Main Sequence buys into Silicon Valley factory robot company RIOS

CSIRO’s venture capital arm, Main Sequence, has led a Series A round for Menlo Park, California-headquartered factory automation-as-a-service company RIOS Intelligent Machines, with the US company to establish a presence in Australia.

In an announcement on Wednesday, RIOS said it had closed a $US 28 million ($39 million) raise, featuring Yamaha Motor Ventures, Hypertherm Ventures and others. 

Main Sequence partner Mike Zimmerman will join RIOS’s board, and said the company’s combination of RaaS (robots as a service) business model and flexible robotic workcell platform were ideally suited to labour and supply chain challenges.

“Having looked at a wide range of robotics technologies and services, Main Sequence was attracted to RIOS’ strong market traction, positive customer feedback, and world-class team,” said lead investor Zimmerman. 

“We’re also thrilled that RIOS is strategically tapping into Australia’s ecosystem of industry experts, research institutions, and commercial companies to both commercialise innovative robotic technologies and get early access to the Australian market.” 

According to the company’s website it was established in late-2018, is headquartered in Menlo Park, and has an Australian Innovation and Applied R&D Facility in Brisbane’s Northgate. 

RIOS was founded by engineers from Stanford University and the famed Xerox PARC research company, which is responsible for a long list of computing industry breakthroughs. 

Picture: RIOS

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