Is acquisition something that a company like Fetch works toward? Do you consider it to be kind of an inevitability? We’re still working out the details Fetch has a very strong brand, and so how do we get the best of both worlds. We’re kind of becoming the centerpiece, so they want to keep the team together, in San Jose. Will the Fetch brand remain? Will the company stay in San Jose? Are you staying on board?įetch is not moving. In terms of vision of how we're thinking about it, Zebra is very excited to kind of make Fetch the centerpiece of this whole new offering that they're building out. And of course, we still have 30 days or 35 days ‘till closing, so we're still operating as independent businesses.
I don't have all the details for you, obviously. Yes, that so far has been the discussion. Are you the cornerstone of an ecosystem play? Is this Zebra building a a robotic retail and fulfillment ecosystem around Fetch? I know Zebra has developed their own robot and invested in other robotics companies. When you look at the options and the opportunities, this was a good opportunity and was well aligned with the team we wanted to build. We’re still going to be partner friendly and we’re still going to bring other devices into the ecosystem. We have a partnership with SICK, we have partnerships with other MWS providers like VARGO. Over the years we’ve been slowly bringing in other partners on the platform. When we built our platform, we built it to be unifying. I think the acquisition made sense because it aligns with more of our long-term vision. Why does this kind of acquisition make more sense, ultimately? I suspect that you've been approached by companies over the years. I’d assumed Fetch was a good potential candidate for an acquisition, but I’d always imagined it would be something like a Walmart looking to compete with Amazon robotics. It helps us reach a much broader, wider and deeper audience. They’re already in all of the customers we want to be working with. One of the other great things about us joining Zebra is they have a strong go-to-market engine, and they can amplify our sales capability. Before the pandemic, there were already labor shortages for warehouse and logistics, and the pandemic only exacerbated it. With the pandemic, there’s been a huge draw for more and more automation technology. I think when you look at it, over the last couple of years, we’ve had a good relationship with them.
FETCH ROBOTICS SERIES
When our customers got robots, they could take the hand scanner they already had today, scan a barcode and call a robot to them.Īs we were fundraising for our Series D, this opportunity came out of that. One of the first things we did was integrating their mobile computing devices, for an out-of-the-box experience on our cloud robotics platform. About two years ago, Zebra invested in Fetch, and we started working together through our partnership.
When you look at it, over the last seven years, we’ve been building a pretty compelling cloud robotics platform. Why was this acquisition the right move for Fetch? It comes as interest in the category is at an all-time high, following widespread labor shortages during the pandemic.Īfter the news broke, we sat down with Fetch co-founder and CEO Melonee Wise to discuss the deal and the future of warehouse robotics.
FETCH ROBOTICS FULL
The full deal is valued at $305 million, with Zebra acquiring the remaining 95% of the company for $290 million. The San Jose-based startup has been a mainstay in warehouse and fulfillment robotics for a number of years, offering a modular system designed to automate companies behind the scenes. Yesterday, enterprise computing corporation Zebra Technologies announced its plan to acquire Fetch Robotics.
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