KIWI ROBOTICS COMPANY
CONTINUES EXPANSION
A New Zealand-developed
www.engineeringnews.co.nz 29
Top tech investors support global expansion
of the world’s first non-magnetic, climbing
inspection robot for hazardous environments
REN285
climbing inspection robot
that caught the attention
of top US investors, with its ability to
help keep workers safe in hazardous
environments, is continuing its
global march.
Invert Robotics announced in May
that it has secured a US$8.8 million
round of funding led by Finistere
Ventures, an agtech/foodtech
venture pioneer, with support
from Yamaha Motor Ventures &
Laboratory Silicon Valley (YMVSV),
the corporate venture capital
business of Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.
Existing investors, such as Allan
Moss, Inception Asset Management
and the New Zealand Venture
Investment Fund, also participated
in the capital raise.
Using the strategic investment to
scale its team, open a US office and
expand its technology platform and
industry-specific solutions, Invert
Robotics aims to increase the global
footprint of its climbing robot – the
first specifically designed to inspect
the integrity and safety of nonmagnetic,
hazardous environments.
"The immediate value of Invert
Robotics across the global food
supply chain – from ensuring
food and beverages are
stored and transported in safe,
pathogen-free environments, to
avoiding catastrophic failures in
agrichemical-industry containers
and plants – is undeniably
impressive,” says Arama Kukutai,
co-founder and partner, Finistere
Ventures.
“However, we see the
potential applications as
almost limitless. With Invert
Robotics, companies
across a variety of
industries will be able to
deploy climbing robots
to make asset inspection
easier and more effective to avoid
life-threatening situations for their
workers, their communities and their
consumers.”
Invert Robotics offers precise,
remote inspection of non-magnetic
surfaces such as stainless steel,
carbon fiber, aluminum and glass. Its
climbing robot is already being used
by key players in the global aviation
market, alongside major Australian
and New Zealand dairy companies
and co-operatives such as Fonterra,
Synlait and Murray Goldburn.
The global chemical industry
represents another market where
Invert Robotics’ technology is
helping to keep workers safe while
undertaking critical equipment
inspections.
“Our climbing robots go where
other robots cannot and people
should not,” says Invert Robotics
managing director Neil Fletcher.
“We give our customers an
easier, safer and faster way to
inspect the safety and integrity
of the most hazardous and
toxic environments. Industrial
accidents in the chemical industry
can be costly and sometimes
even deadly, but they are often
preventable. Remote inspection
solutions that take into account
chemical corrosion and highpressure
processing scenarios
can help chemical companies
improve worker safety, optimise
maintenance and avoid future
tragedies.”
The Invert Robotics climbing
robots can securely adhere to
surfaces that other robots cannot
and go into confined, treacherous
spaces that would put workers’
lives at risk. Going beyond visual
inspections, the company’s robots
can perform in-depth scans using
surface-wave detection and
ultrasonic probes to measure wall
thickness, assess structural integrity
and find defects on any surface.
“As part of Yamaha’s long-term
vision supporting the development
of advanced robots to improve
workplace efficiency and safety,
Invert Robotics’ technology and its
value proposition made a positive
impression on our investment
committee,” adds Craig Boshier,
Partner and General Manager for
Yamaha Motor Ventures in Australia
and New Zealand.
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