Manufacturing may well prove to be the next major focus for robotics investment. Here in the United States, the $2 trillion industry employs about eight million people—that’s almost the size of New York City. Even during economic booms, however, these jobs can be difficult to maintain, due to physical demands and other potential hazards.
Industrial paint is well prepared for automation. Besides, a good bit of heavy machinery is involved in bigger projects. As evidenced by videos released by PaintJet, those kinds of older technologies remain intact here — albeit with an automated twist. Announced in October, Nashville startup Bravo’s robotic painter looks more or less like a mobile cherry picker.
CEO Nick Hegeman tells TechCrunch that, despite it looking like a fairly standard piece of heavy machinery, “We built 100% of the robotic system. Spare parts sourced from industry suppliers are the colour pipes, nozzles and pumps.” He adds, “We connect non-invasively to the platform and are able to control both the lift and our robotic system. This allows us to scale with our widely established network of equipment rental providers.”
Today, the company is announcing a $10 million Series A, led by Outsiders Fund and with participation from Pathbreaker Ventures, MetaProp, Builders VC, 53 Stations and VSC Ventures. The round follows a $3.5 million series led by Dynamo Ventures and brings its funding to date to $14.75 million.
Image Credits: PaintJet
Co-founder and CEO Nick Hegeman — naturally — frames current staffing issues as the heart of the increase. “It’s not just automation. It’s about redefining industry standards, addressing labor shortages and introducing cost-effective solutions that break the mold of traditional painting,” he says in a statement. “I am grateful to our investors for supporting our mission and allowing us to expand both geographically and into new areas.”
Along with Bravo’s unveiling in October, the startup also announced its Alpha Shield paint, which it claims can reduce typical wear and tear from the elements while increasing the time between repaints.
Image Credits: PaintJet
Of course, PaintJet is far from the only company vying to introduce robots to the world of industrial painting. Gray Matter offers painting arms in various scales. Japanese robotic arm giant Fanuc has also introduced solutions, though they can’t currently reach the heights of the kinds of buildings that PaintJet tackles with Bravo.
The startup is targeting manufacturing companies as its main user base. Its client list currently includes Prologis, Clayco, Layton Construction and Brinkmann Constructors.
PaintJet continues to have a low headcount, with 24 full-time employees. A portion of the new funding will go toward sales and operations staffing. It also finds the company moving its headquarters from Nashville to Virginia, “to support our entry into the shipping business and increase our engineering headcount to scale our technology stack for broader distribution,” according to Hegeman.
