Third Wave Automation has closed a $27m (£21m) investment round to support future technology development that advances the use of autonomous forklifts.
The funding will enable the US firm to scale its pioneering Shared Autonomy Platform and expand manufacturing of its multimode TWA Reach forklifts.
In an industry grappling with a severely constrained labour market and intensifying market competition, Third Wave's approach of blending AI-powered autonomy with human expertise is transforming warehouses.
Prashant Bothra, principal at Woven Capital, who is joining the Third Wave board, said: "Third Wave's solution provides reliable automation for vertical movement and placement of goods while optimising labour efficiency, enhancing safety and enabling data-driven improvements.
"With access to Toyota's unparalleled bench of industrial automation and mobility experts, we believe Third Wave is well positioned to chart the future of intelligent material handling, unlocking unprecedented value across global logistics networks."
"The partnership between Third Wave and Woven Capital creates a strong foundation to advance our company's strategic vision, reshaping how warehouse operators perceive autonomous forklifts and the value they deliver," added Arshan Poursohi, CEO of Third Wave.
"Collaborating with Toyota will play a vital role in expanding access to our AI-powered solutions and industry-leading autonomous forklifts.
"Together, we will empower more U.S. warehouse operators to boost productivity, enhance operational flexibility, address labour challenges and improve safety—all while delivering a fast, impressive ROI."
Third Wave pioneered materials handling automation with its Shared Autonomy Platform, enabling the TWA Reach line of forklifts to operate autonomously or seek help from remote operators who can take control from the safety of their office.
The platform uses machine learning to ensure forklifts continue to adapt and improve over time.
The TWA Reach forklifts operate in four modes: fully autonomous, remote assist, remote operation and traditional manual operation.
They are designed for high-reach applications, capable of horizontal and vertical movement of payloads, and used for end-to-end applications, from inbound, replenish and outbound tasks to all tasks in between.
The system includes the industry's most efficient mapping solution. Using automotive-grade 3D lidar, Third Wave can see from the floor to the roof and across aisles, reducing the time it takes to map fixed environments from months to days.
The advanced camera warehouse perception system—including Collision Shield, the industry-leading autonomous obstacle detection system running on forklifts—provides remote operators with insights into potential obstacles and how to navigate around them, as well as better views of target pick-and-place locations than manual operators.
The platform, along with its industry-leading Armada Fleet Management System (FMS), enables a single operator to manage multiple forklifts.
Integrating with other warehouse management systems, the Armada FMS allows operators to execute and monitor workflows and dynamically configure warehouse zones, dramatically improving worker efficiency and safety.
"The value of Third Wave Automation is genuinely transformative," said Brien Downie, president of 3PL firm Holman Logistics.
"Their autonomous forklifts will help us streamline our processes, enable our organization to fulfill customer orders more efficiently and maintain our competitive position in the logistics marketplace.
"Additionally, the autonomous Third Wave forklifts will play an important role in supporting our core value of ensuring that we always provide a safe environment for our team members."