Path Robotics, a Columbus, Ohio-based maker of AI-powered industrial robots, has raised $300 million in Series E financing at a post-money valuation of $2.45 billion. In the process, the company becomes Ohio’s - and the Midwest’s - latest unicorn.
Canadian AI-focused growth equity firm Georgian led the round, with participation from investors including Addition, Drive Capital, IronArc Ventures, Tiger Global and Yamaha Motor Ventures. D. E. Shaw Ventures, and NAVER Ventures.
“We’re seeing accelerating demand from manufacturers that need to expand production capacity but can’t get there with traditional automation,” Path Robotics CEO and co-founder Andy Lonsberry said in the announcement, “Our goal isn't to automate one step, but to automate the entire factory.”
In the funding announcement, Path shared that its annual recurring revenue grew 17-fold over the past 18 months, as it expanded deployments with manufacturers in North America. According to the company, it plans to use the money to expand beyond welding, develop additional robotic systems and invest in training its AI models and said it has grown its workforce 97% year over year and plans to reach 400 employees by the end of 2026.
Founded in 2018 while Andy’s brother, co-founder and CTO Alex was still completing his PhD at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, Path develops robots designed to adapt to changing conditions on factory floors. Where conventional robots often depend on fixed programming. Its Obsidian system uses cameras and AI models to identify joints, plan welds and adjust to variations in materials or positioning. The company has also introduced Rove, a mobile welding system built on a quadruped robot. The company counts defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and shipbuilder HII among its customers.
In 2021, Alex told CWRU that Path “would not exist, period” without the University’s think[box] innovation center. “That world-class facility provided us with all the tools necessary to build our early prototype technology and test it. Think[box] was the ideal incubator and launchpad.”
