London-based PHINXT Robotics, an AI-led robotics software company, has secured a £2m investment.
The oversubscribed funding round was led by Sure Valley Ventures with participation from Ada Ventures, Heartfelt and Atlas Ventures.
The business was founded in 2022 by CEO Yanwen Chen and Quirino Zagarese and is tackling the problem of why over 90 per cent of warehouses remain fully manual.
PHINXT Robotics is redefining the landscape of warehouse automation with its innovative cloud-based platform, designed to streamline robotic deployments and support a flexible monthly subscription model.
Traditionally, adopting robotics in warehouses has been hindered by expensive set-up costs – often exceeding £500,000 – and the complexity of on-site deployment.
As a result most warehouses remain fully manual.
PHINXT Robotics’ proprietary technology tackles this problem head-on by simplifying robotic deployments.
The company’s platform supports a wide range of robots, allowing customers to select and deploy the ones they need.
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As a result, businesses leveraging PHINXT’s technology have experienced remarkable improvements, including doubled profit margins and up to four times increased productivity.
PHINXT has received significant traction in the market and secured several contracts, particularly with a major UK grocery retailer, following a successful pilot programme, which is expected to scale into a multi-year contract.
The company will use the funds to grow its engineering and sales teams and begin expansion into mainland Europe where the team sees considerable opportunity.
Globally, the total mobile robot market is projected to reach $16bn, with 2.4 million mobile robots by 2027.
The startup’s long-term vision is to extend beyond warehouse robotics automation to encompass delivery drones and autonomous vehicles.
The company recently graduated from the Female Foundry Visionaries AI Incubator in partnership with Google Cloud, having been identified as one of the most innovative European female-led startups leveraging AI within the future of software.
PHINXT’s CEO Yanwen Chen has two PhDs specialising in computer science and synchronisation communications for robotics and developed the algorithm that allows robots to self-orchestrate safely even when they lose connections to central networks.
She co-founded the company with Quirino Zagarese, PhD, an expert in distributed systems, to collaborate on building a scalable architecture and product.
Chen said: “At PHINXT, our mission is to revolutionise the logistics industry with our cloud-based platform that seamlessly integrates any type of robot, enabling them to collaborate and coordinate in a shared space without the need for a centralised server.
“Our robot-agnostic platform supports warehouses at every stage of their automation journey, providing unparalleled flexibility and efficiency.
“We aim to be the gateway for the logistics industry, facilitating the integration of these robots into operations and helping businesses achieve a rapid return on investment.
“By accommodating different types of robots, we ensure that warehouses can optimise various tasks, from picking to transportation, enhancing overall productivity.
“This investment will empower us to expand our team and enter new markets, driving further growth and innovation.”
Brian Kinane, founding partner at Sure Valley Ventures, said: “PHINXT’s unique edge computing technology helps warehouses to drastically increase performance and profitability, providing a highly flexible and cost-effective robotics solution that will enable far greater adoption.
“From day one, what stood out to us was the strength of PHINXT’s founding team, Yanwen and Quirino, who have spent years specialising in robotics automation and distributed systems.
“As a specialist AI investor, we believe this is one of the strongest AI propositions to come out of the UK this year. PHIXNT has a clear advantage in terms of cost, simplicity and flexibility, and with their cutting-edge proprietary technology, are extremely well-positioned to disrupt this market globally.”
Check Warner, partner at Ada Ventures and co-founder of Diversity VC, added: “Yanwen Chen, CEO and co-founder of PHINXT, is without doubt one of the strongest technical founders we’ve met at Ada.
“Yanwen has not one but two PhDs focusing on optimisation of distributed and autonomous systems and 11 years of experience in robotics managing engineering teams and building software.”