At NGP Capital, we are committed to backing companies that push the boundaries of industrial innovation. Today, we’re thrilled to announce co-leading Ati Motors’ $20M Series B funding round alongside Walden Catalyst. Ati Motors is redefining industrial automation with their ruggedized autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) tailored to the most challenging manufacturing environments.

With a proven track record of success across blue-chip customers, an industry-leading cost advantage, and proprietary technology developed for navigating the harshest industrial environments, Ati Motors aligns seamlessly with our vision of enabling transformative industrial solutions.

Capitalizing on the Growing Demand for Autonomous Mobility

Material handling remains one of the most labor-intensive and cost-constrained operations in manufacturing. While automated guided vehicles (AGVs) provided an initial leap, their rigid infrastructure often limits adaptability and incur high upfront costs. The next wave of innovation—autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)—is transforming how manufacturers address these challenges by offering intelligence, flexibility, and scalability.

Key growth drivers also include labor shortages—particularly acute in regions like the U.S., where there are over 620,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs—and the need for safer, more efficient shop-floor solutions. Unlike AGVs, AMRs thrive in unstructured, dynamic environments, making them indispensable for manufacturing companies struggling to retain skilled labor and maintain operational efficiency.

Ati Motors has built their fleet to capture this opportunity, offering AMRs purpose-built for manufacturing environments characterized by steep gradients, outdoor exposure, and uneven surfaces. With global deployments across industry heavyweights like Forvia and Hyundai, Ati has positioned itself to capitalize on the surging demand for automation.

Product Differentiation Unlocks the Market Opportunity

Ati Motors has addressed key pain points that had plagued the first generation of material handling with AMRs that combine cost-efficiency, performance, and software-driven flexibility and modularity:

1. Ruggedization & Reliability: Ati's AMRs have been iterated on since day one to meet the demands of navigating India’s most challenging manufacturing environments. From uneven surfaces and steep gradients to oil spills and extreme temperatures, these harsh conditions have shaped their design. This relentless refinement has been validated through 300,000+ miles of operation. Additionally, Ati’s Robotics Operating Center (ROC) offers 24/7 fleet monitoring, real-time diagnostics, and over-the-air updates, ensuring consistent uptime.
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2. Unique Cost Advantage: Leveraging India’s robust EV supply chain and key partnerships with local supplies, Ati achieves industry-leading unit economics with a Bill of Materials (BOM) that’s significantly lower than benchmarks. This pricing flexibility positions Ati as an attractive choice within a cost-conscious industry looking for every opportunity for margin expansion.
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3. Proprietary Navigation Stack & Rich Analytics: Ati has developed a comprehensive and modular software ecosystem tailored to the complexities of manufacturing environments. Built from the ground up, it integrates seamlessly with ERP and MES systems, enabling real-time fleet optimization, dynamic route planning, and predictive analytics. The system employs advanced AI/ML algorithms and 3D LiDAR for precision navigation in dynamic and unpredictable environments.
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4. Deployment Speed and Flexibility: Ati Motors’ integrated hardware-software design enables rapid customization and deployment, with robots operational within a few weeks. Pre-deployment simulation (Sim2Real) optimizes workflows in virtual environments, reducing implementation time. Ati's corpus of training data has enabled features such as adaptive speed controls for wet flooring, dynamic route optimization for complex layouts, and automated ERP data exchange to further accelerate time-to-live.

Why Ati Motors Stood Out to Us

Ati Motors has demonstrated strong execution capabilities, with over a hundred robots deployed across industry leading companies. The company has doubled its live deployments year-over-year across the US, India, Mexico and APAC, with their U.S. fleet growing at the fastest rate.​

This traction is underpinned by a world-class team. Founder and CEO Saurabh Chandra is a seasoned entrepreneur who previously exited a company to Publicis Groupe, while CTO Naveen Arulselvan brings deep technical expertise, including a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University​ and 20+ years building autonomous systems.

What further reinforced our conviction was the incredible love and enthusiasm from customers. Some of the most sophisticated manufacturing companies raved about Ati’s cost-effectiveness, reliability, and transformative impact on productivity and operational intelligence. One even reported an 80% reduction in shop floor inventory after deploying Ati’s AMRs and integrating the fleet with their ERP system​!

NGP Capital’s Convergence Thesis in action

Ati Motors exemplifies our thesis at NGP Capital: the convergence of digital and physical to create scalable, intelligent solutions. Their focus on modularity and connectivity aligns with the broader shift toward Industry 4.0, where data-driven insights and flexible automation are key enablers of success.

This investment reflects our belief in the transformative potential of AMRs, particularly in sectors like automotive and discrete manufacturing, where Ati already shows market leadership.

Looking Ahead

We are thrilled to partner with Ati Motors as they scale globally. With plans to expand their U.S. presence and enhance their product portfolio, we’re excited to support them on the next chapter of their journey to redefine material handling and lead the AMR category.

To robotics founders, operators, and innovators: if you’re building bold solutions to transform industrial workflows, we’d love to hear from you. At NGP Capital, we are committed to partnering with visionary entrepreneurs like Saurabh and Naveen who have a relentless drive to shape the future of industrial automation.

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