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The Digit-maker’s current and former CEOs discuss Amazon, Generative AI and last-mile delivery
There was nothing else like Digit on the ProMat floor last yr . The construct supplying chain event has gradually morphed into a technical school show in late years . Many of the full-grown epithet in the space were present , showcasing independent mobile robots ( AMRs ) , bin pick arm and automatise storage and recovery systems . But Agility ’s little army of bipedal robots were all anyone could spill about .
One year later , the conversation has modify . The notion of humanoid robots working in factories no longer feels like some distant fantasy . sure enough , there ’s a proof in last calendar week ’s $ 675 million fundraise by competitorFigure . Interest in humanoid golem is at an all - time high , and deep - pocket investors no longer regard it a tobacco pipe dream .
Videos shot at last March ’s effect spread wide online , divulge Agility ’s robot to its largest audience yet . The demos captured something fundamental about the industrial robotics sector , as highly complex and technically impressive bots repeated the same dull action over and over — in this sheath , move tote bag back and onward between a paries and conveyor whang . According to Agility co - founder Damion Shelton , it was here that the then - CEO began to research succession plans .
“ When we got through ProMat last year , that was really the point where I ’m like , ‘ okay , the troupe is very different now than when we institute it , ” Shelton told TechCrunch . “ That was really the first time we had shown the robotics publically doing body of work — but also , frankly , the first time anyone had shown humanoid [ robots ] doing employment . So that was really the accelerator . We sound off off a lookup process last August . ”
Two month prior to the effect , Agility brought on Apple / iPad vet Aindrea Campbell as COO , to handle the company ’s quickly descale manufacture plans . Four calendar month later , Shelton ’s co - founding father , Jonathan Hurst , ill-use down from the CTO role , transitioning to the more enquiry - focus chief robotics policeman place . Melonee Wise — who had most latterly worked at Zebra after the logistics firm learn her AMR startup , Fetch — replaced Hurst .
This hebdomad , Agility named Microsoft veteranPeggy Johnsonits second - ever CEO . With this , the companionship is , perhaps , unique among its peers in receive female executives in five C - Suite function . Unlike Wise , Johnson lacks her predecessor ’s robotics background . She does , however , have a long track book in the tech world . Her life history began at mobile chip giant Qualcomm , where she ’d ultimately spend a quarter C .
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She spent the next half - XII years at Microsoft , where she facilitate lead the HoloLens team — a gig she leverage to become the chief operating officer of Magic Leap . She spent three years there pivot the well - fund but struggling augmented world firm from consumer gambling to enterprise software . As of this writing , the success of that particular endeavor is still very much an open inquiry .
“ How its similar is it ’s very much an exciting product and technology , with a need and demand for it , ” she explained . “ The divergence is that Agility has found product - marketplace fit , which really is what drew me in . Today , mightily now , Digit can provide return on invested capital to customers . And they ’re not trying to boil the sea . They ’re just focused on a handful of use cases that Digit can leave value for . ”
Perhaps the biggest difference between Agility and the growing United States Army of humanoid robotics startup is its sizable head start . The firm was founded in 2015 as a spinoff of Hurst ’s body of work on legged robotics at Oregon State University . Digit made its public unveiling at CES four geezerhood later , as part ofa partnership with Ford . At the time , Agility saw last - Roman mile deliverance as the most logical market fit . That mess , however , did n’t bear any fruit , as the company pivot to the booming world of warehouse automation .
The Oregon - based house currently utilise more than 200 the great unwashed . It wo n’t let out the telephone number of Digits it has shipped yet , only noting that it built around 60 units of an earlier variant .
During our conversation , Shelton mentioned Digit ’s ability to traverse uneven terrain , adding , “ I would love for us to , at some point , get back to things like last - mile delivery . ” For the clock time being , however , warehouse work is very much the golem ’s stress . Specifically , the robot is capable of go tote bag of various shapes and sizes around the floor . That is precisely how the robot was deploy during prime Amazon cowcatcher announced last year .
“ It went really well , ” said Shelton . “ We ’re excited to extend with them as a pardner , but no major update since the event last fall .
Johnson said Digit ’s ability to get work done today was a large number one wood in her decisiveness to lead the company , following her first conversation with Shelton a piddling over a calendar month ago . “ From the outside looking in at Agility , I like their focal point on the here and now , ” she explained . “ What can the robot do today to birth time value ? Obviously , there ’s a roadmap of features ahead that incorporate constituent of AI , that incorporate computer hardware elements , that incorporate software elements , but for today , right now delivering value , they are spot on . As [ Shelton ] said , there ’s really no one else doing what Agility is doing right now for customers today . ”
The AI honorable mention was , in part , a reference work to workrecently showcasedby the company that uses LLM to help Digit adjust to the ever - changing real earth in front of it . pursuit in the class has — no doubt — been a major number one wood in investor interest for the way it can potentially bear on how robots pick up and interact with the humanity .
While Agility is n’t explicitly await to raise at the moment , the company says the possibility is always on the table . “ The data point point is out there , ” Johnson enjoin of Figure ’s recent jaw - dropping $ 2.6 billion valuation . “ All boats rise with those sort of headlines , and we will certainly leverage that . ”
Shelton is speedy to note that Agility ’s last valuation come with a fundraising round some three twelvemonth back .
