Robot Maker Fabric Raises $110 Million to Fund U.S. Expansion

Israeli automation startup Fabric, formerly known as CommonSense Robotics, has raised $110 million in a Series B round with plans to accelerate its U.S. growth in the U.S. including plans to build 14 on-site micro fulfillment centers to enable same-day delivery.

Fabric has recently relocated its headquarters from Tel Aviv, where it still maintains an engineering operation, to New York. The funding will also be used to grow its U.S.-based commercial, operations, technical support and engineering teams.

The funding round was led by Corner Ventures with participation from Aleph, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Innovation Endeavors, La Maison, Playground Ventures and Temasek. It brings Fabric’s total raised to date to $136 million.

“The demand from the market for a location-first approach to automation is just staggering,” said Fabric CCO Steve Hornyak in a release. “Now, with this latest round of funding, Fabric is poised to enter a new stage of hypergrowth. … The first site in the New York area is already under construction and will be online in Q1 2020. Our flexible platform and deployment models empower businesses to get closer to their customers while maintaining profitability in whatever way works best for them.”

In July, Fabric announced it had built the first underground MFC for grocery fulfillment in Tel Aviv, to service nearby stores. Its first client was major retailer Super-Pharm, in 2018. The MFC there is now processing 600 orders a day out of a 6,000-square-foot automated facility.

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