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When Shopify offered 6 River Techniques, many assumed Ocado paid pennies on the greenback to accumulate the autonomous cellular robotic (AMR) maker. Now we all know precisely how good of a deal Ocado acquired.
In its 2023 mid-year monetary report, Ocado mentioned it paid simply $12.7 million to accumulate 6 River Techniques. For comparability, Shopify paid $450 million to accumulate 6 River Techniques in September 2019. Ocado paid roughly 2.8% of what Shopify paid for six River.
Ocado mentioned the 6 River enterprise “has a superb shopper checklist, is debt-free, money move constructive, and generates constructive EBITDA.” I’m no mathematician, however taking a $437.3 million loss can’t be good, even should you’re attempting to dump a enterprise that’s now not a part of future plans to chop prices.
Based in 2015, 6 River Techniques builds AMRs for the logistics and non-grocery retail sectors. The AMRs present automated help to human pickers in a warehouse, working collaboratively with them. In keeping with Ocado’s monetary report, at press time, 6 Rivers’ Chuck AMRs had been deployed in additional than 100 warehouses worldwide,with greater than 70 clients.
Based mostly in Massachusetts, 6 River Techniques was based by Rylan Hamilton, Jerome Dubois and Chris Cacioppo, who’ve deep data of robotics, software program and success operations. Dubois and Hamilton are former workers of Kiva Techniques, the well-known AGV maker acquired by Amazon in 2012 for $775 million.
Rising robotics portfolio
6 River will turn into a part of Ocado’s Clever Automation (OIA) division. Ocado mentioned OIA was established to convey Ocado’s automation applied sciences to purchasers exterior grocery. OIA will function a capital-light materials dealing with gear gross sales mannequin designed in order that upfront charges higher match Ocado’s money outflows and can largely leverage present OSP expertise. Ocado mentioned discussions have progressed with a number of potential purchasers throughout a spread of industries.
The 6 River acquisition additionally provides a brand new kind of robotic – AMRs – to Ocado’s portfolio. The corporate has developed its personal automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) for years for its on-line grocery enterprise. Ocado just lately gained a lawsuit towards fellow ASRS developer AutoStore, through which AutoStore should pay Ocado a $256 million settlement over the subsequent two years.
In 2020, Ocado acquired two U.S.-based robotics firms for $287 million. It bought San Francisco-based Kindred Techniques, which makes a speciality of robotic piece-picking, for about $262 million and Las Vegas-based Haddington Dynamics, a developer of low-cost robotic arms, for about $25 million. Ocado mentioned the acquisitions will allow it to enter new robotics markets exterior of grocery.
Pulling all of it collectively
I just lately spoke to an investor who was concerned in promoting a robotics firm to Ocado. This investor, who wished to stay nameless, mentioned the 6 River acquisition makes strategic sense for Ocado, however that it’s going to take time for the plan to return collectively.
“Ocado doesn’t care in regards to the $40-50 million in yearly income that 6 River’s AMRs produce,” the investor mentioned. “Ocado needs to have the ability to supply Kroger’s and others a soup-to-nuts answer. However every of these techniques – 6 River’s AMRs, Kindred’s piece-picking robots and Ocado’s ASRS – had been initially designed for various finish markets.”
One supply informed The Robotic Report “the entire 6 River Techniques robotics workforce was axed” earlier than the acquisition by Ocado. Absolutely Ocado has engineers who can look underneath the hood of 6 River’s AMRs and make sense of all of it. However it can seemingly be a very long time earlier than Ocado’s robotics platforms will all work seamlessly collectively.