Cartken, known for its AI-based autonomy stack, announced that it has closed €20.8 million in aggregate with €9.2 million in its latest financing round. 468 Capital led the round, with participation from Incubate Fund, deep tech and AI funds LDV Partners and Vela Partners alongside global mobility technology leaders including Magna International, Mitsubishi Electric, Shell Ventures, and Volex. This investment allows Cartken to rapidly grow in new verticals, driving the future of industrial automation and last-mile delivery.
As the rapid pace of technological advancements continues, the need for efficient, automated solutions in industrial automation and last-mile delivery becomes ever more critical. Traditional methods of transporting tools, samples, materials, and parts are not only manual, time-consuming, and physically demanding, but also negatively impacting productivity, employee satisfaction, and safety.
Existing mobile robot solutions are often restricted to specific environments, struggling with transitions between indoor and outdoor settings. Cartken’s autonomous navigation system removes these limitations, effortlessly navigating diverse environments such as industrial complexes, production facilities, college and office campuses, and neighborhoods.
Based between Oakland (California) and Munich, Cartken’s hardware-agnostic software platform utilizes low-cost, commoditized sensors and cameras instead of expensive LIDAR systems. Cartken’s system enables multiple vehicle types to operate safely around pedestrians and employees, safely sharing walkways and interacting with traffic from cars and other vehicles.
“This investment accelerates Cartken’s path towards a future where self-driving technology is ubiquitous across most transport applications,” said Christian Bersch, Co-Founder and CEO of Cartken. “Our mission is to make this new technology accessible to companies across industries, so they can automate their operations, improve productivity, and ensure employee safety.”
Since its inception in 2019, Cartken has completed hundreds of thousands of deliveries, averaging an impressive 36,000 deliveries per month. In 2023 alone, this efficiency saved employees over 10,000 hours in transportation time. Serving some of the largest players in the OEM, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and chemical sectors across the United States, Germany, Denmark, and Japan, Cartken is also fully integrated with delivery platforms like Uber Eats and Grubhub. Recently, Cartken launched operations in Tokyo, Japan, partnering with Uber Eats and Mitsubishi Electric.
Bernhard Janke and Bardo Droege, partners at 468 Capital, echoed this sentiment: “Cartken’s approach to autonomous navigation systems is set to revolutionize industrial automation and last-mile delivery. We are thrilled to support a team that combines deep technical expertise with a clear vision for the future of autonomous unmanned vehicles for and out of Europe. We believe that Cartken’s approach gives us a clear glimpse into the future.”
