Contoro Robotics announced Tuesday it has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round to scale its AI-powered trailer- and container-unloading robots.
According to a news release emailed to FreightWaves from the Austin, Texas-based automation technology company, Contoro’s robots use customer-specific AI models to ensure 99% success rates in unloading operations.
“Unloading trailers is one of the most physically demanding jobs in the warehouse, yet it remains largely manual,” said Mok Yun, CEO and founder of Contoro Robotics, in the release. “We’re bringing AI-powered automation that enhances reliability, safety, and efficiency – allowing warehouse teams to shift from hazardous, repetitive tasks to more strategic and value-added roles.”
Contoro’s AI-powered robots utilize a unique human-in-the-loop approach to make unloading multi-SKU, floor-loaded trailers possible despite different box sizes, shifting loads and packaging changes.
The recent round brings in new investors from around the world, including Doosan, Coupang, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and IMM. They join continued backers SV Investment, KB Investment, Kakao Ventures and Future Play, bringing Contoro’s total funding to $22 million.
“Trailer unloading is one of the most labor-intensive and manual processes in the warehouse,” said Franziska Bossart, head of Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund, in the release. “We believe Contoro is making meaningful progress to tackle this challenge with its unique end effector and teleop-augmented AI.”
Contoro boasts that early deployments of its robots “have already doubled unloading speed, reduced dependency on manual labor and saved hundreds of man hours per month for customers” amid rising labor costs.
The company also offers customers a pay-per-container pricing model that removes upfront capital costs in an effort to make automation more attractive.
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