Led · Series A · Nov 2022

Pickle Robot Company develops tethered systems that teach off-the-shelf robot arms how to pick up boxes and “play Tetris” to automate truck and pallet unloading. The team is founded by a cast of MIT alumni and is led by CEO AJ Meyer. Pickle has run pilots with United Exchange Corporation and says it has unloaded tens-of-thousands of packages per month at customer sites, primarily in Southern California. The company positions its product as a focused solution to the challenging and repetitive work of unloading trucks and pallets. Pickle faces competition from other robotics players such as Boston Dynamics’ Stretch and Agility’s exploration of Digit for unloading, but sees a large addressable market. Management says the new funding will help accelerate customer acquisition and build the infrastructure to deliver more systems to more customers. Pickle Robot Company develops low-cost, collaborative package-handling robots that automate sorting, loading and unloading tasks in distribution and fulfillment centers. Its robots are designed to retrofit inexpensively into existing operations and increase the processing rate of the entire packaging facility. The company was founded by an MIT alumni group of robotics and machine-learning experts and focuses on systems that work alongside people at loading docks. Pickle’s stated mission is to move packages seamlessly in and out of distribution and fulfillment centers and to reduce the arduous human effort involved in order fulfillment. The company is based in Cambridge, Mass., and intends to scale its solutions through strategic partnerships and deployment across high-volume logistics operations. Pickle is an MIT spinoff that builds a collaborative package-picking robot named "Dill" focused on trailer unloading and loading-dock automation. The company says Dill can perform 1,600 picks per hour from the back of a trailer, which it claims is double the speed of competitors. Pickle emphasizes human-robot collaboration, designing people into the system rather than pursuing fully unsupervised solutions, and has deployed robots in real warehouses. Orders for the first product targeted at trailer unloading open in June, with an expected ship date in early 2022. The company launched with limited funding and a small team and recently closed a seed financing to support commercialization and scale production.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2021

Creapaper produces an alternative raw material for paper and packaging made primarily from dried grass (hay) and processes it into grass-fibre pellets that can replace wood or waste-paper pulp. The company says its grass-paper production emits up to 75% less CO2 and requires about two liters of water to produce one ton of paper versus roughly 6,000 liters for conventional wood- or recycled-paper processes. Creapaper has developed CO2-saving products including hygienic papers, food and carrying bags, and single-use plastic replacements, which it has placed with retail clients in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Italy. Founded in 2012, the company emphasizes reducing energy, water and chemical consumption in the paper industry and uses a patented process to make pellets from grass fibre. It has hired industry executive Jeannette Thull to promote strategic product ranges and prepare for national and international key accounts. Financially, Creapaper recently closed a €20M Series B and previously received €1.7M in funding from the European Innovation Council in December 2020. Creapaper uses a patented process to produce grasspaper, an alternative raw material for the paper and packaging industry that can replace wood‑based cellulose pulp and waste paper. Its grasspaper products include hygienic papers, food and carrying bags and single‑use plastic replacements. The company highlights significant CO2 and water savings from its materials and has placed products with retail clients in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Italy. Creapaper has received multiple awards and EU program support, including the IKU Innovation Award Climate and Environment 2018, the Red Herring Award North America 2019, EU Horizon 2020 recognition, and selection for the EIC Accelerator. The company is expanding its reach across Europe and positioning its grasspaper offerings for broader market adoption. Financially, Creapaper recently completed a financing round B that brought new investors and a strategic partnership with Ranpak. Creapaper produces a grassfibre-based raw material and a range of grasspaper products intended to substitute single-use plastics such as straws, cups, and bags. The grasspaper products reportedly save tons of carbon emissions, are free of noxious substances, printable, and have a distinctive sustainable yet premium appearance, making them attractive for packaging, single-use replacements, and tissue products. Several packaging-industry awards and first orders from large, well-known brands are cited as validation of the company's product USPs. Creapaper won a €1.7-million EIC Accelerator grant that the company says will significantly accelerate roll-out of its grasspaper products and enable it to meet logistical requirements of global brand owners. The company described the award as both important financial support and a motivational endorsement from EIC experts and the EIC Accelerator jury. The article highlights the competitiveness of the EIC Accelerator—4,223 companies applied in 2020 and only 38 were selected, including seven from Germany.