Rapid Robotics, a California-based startup that offers out-of-the-box automation solutions for manufacturers, has announced that it has raised $36.7 million in Series B Funding.

Series B rounds are all about getting firms beyond the development stage. Investors assist startups in reaching their goals by broadening their market reach. Companies that have raised seed and Series A funding have already established sizable user bases and demonstrated to investors that they are ready for larger-scale success. The Series B money is utilized to help the company grow in order to satisfy these levels of demand.

As per the US Chamber of Commerce, the current US labor shortage is affecting businesses from education and healthcare to entertainment and ride-hailing services. At the same time, it is holding back the nation’s economic recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic. As the lack of labor continues to wane, US companies are working towards employing rapid robotic machine operators.

Rapid Robotics, the inventor of the first ready-to-work robotic machine operator, recently announced the participation of its current investors NEA, Greycroft, Bee Partners, and 468 Capital in the $36.7M Series B fundraising under the leadership of Kleiner Perkins and Tiger Global. The recent round is Rapid’s third, with total capital amounting to $54.2 M.

The financing is worth 192.5 million dollars for the startup, which is a massive amount for a company that established seed funding in 2020. The B Series is Rapid’s third in less than a year, without a doubt, spurred by an endless global pandemic that is bound to trigger significant interest in robotics and automation.

As organizations are looking for alternative solutions to non-essential employees, investment in automation and robotic technologies has only intensified. Throughout the pandemic, companies have faced manufacturing constraints because of which companies are now focusing sharply on the need for flexible and global production.

To bridge the production gap, Rapid Robotics has developed Rapid Machine Operator (RMO) robot that can be installed without the need for programming and other robotic experience in a manufacturing environment for hours. The system is accessible at $25,000 per annum under the RaaS model (robotics as a service). The system is adaptable, and different duties can be assigned. Reasonable costing is one of the best features for organizations that cannot afford dedicated systems.

The Rapid machine operator comes with computer-assisted design models pre-trained to work on standard machineries, like finding parts and equipment, with grippers, computer vision software, and AI. It can be rented during workloads for less than $2,100 per month.

Rapid allows its robots to choose pieces from practically all directions, with the newest range of functions launched a few months ago. The Rapid Machine Operator can reposition the components to their point of the drop using its onboard camera system to increase the number of ways components can be presented.

RMO is the first cobot in the world produced and priced for the operation of machines. It can be employed for machine-leading tasks. In the past, there have been robotics solutions for such tasks, but they were too costly. Their final costs were more than they have saved between hardware, software, integration, and maintenance.

Rapid Robotics Midwest GM Aaron Halonen, an auto-industry veteran with decades of experience in design, engineering, and quality control, says that manufacturers realize the favorable ROI of the Rapid Machine Operator from day one. He believes that the value for regional producers still goes beyond this.

The RMO of Rapid Robotics is often employed in the medical and military industry, but it can also be used in automobiles, plastics, electronics, and much more. The pre-trained arm of RMO is built in a way that it can operate effectively in a high-mix atmosphere.

Manufacturers across the United States want to establish Rapid Robotic’s RMO. TruePill, a next-generation health infrastructure firm, is all set to employ RMOs to fill and label prescription vials at its Hayward facility in California.