UK firm Slamcore, which develops spatial AI algorithms for robots and drones, has secured $5m in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures and MMC Ventures, with participation from Amadeus Capital Partners and Toyota AI Ventures.
The funding will speed up the availability of Slamcore's solutions, including its recently announced SDK product, a toolkit for developers to build, test and deploy solutions using Slamcore algorithms and low-cost, off-the-shelf sensors.
Slamcore has seen a spike in demand from companies looking to apply robotics, with enquiries for early access to Slamcore's Spatial AI SDK up 50 per cent.
The pandemic has increased interest in robots, drones, and artificial intelligence, as these technologies can help deal with staff shortages and social distancing rules in healthcare, manufacturing and supply chains.
To reach their full potential, robots and drones require spatial intelligence, including the ability to accurately calculate their position, understand unfamiliar surroundings, and navigate with consistent reliability. Slamcore offers Spatial AI solutions designed to integrate into existing platforms.
Owen Nicholson, CEO at Slamcore, commented: 'Even before the crisis, Slamcore was engaged in many conversations with companies – big and small – who needed a better way to solve spatial intelligence issues in robotics. Especially across sectors such as drones, robots, and AR/VR, the coronavirus pandemic has lit the touch-paper and we are primed to meet exploding demand. In the past few weeks alone, we have seen a huge spike in enquiries as robotics companies want fast solutions to get their robots to market sooner.'
