British autonomous delivery start-up Academy of Robotics has launched a £20m pre-series A fundraiser, which will be accessible to individuals.
The fundraising series will also provide an opportunity for professional and retail investors to participate.
Academy of Robotics developed its first AV, the Kar-go Delivery Bot, using proceeds from an initial crowdfunding round in 2017. During the pandemic, the company performed semi-autonomous deliveries from a pharmacy to care homes in Hounslow, London.
As part of the company’s current £20m investment round, Academy of Robotics has already secured a £1m investment and in April 2021 it received a further £1m in match-funding through the UK government’s Future Fund scheme. The scheme, which has now closed for applications, aims to support UK-based companies, subject to at least equal match-funding from private investors.
This pre-series A funding will be used to scale-up production of its electric AV technology. The start-up also plans to open a new factory and test-track facility in a rural location in the East of England, which will create at least 100 new jobs by 2023, including skilled work and technological development opportunities.
William Sachiti, CEO and founder of Academy of Robotics, said: “Having achieved so much since our last fundraise, we are excited to launch our next round, offering the community of individual investors a chance to participate in the high-growth autonomous vehicle and robotic technology space in the UK.
“As we support the UK competing for its rightful share of the global AV sector, we can, at the same time, alleviate some of society’s challenges, including supply chain pressures and air pollution.
“The UK government’s Future Fund investment has provided us with a valuable funding injection following a challenging couple of years for high-growth technology start-ups, which will allow us to make the critical investments we need to scale to the next level at pace and stay ahead in this highly competitive, fast-moving autonomous vehicle space.”
