Third Wave Automation has announced the closing of its Series B financing, a $40 million round led by Norwest Venture Partners including participation from prior investors Innovation Endeavors and Eclipse, along with Toyota Ventures.
The additional funds will accelerate growth and commercialization efforts. As a part of today’s announcement, Matt Howard, General Partner at Norwest Venture Partners, will join Third Wave’s board of directors.
“I’ve been tracking Arshan and the team at Third Wave for some time and have been consistently impressed,” said Howard. “When I last visited the Third Wave facility and saw its forklifts easily completing picks and places my jaw dropped, and I knew Norwest needed to be a part of this journey. We are thrilled to support the Third Wave team as they fundamentally alter the warehouse and material handling industry.”
“While we weren’t actively raising, having the opportunity to bring Norwest and Matt’s expertise into our orbit was too good to pass up,” said Arshan Poursohi, CEO of Third Wave. “This extra capital will allow us to accelerate hiring and speed our path to the commercial market following our recent successful technical trials. We are now in active conversations with the top 20 3PL’s and retailers in the industry. There is a real need for our technology and we are eager to meet that need.”
Third Wave’s unique approach to industrial automation was conceived with artificial intelligence and computer vision at its core. Following years of research and development, Third Wave recently signed a commercial agreement and strategic partnership with industrial powerhouse Toyota Industries Corporation, Inc.
According to Third Wave’s website, its technology enables driverless lift trucks to perform complex tasks using shared autonomy — generally operating independently, but able to ask for help when encountering a challenge.