At any typical loading dock, one can witness the constant hustle and bustle of forklifts, loaded with goods, skillfully navigating their way in and out of truck trailers. This intricate logistics dance, however, can take up to an hour to fully load a trailer, subsequently leaving truck drivers waiting.
Enter Slip Robotics, an innovative startup based in Atlanta, which claims to have developed a robot capable of reducing this time to a mere five minutes. The company draws its design inspiration from a simple element- the floor.
Established in 2020 by the trio of Chris Smith, Dennis Siedlak, and John Jakomin, Slip Robotics has ushered in a new era of commercial robot-as-a-service. The company’s offering merges automation software with extensive, floor-like robotic platforms. These platforms have the capacity to hold 10 pallets and transport up to 12,000 pounds. The firm’s innovative SlipBots are built to handle uneven terrain and map routes from the warehouse floor to a truck trailer. One truck trailer can accommodate three SlipBots, which equals about 36,000 pounds of payload.
The concept of SlipBots is partly a brainchild of Smith’s cumulative experience at Cummins, Tesla, and Volley Automation. His stint at Tesla, where he spearheaded factory simulation and analytics and was among the first 50 engineers at the Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, proved to be particularly impactful. He envisaged a scenario where the freight, typically set down on the floor for staging, could be placed on mobile robotic platforms instead, enabling simultaneous movement of all items.
After three years of meticulous development and testing, Slip Robotics introduced its commercial service in 2023. Presently, hundreds of SlipBots are operational at over 25 sites, varying from 20,000 square feet to more than 2 million square feet. The company’s clientele includes notable names like John Deere, GE Appliances, Valeo, and Nissan.
Slip Robotics operates on a subscription model, where clients pay a license fee for the use of SlipBots. This fee covers software updates, hardware service, maintenance, and repairs. The company’s standard arrangement involves a “three, three, three” set up – three bots on a dock, three in transit, and three waiting at the destination.
The unique business model and bots have garnered significant investor attention. Just weeks ago, Slip Robotics secured $28 million in Series B funding. The round was spearheaded by DCVC and included contributions from existing investors like Eve Atlas, Tech Square Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Overline, and Pathbreaker Ventures.
With a total funding of $45 million till date, the company is well-positioned to expand its team, increase deployments, and enhance product offerings. Jordan Sanders, Chief Commercial Officer at Slip Robotics, attributes the startup’s success to the product’s efficiency and the company’s strategic scaling approach.
Sanders acknowledged the prevailing skepticism towards robotics companies due to past failures and unfulfilled promises. However, he emphasized that Slip Robotics’ approach of slowly scaling and focusing on the development of its robotics platform has paid off. The company, which started with less than a dozen people, has now grown to about 50 employees and has 10 commercial customers with hundreds of bots in operation.
Sanders concluded with a witty remark, “If you have more engineers in your office than revenue-generating vehicles in the real world, you don’t have a real business.”
