News English — Robotics

 Our own Tom Andersson was interviewed by Kate Rooney at CNBC for their mini documentary on humanoids "Meet the AI-powered robots Big Tech is betting can solve the global labor crisis" See the 17.09min video from CNBC here:   Here's a link to the video: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/07/08/humanoid-robots-have-gotten-an-ai-upgrade.html If you are interested in STIQs view on Humanoids in warehouses - download our 2024 report on the Future of Warehouse Automation

NRF2024 was a full return to normal following the pandemic. Visitor numbers back to full force. Very few if any at all exhibitor cancellations. New food innovation zone and some exciting MHE displays. Overall, a lack of excitement despite all the AI talk.

A review of STIQ Robotics networking event on Nov 8, 2023

Parcel + Post (website) is a niche show targeting postal and courier operators, but also attracts larger retailers. The show is held annually at RAI Amsterdam in the Netherlands and is easily accessible from Amsterdam Centraal Station (4 stops). STIQ visited the show for the first time in 2023.  LAYOUT The show consists of 3 halls and is a relatively small show. There were about 200 exhibitors, ranging from sortation equipment and conveyor vendors to locker manufacturers (plenty of locker vendors!).  Whilst the show is small, it appeared they manage to attract a high calibre clientele or attendees. Or as one exhibitor...

DECLINING VALUATIONS? REALLY? We recently heard Clearpath Robotics/Otto Motors was acquired by Rockwell (source) and thought that perhaps valuations had been affected by the massive decline in valuation of 6 River Systems. 6 River Systems (link) was founded in 2015 by ex-Kiva Systems (acquired by Amazon in 2012) people and was acquired by Shopify in 2019 for $450m (source). In 2023, Shopify's change of strategy led them to divest 6 River Systems for $12.7m (source), representing a 35X value destruction. STIQ's inital thought was that this may affect valuations in the wider automation sector, but it appears the Shopify divestment was viewed as...