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6 River Programs’ Chuck autonomous cell robots. | Supply: 6 River Programs
Ocado Group is buying autonomous cell robotic maker 6 River Programs from Shopify. Monetary particulars of the deal weren’t disclosed.
6 River Programs develops the Chuck autonomous cell robotic (AMRs) for the logistics and non-grocery retail sectors. Based mostly in Massachusetts, 6 River Programs was based in 2015 by Rylan Hamilton, Jerome Dubois and Chris Cacioppo, who’ve deep information of robotics, software program and achievement operations. Dubois and Hamilton are former staff of Kiva Programs, the well-known AGV maker acquired by Amazon in 2012 for $775 million.
“We’re delighted to welcome new colleagues to the Ocado household. 6 River Programs brings thrilling new IP and potentialities to the broader Ocado expertise property, in addition to useful industrial and R&D experience in non-grocery retail segments,” mentioned James Matthews, CEO of Ocado Expertise. “Chuck robots are at present deployed in over 100 warehouses worldwide, with greater than 70 clients. We’re trying ahead to supporting 6 River Programs to construct on these and new relationships within the years to come back.”
Shopify acquired 6 River Systems in September 2019 for $450 million. Shopify, the Canadian e-commerce large, paid 60% in money and 40% in shares for the deal. On the time, Shopify mentioned the acquisition “is a crucial step to speed up its progress.”
One supply informed The Robotic Report “the entire [6 River Systems] robotics staff was axed and bought to Ocado.” The supply continued, “Shopify bought 2/3 of Shopify Logistics to Flexport and 6RS to Ocado. The Shopify Logistics management was a catastrophe.”
This seems to be half of a bigger spherical of layoffs at Shopify. It said on Thursday that it might let go 20% of its workforce in a second spherical of layoffs and bought its logistics arm to freight forwarder Flexport, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 16% in premarket buying and selling. Shopify additionally reported better-than-expected outcomes for the primary quarter, as extra retailers used its on-line instruments and concentrating on companies to draw clients tackling excessive inflation.
One supply informed The Robotic Report that with this acquisition “Ocado can now go after non-grocery since they received the lawsuit in opposition to Autostore. [6 River Systems] will assist them do extra.”
This refers back to the lengthy patent infringement lawsuit Ocado recently won over AutoStore. AutoStore filed the go well with in October 2020, claiming that Ocado’s automated storage and retrieval programs (ASRS) infringed on six of its patents. However the UK Excessive Court docket dominated that AutoStore’s patents have been invalid and that Ocado didn’t infringe upon them. Each AutoStore and Ocado function automated storage and retrieval programs (ASRS) that function on related ideas.
Editor’s Observe: The story is creating and will probably be up to date as wanted.
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