Warehouse robots to do XPO’s heavy lifting

XPO Logistics will buy 5,000 warehouse robots from a Singapore startup backed by billionaire Peter Thiel as part of a deal that makes XPO the only logistics provider to use the technology in North America, the UK and eight other European countries.

The GreyOrange Pte robots — flattish, rectangular units that move about the floor much like an extra-large Roomba vacuum cleaner — can roll under storage racks weighing as much as 1,600kg, lift and carry them to warehouse workers who pull off items to be shipped.

Butler, as the robot is called, helped workers minimise walk time and manual errors, according to XPO, the logistics firm founded by billionaire Bradley Jacobs. XPO, which provides trucking and warehouse services, has invested heavily in automation to keep apace with explosive growth from e-commerce customers.

With the help of acquisitions, Jacobs has driven up sales to more than $15bn in 2017 from $175m when he purchased the company in 2011.

“We’ve developed our logistics technology to integrate the latest intelligent automation and adapt it at lightning speed,” Jacobs said. “This allows us to dramatically improve efficiency, fulfillment time and costs.”

GreyOrange, in business since 2011, raised $140m in September in a round of funding led by Mithril Capital Management, which was co-founded by Thiel and Ajay Royan.

The sale will help the startup expand in the US, where it just established a headquarters in Atlanta and is building a manufacturing site that will be completed in 2019.