Berkshire Grey

Berkshire Grey, Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: BGRY
IndustryRobotics and artificial intelligence
Founded2013
FounderTom Wagner
Headquarters
Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Key people
Tom Wagner, Chairman & CEO
RevenueIncrease US$50.852 Million (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Decrease US$−164.339 Million (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Decrease US$−153.380 Million (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$216.684 Million (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$144.231 Million (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1]
Number of employees
400 (December 2021)
Websitewww.berkshiregrey.com

Berkshire Grey, Inc. is an American technology company based in Bedford Massachusetts that develops integrated artificial intelligence (“AI") and robotic solutions for e-commerce, retail replenishment, and logistics. The company's systems automate pick, pack and sort operations.

Berkshire Grey was founded by a group of 20 PhD's in the fields of embedded systems to motion planning. [2][3][4]

History

Berkshire Grey was founded in 2013 by Tom Wagner. He was previously chief technology officer of iRobot.[5][6] Chief Scientist for Berkshire Grey is Matthew T. Mason, former Director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and author of two highly cited textbooks on robotic manipulation.[7][8][9] Mason was given the IEEE Robotics and Automation Award in 2018.[10] The Berkshire Grey team is staffed with alumni from Uber, Kiva Systems, Tesla, and Carnegie Mellon University.[11]

In December 2018, Berkshire Grey announced it has been selling AI-enabled robotics for retailers and logistics companies, automating tasks not previously performed by machines in commercial settings.[12][13][14][15]

In August, 2019, SoftBank announced it had struck a deal with Berkshire Grey.[16] The deal secured $263 million in series B funding, led by Softbank.[11][17] The Financial Times reported at that time "Berkshire Grey emerged from five years of secretive development late last year."[16]

ABB, a multinational corporation that operates mainly in robotics, power, heavy electrical equipment, and automation technology areas, in 2019 announced they gave Berkshire Grey their "Most Innovative Solutions” Award.[18]

As of April 2020, media reports indicated Berkshire Grey's robotic solutions had handled millions of items and containers in production facilities.[19]

In February 2021, Berkshire Grey Inc. announced that it plans to go public through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company Revolution Acceleration Acquisition Corp. (RAAC) bringing their valuation to $2.7 billion.[4][20][21][22] Chief Executive of RAAC is John Delaney, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[23][4]

Berkshire Grey's customers include Walmart, Inc., Target Corp., and FedEx Corp.[4][24][25]

The company says its technology will help its customers to compete with Amazon, which has invested billions into automation.[22][2]

Offering different robotics that include picking, gripping and image sensing, Berkshire Grey has more than 300 patents in the area.[26][27] Justia lists 59 patents as granted since 2018.[28]

Berkshire Grey plans to use contract manufacturing partners for the robot, camera and conveyor belt parts. They will then assemble them into a finished product with their own employees on-site at the customer location.[2]

In March 2021, Berkshire Grey collaborated with CEVA Logistics to implement robotic automation systems at CEVA's Vancouver eCommerce facility. CEVA used Berkshire Grey's Robotic Product Sortation and Identification system to autonomously identify and sort eCommerce packages.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Berkshire Grey, Inc. Full Year 2021 Form 10-K Report" (PDF). ir.berkshiregrey.com. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Kirsner, Scott (February 18, 2020). "Designing the ultimate warehouse". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Knudson, Julie (March 5, 2020). "Robotics firm brings smart fulfillment to ecommerce". National Retail Federation Blog. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Smith, Jennifer (2021-02-24). "WSJ News Exclusive | Warehouse Robotics Provider Berkshire Grey to Go Public Through SPAC Deal". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  5. ^ "OAA 2016 Award Recipient Biographies". University of Massachusetts Amherst. 5 April 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Michel, Roberto. "Robotics Company Berkshire Grey to Merge With Revolution Acceleration Acquisition Corp". Robotics 24/7. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  7. ^ "Senior Management - Berkshire Grey". www.berkshiregrey.com. 2020-12-14. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  8. ^ Mason, Matthew T. (2001). Mechanics of robotic manipulation. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-13396-2. OCLC 45917306.
  9. ^ Mason, M. T.; Salisbury, J. (1985). "Robot Hands and the Mechanics of Manipulation". Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control. 111: 119. doi:10.1115/1.3153010. S2CID 62676830.
  10. ^ Spice, Byron (12 Oct 2017). "Mason Wins 2018 IEEE Robotics and Automation Award". Carnegie Mellon University. Archived from the original on 2017-10-25. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  11. ^ a b Wiggers, Kyle (21 Jan 2020). "Berkshire Grey raises $263 million for industrial robots". VentureBeat. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  12. ^ Francis, Sam (December 12, 2018). "New robotics company Berkshire Grey aims to 'transform' supply chains". Robotics & Automation News. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Ames, Ben (December 7, 2018). "Berkshire Grey jumps into e-commerce fulfillment robot sector". DC Velocity. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "It's Robotics Awards Season: Firms Grab Honors for Advances". Robotics Business Review. June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  15. ^ Mericle, Julia (December 6, 2018). "Berkshire Grey enters Pittsburgh AI and robotics market". Pittsburg Business Times. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Shubber, Kadhim; Bradshaw, Tim (16 August 2019). "SoftBank strikes deal with Berkshire Grey warehouse robotics". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  17. ^ Rosenblatt, Lauren (22 Jan 2020). "Retail robotics firm Berkshire Grey to expand Pittsburgh presence". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  18. ^ "It's Robotics Awards Season: Firms Grab Honors for Advances". Robotics Business Review. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  19. ^ "Berkshire Grey offers RaaS options". SupplyChain247. 7 Apr 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  20. ^ Feroldi, Brian (2021-03-25). "Another SPAC Worth Watching". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  21. ^ White, William (2021-02-24). "RAAC Stock: 12 Things to Know About Revolution Acceleration and the Berkshire Grey SPAC Merger". InvestorPlace. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  22. ^ a b Gardizy, Anissa (February 24, 2021). "Warehouse robotics maker Berkshire Grey plans to go public through SPAC merger". MSN. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  23. ^ Wagner, Tom; Delaney, John (24 February 2021). "Recorded Investor Call Transcript". Securities and Exchange Commission (https://sec.gov). Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  24. ^ "SoftBank-backed robotics firm Berkshire Grey to go public via $2.7 billion SPAC deal". Reuters. Reuters. 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  25. ^ Shah, Ambrish (12 April 2021). "Get RAAC Stock Before the Berkshire Grey Merger for a Bargain". Market Realist. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  26. ^ "Robotics company Berkshire Grey to go public via SPAC". TechCrunch. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  27. ^ Kronenberg, Jerry (February 24, 2021). "Revolution Acceleration Acquisition Corp. soars on SPAC deal for robotics firm Berkshire Grey". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  28. ^ "Patents Assigned to Berkshire Grey Inc. - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  29. ^ "CEVA Logistics deploys Berkshire Grey's robotics solution". www.mmh.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.