Trends and advances in Robotics and Automation are being closely watched in software and hardware space. (link). It is especially hard for integrators to bring together software and hardware to meet industrial needs. Rethink Robotics, which was trying to innovate in industrial robotics for nearly a decade failed to translate its innovations into a steady revenue stream.
The premier robotics companies based in New England has shut down, according to reports by The Robot Report and The Boston Globe. Rethink was founded as Heartland Robotics 10 years ago. The startup was focused on developing collaborative factory robots, had raised more than $130 million in venture funding.
Rethink Robotics’ Sawyer (left) and Baxter collaborative robots. (therobotreport)
The news of the closing was first reported by the Robot Report (link)
Rethink Robotics CEO Scott Eckert first confirmed the news via email to The Robot Report. “I can confirm that unfortunately the news is true, Rethink Robotics closed its doors today,” Eckert writes. “We were pioneers and innovators in the industry and responsible for the creation of the collaborative robot category, but unfortunately we didn’t quite achieve the market success we had intended. We have been helping our team find new homes and have been overwhelmed with interest. It’s a world-class group of people will continue to do great things in their next endeavors.”
We last heard from Rethink Robotics, which was once known as Heartland Robotics, in July 2018 when it announced it was adding seven distributors throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Unfortunately, those distributors didn’t have much time to sell the Rethink concept
In follow-up comments to The Boston Globe, Eckert says an expected deal for Rethink Robotics to be acquired fell through. Rethink Robotics was short on cash as its robots sales failed to meet expectations. Rethink Robotics will soon begin selling off its patent portfolio and related IP.