In a market dominated by start-up, Zebra Technologies, mostly known for its data collection systems, has jumped into the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) space with news it is acquiring Fetch Robotics.
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It turns out Zebra had a small 5% stake in Fetch already. Now it is spending $290 million to acquire the other 95% of the San Jose-based robot company. The all-cash deal is expected to close in Q4.
In the announcement of the news, the companies said the acquisition would help them integrate technology to connect human workers, mobile wireless systems, autonomous robots, and the software that manages the flow of goods in distribution, manufacturing, and retail.
“It’s about getting a more holistic picture of the warehouse,” said Fetch founder and CEO Melonee Wise. “For Fetch, it’s a faster way for us to connect to that virtual world. We’re building a connected ecosystem that comes all the way from the hand scanner to the robot.”
For Zebra, the move is another step to expand from its long time roots in data collection, focused on bar code scanners, RFID readers and mobile wireless (radio frequency) terminals.
In late May, Zebra announced it was entering the machine vision and fixed industrial scanning (FIS) markets, including the acquisition of Adaptive Vision, a small, privately held Polish provider of software and libraries for machine vision d application development.
In 2020, Zebra launched its own retail robotic solutions, including it SmartSight inventory system.
Interestingly, Zebra also has an investment in Fetch competitor Locus Robotics.
Part of the appeal of Fetch to Zebra is its broad product line, with different robots for different types of warehouse applications.
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“Customers don’t want different robot providers to cover what needs to get done,” Jim Lawton, Zebra’s vice president and general manager of robotics automation, told the Wall Street Journal.
“The acquisition of Fetch Robotics will accelerate our Enterprise Asset Intelligence vision and growth in intelligent industrial automation by embracing new modes of empowering workflows and helping our customers operate more efficiently in increasingly automated, data-powered environments,” Zebra CEO Anders Gustafsson said in the press release. “This move will also extend our on-going commitment to optimize the supply chain from the point of production to the point of consumption.
Zebra’s move could trigger more acquisitions in the high flying mobile robot market, where the growth of ecommerce and on-going labor shortages are pushing many companies to consider robot technology to drive productivity gains.
Several robot providers offer “robots as a service” programs in which shippers can in effect lease robots for a period of time, such as peak season.
One company that could also make a move in the mobile robot space is Zebra rival Honeywell, which in addition to its line of mobile wireless terminals is already in the materials handling business after its acquisition of major equipment provider Intelligrated in 2016.
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