Ontario’s Otto Motors Lands $29M Series C

Canada’s Otto Motors raised $29 million for its Series C round, the company announced Monday.

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The division of Clearpath Robotics makes autonomous mobile robots to handle materials in places like factories.

The new funding will be used to accelerate the company’s product roadmap for its enterprise customers, and to grow Otto’s global network of delivery partners, according to a statement from the company.

“Mobile robots are no longer a luxury in the workplace; they are a necessity,” Clearpath CEO Matthew Rendall said in a statement. “In a post-COVID world, AMRs enhance worker safety and bring resiliency to supply chains. As enterprises adapt, AMR demand will accelerate globally. This investment will enable us to grow to meet the evolving needs of the factories and warehouses of the future anywhere in the world.”

Otto’s products include its autonomous robots, a fleet manager, and Otto Care software and hardware support. It competes with companies like Starship, Nuro and Aethon, according to Owler.

The company, which is based in Kitchener, Ontario, counts General Electric, Toyota, and Nestle among its customers. Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, the company said it’s seen an uptick in demand from essential businesses that now have more operational risks associated with their production.

The new funding, with was led by Kensington Private Equity Fund with participation from investors including BMO Capital Partners and Export Development Canada, brings Otto’s total funding to $83 million. It last raised money in October 2016 with its $30 million Series B.

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias