Robotics in Supply Chain: Simplifying Material Movement and Automation

Mitra Robotics aims to simplify warehouse automation through cost-effective, user-friendly solutions for material movement.

### Mitra Robotics: Revolutionizing Warehouse Automation with Simple, Cost-Effective Solutions
* 🏭  Mitra Robotics aims to address the **90% of warehouses lacking automation** by providing a **simple, user-friendly, and cost-effective solution** for material movement.
* 🤖  The company's technology consists of a **steel lattice structure** and a bot that moves in **full three dimensions**, allowing for **flexible warehouse operations** without traditional conveyors and elevators.
* 💰  With $78 million in funding, Mitra Robotics is developing a **reliable and scalable product** that can move **up to 3,000 pounds** both horizontally and vertically.
* 🤝  The technology is designed to **complement, rather than replace**, human or humanoid robot labor in warehouse and manufacturing environments.
* 🔮  CEO Chris Thayer, formerly of Tesla and Rivian, emphasizes the importance of **simplicity and practicality** in warehouse automation, contrasting with more complex humanoid robotics projects like **Optimus**.
* 💼  Thayer believes that the next two years of development and customer acquisition will be **crucial for Mitra Robotics** to generate revenue and potentially attract further funding.
* 🌐  The company already has **Fortune 100 customers, such as Albertsons**, and is focused on **expanding its market presence in the near future**.

This is interesting.
It's not necessarily a crowded field, but I'd say we've had several startups
on the show focusing in the field of robotics.
What is specific about your technology and your ambitions on how it's used in
the real world? Sure.
Morning, Ed. Thanks for having me on the show.
Appreciate it. Yeah, I mean, the challenge is, is that
90% of warehouses today have no meaningful automation.
So there's a product market fit gap. At Tesla, we experienced some of the
challenges with the current state of automation.
We endeavor to make something extremely simple, user friendly, and the more
simplistic we can make the system, the more cost effective and universal and
flexible the solution could be. And the more people want to use it.
You've got Fortune 100 customers already, Albertsons, for example.
What is it that the robotics are solving for them already?
What is it that Roberts is not not

solving for them?
Well, if you look at the traditional, it is solving for them.
What is the positive? What are you finding that is already the
application, Chris? Oh, sure.
What is it we are solving? Yeah.
So we're, we're focused on moving material at the power level.
It's the bread and butter of supply chain.
Almost everything you see around you has been in a pallet at one point.
And we're doing that a much more simple and inefficient way through the use of
just two products. It's really a steel lattice structure
and a bot that moves in full three dimensions, which allows you to
basically use software to define how your warehouse operates versus
traditionally using mechanisms like conveyors and elevators and that sort.
$78 million. I can't tell if that's quite a lot of
money or not enough money to launch a product like this.
Scale it and put it into the real world. You tell me.
It sounds like a lot, of course.

But, you know, you have to keep in mind
that there's seven different engineering disciplines.
And, you know, it's it's incredibly important to make the product reliable,
scalable, etc. I mean, automotive companies spend quite
a little bit of money on the manufacturing and the development to
bring an electric vehicle to market. We're essentially bringing a small
electric vehicle that not only moves £3,000 in the horizontal plane, but also
moves it up and down. Reliable, scalable, and with in a near
term ideal of being useful. Now what's so interesting is your
background having been at Rivian, but also at Tesla.
What about to get Tesla numbers? We're about to fixate upon Optimus and
once again a slight delay to its practical use cases.
What was it like at Optimus and how did you decide that you had to do something
different because perhaps of the delays that.
Yeah. My background at Tesla was a very
interesting one.

I had experienced both on the traditional warehouse side and trying to get material flow up and running for it to support Model three manufacturing. And then was also asked and tasked to lead the Optimus program. You know, humanoid robotics, absolutely fascinating. Had a blast working on those problems and leading that team. But ultimately, it's a bit of a ninth inning problem. And there's innings four or five, six and seven, etc. that still need to be solved. And you know, for the next 10 to 15 years of my career, as well as the rest of the team that's joined us on this mission, we're really solving a very critical problem in supply chain with a very simple and indirect form factor. I guess philosophically, but also from an engineering perspective. Why is the direction you're going better than the use case of a humanoid robot, such as Optimus, in the warehouse or manufacturing environment? It's a great question.

I don't know if one is better or worse
than the other. I would say they're solving two very
different problems. What's very unique about humans is, is
their ability to manipulate and reason at the edge.
And that's where a humanoid robot is, is very powerful.
But when you look at what's moved around in a warehouse, in a manufacturing
facility, a lot of those that material weighs hundreds, if not thousands of
pounds. And that's not something that a human
really is is designed to do. So you can think of what we're building
at Mitra is something that's very complementary or orthogonal to humanoid
robotics or humans in general. Okay.
So you're going to work in line sort of in a sophisticated manner to work
alongside the future of an Optimus? You've got strategic investment.
I'm assuming you've already raised, what, $78 million in funding.
How expensive does this get?

How many more rounds of funding do you need, Chris? Yeah. I mean, it's unclear at this point. Our goal is to execute as quickly and as efficiently as possible. You know, the next two years will develop the system, invest in the team, and launch to a few more customers. And in that time, you know, that we'll be generating revenue and, you know, the funding environment in two years. Who knows what that will be like. But it's safe to say that funding can help accelerate the mission. It's not necessarily always required for a company to exist.

Former TeslaBot Engineer Launches AI Robotics Company

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The Unique Approach to Warehouse Automation with Robotics

Aiming to address the lack of automation in 90% of warehouses, the company focuses on creating a simple, user-friendly, and cost-effective robotics system.

Their solution has already attracted Fortune 100 customers like Albertsons, aiming to revolutionize the movement of materials in the supply chain with a steel lattice structure and a 3D bot, replacing traditional conveyor systems.

The company has raised $78 million to launch and scale their innovative product for real-world application.

Engineering Disciplines and the Development of Electric Vehicles

There are seven different engineering disciplines crucial for making electric vehicles reliable, scalable, and practical for near-term use.

The interviewee's background at Rivian and Tesla provided experience in addressing manufacturing delays and leading humanoid robotics projects.

The focus is now on solving supply chain problems with a more direct engineering approach, as opposed to the use of humanoid robots like Optimus in warehouse and manufacturing environments.

The Unique Capabilities of Mitra's Robotics

Mitra's robotics are designed to handle heavy materials in warehouses and manufacturing, complementing the abilities of humanoid robots and humans.

The company has raised a significant amount of funding, around $78 million, for its strategic investment in the future of robotics.

The company's goal is to execute quickly and efficiently, with a focus on developing the system, investing in the team, and expanding to more customers over the next two years.

While aiming to generate revenue during this time, the future funding environment is uncertain, but obtaining funding can help accelerate the mission and is not always necessary for the company's existence.