Exotec has come a long way since its creation in 2015. The robotics start-up announced on Monday a $335 million Series D funding round, which gives it the status of the first industrial unicorn with a valuation of 2 billion.
With its Skypod robotic system for preparing orders in warehouses, and its Skypicker picking module, the company already equips big names in retail and e-commerce, such as Monoprix, Decathlon, Carrefour, Cdiscount, Gap and Uniqlo. . “Today we export robots to Japan and the United States from Lille,” Thomas Genestar, head of Western Europe at Exotec, told ZDNet enthusiastically. However, he adds, “to develop internationally, you have to have strong backbones”.
This new fundraising, led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, alongside Bpifrance via its Large Venture fund, and 83North, will therefore allow the northern company to support its international ambitions, and to recruit with a vengeance, in particular to strengthen its R & D division. Exotec plans to recruit 500 additional engineers by 2025.
With such a rise in power, the company is beginning to think about bringing its French teams together in a new location in the Lille region, where the company is now dispersed over three sites, including its headquarters in Croix, partly dedicated to the production. Abroad, the company is present in Atlanta for North America, Tokyo in Japan, and also has an office in Germany to cover the European market.
The food sector is seduced by these small robots
Exotec wishes to continue to supply various structures, from large accounts to SMEs, which are limited to around ten robots to serve daily orders or boost the busiest times of the year. Exotec robots have the advantage of being standardized and adaptable to all kinds of needs. While retail and e-commerce rely heavily on these automated solutions to meet growing post-pandemic demand, food is also one of the major trends emerging on the market, according to Thomas Genestar.
In addition, some customers are beginning to become loyal partners of Exotec to equip geographically distant warehouses. This is particularly the case for Decathlon, which will rely on Exotec technology to gradually equip about fifteen of its sites in Europe.
Exotec, which is posting balanced accounts this year, claims a turnover of 105 million euros in 2021. If the company is in the nails compared to the objective it had set doubling from year to year, its well-filled order book allows it to anticipate good results for the current year. “We have very good prospects for 2022,” says Thomas Genestar.
He also ensures that the company manages to manage the vagaries of the supply chain by not skimping on its stocks. “Our advantage is to have robots and standardized processes”, explains Thomas Genestar. Even if it means making a lot of stocks, therefore, since the material will not be lost.