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Investors double down on tech stocks in massive
DoorDash, Airbnb, C3.ai IPOs
Eric Eldon
How to find your next VC
Alex Wilhelm
FDA grants emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine,
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The Latest
Cledara, the SaaS purchase and management platform,
raises $3.4M funding
Steve O'Hear
4:00 AM EST•December 14, 2020
Cledara, the SaaS purchase and management platform that helps
bring greater viability and control over a company’s sprawling software
subscriptions, has raised $3.4 million in additional fund...

German Bionic raises $20M led by Samsung

for exoskeleton tech to supercharge human
labor
Ingrid Lunden@ingridlunden / 5:31 AM EST•December 14, 2020
 Comment

Exoskeleton technology has been one of the more interesting

developments in the world of robotics: instead of building machines that
replace humans altogether, build hardware that humans can wear to
supercharge their abilities. Today, German Bionic, one of the startups
designing exoskeletons specifically aimed at industrial and physical
applications — it describes its Cray X robot as “the world’s first
connected exoskeleton for industrial use,” that is, to help people lifting
and working with heavy objects with more power, precision and safety
— is announcing a funding round that underscores the opportunity
ahead.
The Augsburg, Germany-based company has raised $20 million,
funding that it plans to use to continue building out its business, as well
as its technology, both in terms of the hardware and the cloud-based
software platform, German Bionic IO, that works with the exoskeletons
to optimize them and help them “learn” to work better.
The Cray X currently can compensate up to 30 kg for each lifting
movement, the company says.
“With our groundbreaking robotic technology that combines human
work with the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), we literally strengthen
the shop floor workers’ backs in an immediate and sustainable way.
Measurable data underscores that this ultimately increases productivity
and the efficiency of the work done,” says Armin G. Schmidt, CEO of
German Bionic, in a statement. “The market for smart human-machine
systems is huge and we are now perfectly positioned to take a major
share and substantially improve numerous working lives.”
The Series A is being co-led by Samsung Catalyst Fund, a strategic
investment arm from the hardware giant, and German investor MIG
AG, one of the original backers of BioNtech, the breakthrough company
that’s developed the first Covid-19 vaccine to be rolled out globally.
Storm Ventures, Benhamou Global Ventures (founded and led by Eric
Benhamou, who was the founding CEO of Palm and before that the
CEO of 3com), and IT Farm all also participated. Previously, German
Bionic had only raised $3.5 million in seed funding (with IT Farm,
Atlantic Labs, and individual investors participating).
German Bionic’s rise comes at an interesting moment in terms of how
automation and cloud technology are sweeping the world of work.
When people talk about the next generation of industrial work, the
focus is usually on more automation and the rise of robots to replace
humans in different stages of production.
But at the same time, some robotics technologists have worked on
another idea. Since we’re still probably still a long way away unable to
make robots that are just like humans but better in terms of cognition
and all movements, instead, create hardware that doesn’t replace, but
augments, live laborers, to help make them stronger while still being
able to retain the reliable and fine-tuned expertise of those humans.
The argument for more automation in industrial settings has taken on a
more pointed urgency in recent times, with the rise of the Covid-19
global health pandemic: factories have been one of the focus points for
outbreaks, and the tendency has been to reduce physical contact and
proximity to reduce the spread of the virus.
Exoskeletons don’t really address that aspect of Covid-19 — even if
you might require less of them as a result of using exoskeletons, you
still require humans to wear them, after all — but the general focus that
automation has had has brought more attention to the opportunity of
using them.
And in any case, even putting the pandemic to one side, we are still a
long way away from cost-effective robots that completely replace
humans in all situations. So, as we roll out vaccinations and develop a
better understanding of how the virus operates, this still means a strong
market for the exoskeleton concept, which analysts (quoted by German
Bionic) predict could be worth as much as $20 billion by 2030.
In that context, it’s interesting to consider Samsung as an investor: the
company itself, as one of the world’s leading consumer electronics and
industrial electronics providers, is a manufacturing powerhouse in its
own right. But it also makes equipment for others to use in their
industrial work, both as a direct brand and through subsidiaries
like Harman. It’s not clear which of these use cases interests Samsung:
whether to use the Cray X in its own manufacturing and logistics work,
or whether to become a strategic partner in manufacturing these for
others. It could easily be both.
“We are pleased to support German Bionic in its continued
development of world-leading exoskeleton technology,” says Young
Sohn, Corporate President and Chief Strategy Officer for Samsung
Electronics and Chairman of the Board, Harman, in a statement.
“Exoskeleton technologies have great promise in enhancing human’s
health, wellbeing and productivity. We believe that it can be a
transformative technology with mass market potential.”
German Bionic describes its Cray X as a “self-learning power suit”
aimed primarily at reinforcing lifting movements and to safeguard the
wearer from making bad calls that could cause injuries. That could
apply both to those in factories, or those in warehouses, or even sole
trader mechanics working in your local garage. The company is not
disclosing a list of customers, except to note that it includes, in the
words of a spokesperson, “a big logistics player, industrial producers
and infrastructure hubs.” One of these, the Stuttgart Airport, is
highlighted on its site.  
“Previously, efficiency gains and health promotion in manual labor were
often at odds with one another. German Bionic Systems managed to
not only break through this paradigm, but also to make manual labor a
part of the digital transformation and elegantly integrate it into the smart
factory,” says Michael Motschmann, managing partner with MIG in a
statement. “We see immense potential with the company and are
particularly happy to be working together with a first-class team of
experienced entrepreneurs and engineers.”
Exoskeletons as a concept have been around for over a decade
already — MIT developed its first exoskeleton, aimed to help soldiers
carrying heavy loads — back in 2007, but advancements in cloud
computing, smaller processors for the hardware itself, and artificial
intelligence have really opened up the idea of where and how these
might augment humans. In addition to industry, some of the other
applications have included helping people with knee injuries (or looking
to avoid knee injuries!) ski better, and for medical purposes, although
the recent pandemic has put a strain on some of these use cases,
leading to indefinite pauses in production.
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German Bionic raises $20M led by Samsung for
exoskeleton tech to supercharge human labor
Ingrid Lunden
5:31 AM EST•December 14, 2020
Exoskeleton technology has been one of the more interesting
developments in the world of robotics: instead of building machines
that replace humans altogether, build hardware that humans can wear
t...
Nokia launches a laptop in India
Manish Singh
2:59 AM EST•December 14, 2020
Nokia, the 155-year-old iconic firm that has manufactured a range of
items from rubber to cables to phones and telecommunications
equipment, is ready to expand to a new category. The Finnish firm o...

China fines Alibaba, Tencent’s e-book subsidiary over

anti-trust violations
Rita Liao
2:38 AM EST•December 14, 2020
The Chinese government is moving to curb the power of some of
China’s most influential internet companies. The country’s top market
regulator announced Monday that it is fining Alibaba ...
Appboxo gets $1.1 million seed to build a mini-app
ecosystem for all developers
Catherine Shu
2:18 AM EST•December 14, 2020
Pioneered by WeChat almost four years ago, mini-apps are now
common in China and India, and gaining traction in other markets, too.
Mini-apps, or lightweight apps designed for integration into host...

Ola to invest $327M to set up ‘the world’s largest scooter

factory’ in Tamil Nadu
Manish Singh
2:03 AM EST•December 14, 2020
Ola said on Monday that it has signed a memorandum of
understanding with the government of Tamil Nadu in India to set up
what it claims would be the “world’s largest scooter manufacturing
fac...
Reddit acquires Dubsmash
Catherine Shu
11:05 PM EST•December 13, 2020
Reddit announced that it has acquired short video platform
Dubsmash. The deal’s terms were undisclosed. Dubsmash will retain
its own platform and brand, and Reddit will integrate its video
creation...

Extra Crunch
An even bigger battle for gig worker rights is on the
horizon
Megan Rose Dickey
10:52 AM EST•December 13, 2020
In the year ahead, we’ll likely see lobbying efforts from both gig
companies and gig worker organizations — as well as more lawsuits.
TC Sessions: Space 2020
Dec 16 - 17
Meet the most important people in the space industry, across
public, private and defense.
Register today and save

Original Content podcast: David Fincher presents a

compelling character study in ‘Mank’
Anthony Ha, Jordan Crook, Darrell Etherington
9:00 AM EST•December 13, 2020
“Mank” is a change of pace for director David Fincher — instead of
exploring the world of startup backstabbing (“The Social Network”),
political backstabbing (“House o...

Gillmor Gang: Strange Days Indeed

Steve Gillmor
6:05 PM EST•December 12, 2020
The place we’re in, the valley of the dolls between the vote and the
Inauguration, is overshadowed by the battle to save our lives. The
vaccines look promising, and so does the persistence of the T...

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Megan Rose Dickey
6:00 PM EST•December 12, 2020
Welcome back to Human Capital, where I break down the latest in
diversity, equity and inclusion, and labor in tech. This week, Twitter
dropped its latest diversity report and Tesla released its fir...
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How to find your next VC

Alex Wilhelm
4:00 PM EST•December 12, 2020
Welcome back to The TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-
markets newsletter. It’s broadly based on the daily column that
appears on Extra Crunch, but free, and made for your weekend
reading. ...

Investors double down on tech stocks in massive

DoorDash, Airbnb, C3.ai IPOs
Eric Eldon
2:00 PM EST•December 12, 2020
Editor’s note: Get this free weekly recap of TechCrunch news that any
startup can use by email every Saturday morning (7 a.m.
PT). Subscribe here. Maybe it is a stock market bubble, or a tech-
stock...
This Week in Apps: Apple scolds adtech, Facebook hit
with antitrust suits, Twitter buys Squad
Sarah Perez
10:37 AM EST•December 12, 2020
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series
that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the
overall app economy. The app industry is as hot as ever, with a...

FDA grants emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s

COVID-19 vaccine, distribution to begin within days
Darrell Etherington
9:40 PM EST•December 11, 2020
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccine
developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, the New York Times
first reported...
Daily Crunch: Hyundai acquires 80% stake in Boston
Robotics
Anthony Ha
6:51 PM EST•December 11, 2020
Hyundai takes a controlling stake in an iconic robotics company,
Twitter acquires a screen-sharing startup and we round up some
security-themed gift ideas. This is your Daily Crunch for December
11...

Oracle is headed to Texas now, too

Connie Loizos
5:31 PM EST•December 11, 2020
Austinites, watch out; another tech company is headed into town. Just
days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed during an interview that he
has moved to Texas, and less than two weeks after HP Enterp...
Here comes the Faraday fabric
Devin Coldewey
3:13 PM EST•December 11, 2020
You don’t have to buy into 5G conspiracy theories to think that you
could do with a little less radiation in your life. One way of blocking
radiation is a Faraday cage, but this is usually a ...
Extra Crunch
General Catalyst’s Katherine Boyle and Peter Boyce are
looking for ‘obsessive’ founders
There are definitely people who are working at companies that we
start engaging before they even ...
Jordan Crook
3:00 PM EST•December 11, 2020
Give the gift of Extra Crunch for 25% off
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This holiday season, TechCrunch readers can send an Extra Crunch
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for 25% off.  The gifting feature can be found here. Extra Crunc...

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