Robotics raises: 6thSense, Dogtooth, Hive, Luffy AI, Mowito

We’re back with another roundup of robotics and automation startup fundraises for the week of 7/13. This week we have an unintentionally Brit-focused list, with three notable raises from companies based in the U.K. 

While there were geographic trends, we once again have a smattering of different types of startups grabbing investors’ attention. We have an agtech startup that uses robots to pick fruit, another collecting dexterity training data, two companies making existing industrial equipment autonomous, and more. 

6thSense, $500,000, Pre-Seed

There are several companies looking to build robotic hands, but getting the hardware to work is only half the battle. San Francisco-based 6thSense built gloves loaded with sensors for people to wear alongside a pair of egocentric glasses, to gather data on how human hands touch and interact with the world around them. 

The company then sells this data to companies looking to build robots with dexterity, which is necessary for bots to be able to properly pick up or move items. The startup just raised a $500,000 pre-seed round that was led by Y Combinator.

Dogtooth, £14 million ($18.8 million), Series B

The labor shortage in the agriculture industry isn’t new but it continues to get worse. Thankfully, there are numerous startups building robotic farmhands meant to help fill in those worker gaps. Dogtooth is one startup that is focused on building bots that can pick delicate crops like strawberries.

While many robotics companies have struggled to gain adoption from farms, Dogtooth touts it has been working with commercial farms for 10 seasons. The company just raised a £14 million ($18.8 million) Series B round from backers including 24 Haymarket, EMV Capital, and ACF Investors, among others. 

HIVE, £11.2 million ($15 million), Seed

The companies building the future of industrialization could be broadly divided into two buckets: those building brand new tech and those automating existing machines and equipment. Hive falls into the latter camp and just raised a £11.2 million ($15 million) seed round led by SuperSeed Ventures. 

Hive builds a silicon brain for machines and installs it alongside sensors to turn a company’s existing fleet of machinery into an autonomous system. The British startup currently is operating across Scandinavia and is in the midst of a U.S. expansion. With this latest round, the company plans to hire and expand its commercialization.

Luffy AI, £8.1 million ($10.8 million), Series A

There are many ways to build a robot brain – I’m sure of it. British startup Luffy AI’s approach involves using neuroplastic neural networks, which can continuously change their structure and function, to build robot brains that can adapt in real time. The company’s software goes beyond robots and can be used for tech including thermal heating sources and motors too.

Just like Hive, Luffy looks to add its tech to existing equipment. The startup just raised a £8.1 million ($10.8 million) Series A round led by the Business Growth Fund with participation from Momenta Ventures, Bow Capital and MIG Fonds, among others. 

Mowito, $3 million, Pre-seed

More robot brains! We hear a lot about companies building said brains for humanoids as that category continues to gain steam, but what about all the other bots? Mowito is an Indian startup building robotic brains specifically for robotic arms, which are still the dominant type of robot used in industrial settings. 

The company raised a $3 million pre-seed round led by Version One Ventures with participation from iSeed, All In Capital and Unisol, among others. Mowito co-founder Puru Rastogi told A3 that the startup has already landed multiple Fortune 500 companies in India as clients and just opened an office in Detroit as it pushes into the U.S.