Ocado Group has announced that it has acquired a minority stake in robotics start-up Myrmex Inc. and will take a seat on its board. Ocado Group has secured intellectual property that is said to be synergistic with its suite of solutions and has appointed Myrmex to design and develop a bespoke product. Ocado Group also has the option to participate in future finance offerings.
Myrmex Inc. is a materials handling robotics start-up, offering autonomous mobile robots and intelligent asset handling systems. Myrmex’s suite of solutions enables click-and-collect deliveries, aiming to allow the industry to respond to the accelerated demand for smart deliveries created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alex Harvey, Engineering Director for OSP Handling Robotics at Ocado Technology said:
“As the shift to online grocery accelerates, we are moving even faster in adding automation to our end-to-end offering. Myrmex can play a part in that journey.”
Myrmex targets the European, US and Middle East online markets, mostly focusing on the last mile delivery part of the sector, offering a system capable of delivering an online order just a few seconds after the customer arrives at the pick-up point. The system also takes care of replenishment, returns, temperature controls, and payment methods.
Source: Ocado
