Key facts
- Destro AI has raised $8 million in seed funding led by Base10 Partners and Bonfire Ventures.
- The startup's AI intelligence layer coordinates robots and human workers in logistics settings.
- Destro AI's solution is being piloted and expanded at Yusen Logistics facilities.
- The company's software directs robots and human workers on tasks like cross-docking.
- Destro AI founder Manthan Pawar has eight years of experience in the U.S. supply chain and robotics industry.
Destro AI, a startup focused on enhancing logistics operations through artificial intelligence, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $8 million in seed funding. The company's core offering is an AI intelligence layer designed to synchronize the actions of both robots and human workers, aiming to streamline operations in settings like cross-docking.
Unlike many robotics companies that prioritize hardware development, Destro's strategy centers on software and AI models that interpret visual data and instructions to guide robot movements and task assignments. Founder Manthan Pawar, who has extensive experience in the U.S. supply chain and robotics industry, stated that Destro's deep understanding of customer problems is a key differentiator.
Yusen Logistics, a major South Korean shipping company, has been instrumental in guiding Destro's development. Richard Brunelle, Yusen's director of automation for its American logistics group, identified Destro's potential to solve his company's cross-docking challenges, which involve efficiently unloading goods and sorting them for onward delivery. Destro adapted its solution to meet these specific needs.
The startup began with a pilot program at a Yusen facility in the Pacific Northwest, utilizing Miva Robotics' cart-moving robots controlled by Destro's Vision operating system. This system directs both human workers and robots, making operations less labor-intensive and more systematic, according to Brunelle. Yusen Logistics chose Destro over other robotics startups due to its ability to provide autonomous direction for the entire cross-docking process.
Destro is now expanding its pilot to a full deployment of 26 robots at the Yusen facility and initiating another pilot with 17 robots in Southern California. The company plans to replicate this workflow across numerous other warehouses. The seed round was led by Base10 Partners and Bonfire Ventures, with participation from CoFound Partners.