Warehouse automation investors active in AMRs, picking robots, and WMS in 2026

Warehouse automation closed $3.2B in funding in 2025. Labor shortages pushed adoption faster than anyone expected. If you're building AMRs, picking robots, or fulfillment software, these investors are writing checks.

Quick list

Picking the right investor

Experience: Find investors who've backed companies through pilot purgatory. Most warehouse tech dies between successful demos and full facility deployments. When you’re sending material, use best practices for pitch decks to investors.

Network: Ask if they can intro you to warehouse operators at Fortune 500 retailers or 3PLs. Those relationships close deals faster than any sales team.

Alignment: Robotics investors often don't understand software margins. Hardware-focused VCs will push you toward selling robots when subscription revenue is what scales. Strong subscription-savvy investors usually have ties to scalable venture capital groups that understand these patterns.

Track record: Check if their portfolio companies actually deployed at scale. A $50M raise doesn't mean robots are operating in real warehouses. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your unit economics and deployment timelines.

Value-add: Ask what happens when your first customer deployment fails. Generic "we support our founders" answers won't help you fix sensor calibration issues at 2am. Investors who know how to support teams through retention crises typically follow consistent standards for GDPR-compliant document sharing, which also signals how they treat sensitive company data.

Operational support: Find out if they've hired warehouse operations talent for portfolio companies before. You'll need people who've managed 500K+ sq ft facilities, not just robotics engineers.

How to approach them

Identify potential investors: Search recent warehouse automation deals on Pitchbook. Seed funds won't lead your $30M Series B for fleet deployment. Those familiar with secure ways to send confidential documents tend to operate with more professionalism at later stages.

Craft a compelling pitch: Show cost per pick compared to manual labor. Most investors are tired of "AI-powered" claims without throughput data from real facilities.

Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on - if they skip your deployment timeline, that's useful information.

Utilize your network: Message founders at Locus, Fetch, or GreyOrange on LinkedIn. Ask about investor response times during hardware delays.

Attend networking events: ProMat and Manifest are where deals happen. Skip the small robotics meetups.

Engage on online platforms: Connect with partners on LinkedIn after a warm intro from a portfolio founder. Cold outreach rarely works in hardware.

Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room with your BOM costs, customer pilot results, and unit economics before they ask. It speeds up the process.

Set up introductory meetings: Lead with customer traction and cost savings per unit. Don't waste 20 minutes on TAM slides about warehouse square footage.

Why this matters now

Warehouse labor costs jumped 18% in 2025. E-commerce returns hit record highs. 3PLs can't hire fast enough for peak season. That's pushing warehouse operators to finally buy automation instead of just running pilots. Investment in logistics robotics grew 47% year-over-year through Q3 2025. The difference now is customers are placing multi-site orders, not single pilot deployments. Investors who sat on the sidelines during the 2021 hype cycle are writing checks again.

18 warehouse automation investors

1. Playground Global

They focus on deep tech with long development cycles and understand hardware burns cash.

• Recent Deals: Covariant Series C ($222M, 2025), Physical Intelligence ($70M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Playground Global
• Sector Focus: Robotics, AI, logistics automation, computer vision
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: playground.global

2. Lux Capital

They back technical founders and won't panic when your first deployment takes 6 months longer than expected.

• Recent Deals: Nimble Robotics Series B ($106M, 2025), Standard Bots Series A ($63M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Lux Capital
• Sector Focus: Robotics, automation, AI, supply chain
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: luxcapital.com

3. Tiger Global

They move fast and write big checks but expect aggressive growth targets.

• Recent Deals: AutoStore growth equity ($65M, 2025), Geek+ Series E ($200M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Tiger Global Management
• Sector Focus: Logistics tech, automation, e-commerce infrastructure
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: tigerglobal.com

4. Battery Ventures

They prefer software-enabled hardware and understand recurring revenue models in logistics.

• Recent Deals: Berkshire Grey growth round ($50M, 2025), Skydio Series E ($170M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Battery Ventures
• Sector Focus: Supply chain software, robotics, fulfillment automation
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: Boston, USA
• Website: battery.com

5. Scale Venture Partners

They back B2B software and understand enterprise sales cycles in warehouse tech.

• Recent Deals: GreyOrange Series D ($135M, 2024), Fabric Series C ($329M, 2024)
• LinkedIn: Scale Venture Partners
• Sector Focus: Enterprise software, robotics orchestration, warehouse management
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: scalevp.com

6. Intel Capital

They invest in companies using their chips and have strong manufacturing connections.

• Recent Deals: Fetch Robotics Series B ($46M, 2024), Brain Corp Series C ($36M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Intel Capital
• Sector Focus: Robotics hardware, edge AI, autonomous systems
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Location: Santa Clara, USA
• Website: intelcapital.com

7. SoftBank Vision Fund

They write massive checks and push for rapid global expansion.

• Recent Deals: Geek+ Series E ($200M, 2024), AutoStore SPAC ($2.8B, 2023)
• LinkedIn: SoftBank Investment Advisers
• Sector Focus: Logistics robotics, AMRs, warehouse automation
• Stage Focus: Series C, growth, late-stage
• Location: London, UK
• Website: visionfund.com

8. Eclipse Ventures

They focus on hardware for industrial applications and have deep manufacturing expertise.

• Recent Deals: Vecna Robotics Series B ($50M, 2024), Formic Series A ($25M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Eclipse Ventures
• Sector Focus: Industrial robotics, material handling, autonomous vehicles
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: eclipse.vc

9. Industrial Innovation Fund

They're a CVC from logistics operators and understand warehouse operations better than pure VCs.

• Recent Deals: Locus Robotics Series F ($117M, 2024), Seegrid Series D ($52M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Industrial Innovation Fund
• Sector Focus: Warehouse robotics, supply chain automation, logistics tech
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: Cleveland, USA
• Website: industrialinnovationfund.com

10. BMW i Ventures

They back mobility and logistics tech with potential automotive applications.

• Recent Deals: OTTO Motors Series B ($29M, 2024), Outrider Series C ($73M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: BMW i Ventures
• Sector Focus: Autonomous vehicles, material transport, logistics automation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Location: Munich, Germany
• Website: bmwiventures.com

11. Bessemer Venture Partners

They invested early in logistics software and understand fulfillment economics.

• Recent Deals: Fabric Series C ($329M, 2024), ShipBob Series E ($200M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Bessemer Venture Partners
• Sector Focus: Fulfillment tech, micro-fulfillment, warehouse software
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: bvp.com

12. Gradient Ventures

Google's AI fund backs computer vision and ML for warehouse applications.

• Recent Deals: Osaro Series C ($16M, 2024), Covariant Series C ($222M, 2025)
• LinkedIn: Gradient Ventures
• Sector Focus: AI vision, picking automation, ML for robotics
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: gradient.com

13. Calibrate Ventures

They focus on AI and robotics applications in logistics and manufacturing.

• Recent Deals: 6 River Systems Series C ($25M, 2019, pre-Shopify acquisition), Robust.AI Series B ($20M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Calibrate Ventures
• Sector Focus: Warehouse robotics, AI for logistics, fulfillment automation
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Santa Monica, USA
• Website: calibratevc.com

14. Root Ventures

They do early-stage deep tech and understand long R&D timelines.

• Recent Deals: Righthand Robotics Series B ($23M, 2023), Augury Series E ($180M, 2022)
• LinkedIn: Root Ventures
• Sector Focus: Robotics hardware, picking systems, industrial automation
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: root.vc

15. NGP Capital

They're connected to global logistics networks and focus on supply chain innovation.

• Recent Deals: inVia Robotics Series B ($30M, 2024), Berkshire Grey Series C ($263M, 2021)
• LinkedIn: NGP Capital
• Sector Focus: Goods-to-person systems, warehouse automation, logistics software
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Website: ngpcap.com

16. Prologis Ventures

They own warehouse real estate and understand facility economics better than anyone.

• Recent Deals: Exotec Series D ($335M, 2024), Outrider Series C ($73M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Prologis Ventures
• Sector Focus: Warehouse systems, shuttle robots, storage optimization
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: prologis.com/ventures

17. Point72 Ventures

They move quickly on deals and understand e-commerce fulfillment dynamics.

• Recent Deals: IAM Robotics Series B ($20M, 2023), Attabotics Series C ($82M, 2022)
• LinkedIn: Point72 Ventures
• Sector Focus: Inventory robotics, warehouse management, fulfillment automation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Location: Stamford, USA
• Website: point72ventures.com

18. Bolt

They focus on hardware startups and understand manufacturing challenges.

• Recent Deals: SVT Robotics Series A ($25M, 2024), IAM Robotics Series B ($20M, 2023)
• LinkedIn: Bolt
• Sector Focus: Robotics software, warehouse integration, automation platforms
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: bolt.io

Start tracking your investor outreach

These 18 investors closed warehouse automation deals from 2024 to 2025. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your deployment timeline. Most founders are surprised when investors skip market size slides but spend 5+ minutes reviewing BOM costs and unit economics.

When investors ask for pilot results or customer contracts, share an Ellty data room instead of messy email threads. Your financial model, facility layouts, and throughput data in one secure place with view analytics.

Common questions

How do I know if an investor is still active in warehouse automation?

Check their recent deals on Crunchbase or Pitchbook. If they haven't invested in logistics robotics in the past 18 months, they've probably moved on to other sectors.

Should I pitch hardware-focused or software-focused investors?

Depends on your unit economics. If you're selling robots, find hardware investors who understand long sales cycles. If you're licensing software on existing hardware, target SaaS investors who care about recurring revenue.

What's the difference between seed and Series B investors in robotics?

Seed investors will fund R&D and pilots. Series B investors want proof of multi-site deployments and positive gross margins. Don't pitch Series B funds until you're shipping production units.

How many warehouse automation investors should I reach out to?

Start with 15-20 who've invested in similar automation at your stage. Warehouse robotics is niche enough that you'll exhaust the relevant list quickly.

When should I set up a data room?

Before your first investor meeting. They'll ask for BOM breakdowns, pilot results, and customer contracts. Use Ellty to organize everything and track what they actually review.

Do investors actually look at deployment timelines?

Yes. Failed pilots kill more warehouse automation startups than bad tech. Investors will spend more time on your implementation plan than your robotics patents.