designed to be small enough to move from room to room
 * Sarcos Robotics / STRC
 * STRC commenced trading on The Nasdaq Global Market on September 27, 2021
 * Substantial progress on development of first Guardian® XO® full-body, battery-powered, industrial exoskeleton and Guardian® XT™ robotic avatar “Beta” units
 * Significant uptick in prospective customer interest as skilled labor shortage grows
 * Announced a collaboration with T-Mobile to integrate 5G technology into the Guardian XT
 * U.S. Navy increased contract award for development of the Guardian DX robotic system
 * Vicarious Surgical / RBOT
 * Vicarious Surgical, a Waltham-based tech startup bringing virtual reality and robotics to surgery, announced this week that it will officially be making its public debut on Monday through a deal with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) D8 Holdings, valuing the company at $1.1 billion.

Autonomous trucking company Plus had its SPAC merger called off due to regulatory challenges in China.

STXS
Stereotaxis, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets robotic magnetic navigation systems for use in a hospital's interventional surgical suite to enhance the treatment of arrhythmias and coronary artery disease. Its products include the Genesis RMN System, the Niobe System, the Odyssey Solution, and related devices. The firm also offers the Stereotaxis Imaging Model S x-ray System. The company was founded in June 1990 and is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.

SYM / SVFC
Symbotic is going public via a merger with SVF Investment Corp. 3, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by an affiliate of SoftBank Investment Advisers. Upon closing of the deal, which is expected to happen in the first half of 2022, Symbotic will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “SYM.”

The transaction is expected to deliver up to $725 million of primary gross proceeds for Symbotic. This consists of $320 million of cash in trust from SVFC, a $205 million common equity PIPE, and a $200 million forward purchase of common equity by an affiliate of SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Symbotic said it also expects to receive an additional $174 million in cash from Walmart by the end of December 2021 to be used for general corporate purposes as a result of Walmart gross exercising warrants it holds in the Company. Walmart will own 9% of Symbotic.

The deal values Wilmington, Mass.-based Symbotic at a pro forma enterprise value of $4.8 billion, representing 4.8x Symbotic’s forecast 2023 calendar year end estimated revenues. Symbotic said it expects to generate $433 million in revenue in 2022, which would be more than a 73% increase year over year.

Founded in 2005, Symbotic’s robotics systems is used by some of the world’s biggest retailers and wholesalers, including Walmart, Albertsons and C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its fleet of robots can receive, store and retrieve products in distribution centers. At the core of the system is a fleet of several hundred autonomous mobile robots called “Symbots.”