Ultra raises $62 million for its packaging robots, which are leased to warehouses, and joins forces with Physical Intelligence

The Brooklyn-based start-up, which rents out its robots to warehouses on a monthly subscription basis, has secured a $50 million Series A funding round led by Framework Ventures and is strengthening its partnership with Physical Intelligence.

Ultra, a New York-based startup specializing in robots that package orders before shipment, announced on October 9 that it had raised a total of $62 million: a $50 million Series A round led by Framework Ventures, with Y Combinator, preceded by a $12 million seed round led by Y Combinator and Next View.

The subscription robot rather than the humanoid

The business model is based on rentals: warehouses, especially third-party logistics providers (3PLs), pay a monthly subscription fee instead of buying the machines. According to the company, its robots have already prepared more than half a million orders. Its co-founder and CEO, Jon Miller Schwartz, a mechanical engineer by training, argues that it is these specialized robots, much more than the high-profile humanoids, that are now making a real impact in the field.

Ultra is also expanding its agreement with Physical Intelligence, which designs AI models that serve as the "brain" of robots, in order to equip its machines with this software. The company operates in a market where the French company Exotec and Amazon's robotic fleet already operate.