Agility Robotics confirmed Thursday that it has laid off a “small number” of workers. The well-funded Oregon-based company says the job losses are part of the company’s focus on commercialization efforts.
“As part of Agility’s continued efforts to structure the company for success, we have parted ways with a small number of employees who were not central to the development and commercialization of the core product,” the company wrote in a statement provided to TechCrunch. “At the same time, we are focused on meeting the extraordinary demand for biped robots in industrial use cases. That means growing Digit’s output, continuing to win top global clients and adding new roles that meet those goals. We believe today’s actions will allow us to focus on the areas that drive Digit’s production, commercialization and production.”
Agility was ahead of the industrial humanoid curve with its bipedal robot, Digit. The company grew out of research conducted at Oregon State University. There has been no shortage of interest in impressive legged robots over the years. Ford was an early champion as Agility explored Digit’s last-mile delivery capabilities. Ultimately, however, those efforts were put on the backburner as the company turned its focus to understaffed warehouses.
There has been no shortage of funding for Agility’s efforts, despite a general slowdown in investment and adoption of robotics, both of which can be seen as corrections after a massive pandemic-fueled boom.
Two years ago this month, the company announced a $150 million Series B. Amazon mainly participated in the round through its Industrial Innovation Fund. The retail giant then announced that it would pilot Digits as part of its fulfillment center workflow. The pilots have since ended, but neither company has announced next steps.
A number of other humanoid robotics companies have announced their own pilots in recent months, including Figure with BMW and Apptronik with Mercedes. Last month at Modex, Agility introduced updates to its Digit end-effectors designed specifically for automotive manufacturing workflows.
Agility has also made several high-profile hires over the past year, including Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson joining as CEO, Fetch CEO Melonee Wise as CTO, and former Apple and Ford executive Aindrea Campbell as COO.
The company’s jobs page currently lists five open roles, heavily focused on engineering and manufacturing.
