News Release
November 9th, 2021
Autonomous robotics company UM Autonomous Systems (“Unmanned Life”) closes late seed round
Investments from TELUS Ventures and TELEFONICA will fund advancements in orchestration of autonomous robotics, including drones, and development of concrete applications of 5G, EDGE, and IoT in Industry 4.0 and Smart Cities
London, United Kingdom; Vancouver, Canada; and Madrid, Spain – British Startup UM Autonomous Systems (“Unmanned Life”), today announced a late seed round investment led by Canada’s TELUS Ventures, the strategic investment arm of communications technology company TELUS Corporation, and TELEFONICA (through Wayra) Other main investors include Venionaire Capital, Jota2Group, MOTEC Ventures, and Alpere Capital.
Founded in 2021, UM Autonomous Systems has pushed the boundaries of the Unmanned Life technology and brand (created in 2015). Supported by its AI software platform, the technology can scale in deploying large and flexible autonomous fleets of robots and drones. It connects and orchestrates different types of robots connecting through different types of networks like WIFI, 4G, and 5G. This network interoperability is key, in particular in industrial environments where the network connectivity is fundamental to preserve IT systems integrity. The platform acts like one central intelligent brain to unleash the value of robots in enterprise by enabling industry 4.0 and Smart Cities use cases across industrial sectors. 5G makes it all work faster with greater accuracy and lower latency enhancing the speed at which existing and new applications can work and unlock value for the enterprise sector.
“We are really excited with this investment which is a great expression of trust and belief in this team and Company. Working with leading companies such as TELUS Ventures and TELEFONICA will accelerate our go-to-market and deliver our vision of becoming the go-to software platform for seamless orchestration of autonomous robotics. The investment will support our efforts to build and develop an ambitious product strategy that will unlock the full potential of robots in enterprise and cities,” said Nicholas Zylberglajt, Chief Executive Officer, UM Autonomous Systems Ltd.
“TELUS Ventures is focused on enabling an ecosystem of innovation by partnering with disruptive, market-transforming companies in early-to-late-stage development, particularly solutions that leverage TELUS’ superior 4G and 5G networks,” said Mario Mele, vice president Corporate Strategy, TELUS Ventures. “The ability to enable the deployment and orchestration of autonomous fleets of robots and drones through Unmanned Life’s AI software platform has the potential to drive cost efficiencies and other benefits for our enterprise customers which, over the next decade, will have a transformational impact on their businesses and society in general.”
“We are very excited to invest in Unmanned Life, we believe they can become a key player in the global autonomous robotics market, they are an incredible talented team with a game changer technology and we are looking forward to helping them unlock its potential together with Telefónica. Drones and robots will need AI, great software and a strong partner ecosystem to scale. With our connectivity know-how and track-record in bringing new products to market, we are certain we can be an active partner in taking this technology to the next level. It’s also great news that they are moving their technology hub to Barcelona and planning to create more qualified jobs in the city, it demonstrates that Barcelona can attract the best international talent and we’re very proud about that.” said Marta Antúnez, Director, Wayra Barcelona.
About TELUS Ventures
As the strategic investment arm of TELUS Corporation (TSX: T, NYSE: TU), TELUS Ventures is one of Canada's most active corporate venture capital funds. TELUS Ventures invests globally in companies from Seed to Pre-IPO with a focus on innovative technologies such as AgTech, HealthTech, Connected Consumer, IoT, AI, and Security to actively drive new solutions across the TELUS ecosystem. Led by a team of experienced operators, investors, and executives, the TELUS Ventures team is passionate about creating positive social impact through financial tools and has invested in more than 90 companies since inception. For more information please visit: ventures.telus.com
About Wayra
Wayra is the entrepreneurship initiative part of Telefónica's Open Innovation programme, the most global, technological and connected in the world. It has seven Wayra Hubs, spaces in nine countries in Latin America and Europe through which it invests in and supports startups; Wayra X, a digital hub to invest in 100% digital startups; Wayra Builder, a corporate venture builder to create, together with other investors, innovative startups born from Telefónica's internal technology projects; and Wayra Next Trend, a window to digital innovation on innovative trends and applications. In addition, through the Wayra Activation Programme, it offers entrepreneurs exclusive and free access to new technologies through Telefónica's own platforms. More than 500 of the startups invested are part of Telefónica's Open Innovation programme and more than 130 are doing business with the company. More information available at https://www.wayra.com/.
About Unmanned Life
Unmanned Life is changing the way robots are being deployed by providing seamless orchestration of autonomous robotics with its Autonomy-as-a-Service software platform. Unmanned Life integrates different technologies. Such as AI, 5G, and Edge computing with multiple robots, like drones and/or autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and a variety of capabilities to enable autonomous robotics operations across multiple industries in particular, Industry 4.0 and Smart Cities. Find more information at https://unmanned.life/.
Media contacts:
Jorge Muñoz
Unmanned Life VP Business and Marketing
Jill Yetman
TELUS Public Relations
Mateo Ruoco Salvado
Wayra Spain Head of Communications