London-based SLAMcore raises $16 million to enable robots read the room

London-headquartered vision-based location and mapping platform for robots, SLAMcore has raised $16 million in funding. The Series A round was led by ROBO Global Ventures and Presidio Ventures who invested alongside Amadeus Capital, Global Brain, IP Group, MMC and Octopus. Strategic investors, including Samsung Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and Yamato Holdings also joined the round.

The platform uses deep learning to help robots, consumer products and drones identify physical space, objects and people around them in order to autonomously navigate the real world in a safer and more efficient way.

Aiming to democratise robotic technology, SLAMcore founder and CEO Owen Nicholson, said: “For far too long, robots have not been able to navigate physical spaces with the level of accuracy and efficiency that we know is possible. As they become more available to companies and consumers alike in years to come, SLAMcore is determined to ensure that as many designers as possible have access to the algorithms needed to optimize their products. We provide accurate, robust and commercially viable SLAM using affordable cameras and components that will benefit wide swathes of businesses and improve the user experience of consumer products.”

Its algorithms allow robots from domestic vacuum cleaners to precision industrial autonomous vehicles to precisely map the physical environment around them and locate themselves accurately within those maps through what is known as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM).

The technology is also used by producers of VR and AR headsets that require mapping and location to accurately align virtual and physical worlds. The startup’s technology has already been used by major technology companies such as Meta, and with the market for autonomous and spatially aware machines predicted to exceed $100 billion by 2030, the opportunities for the business’ software are immense.

Lisa Chai, partner, ROBO Global Ventures added: “The robotics market is exploding. Vision-based spatial intelligence is a key enabler that will turbo-charge this industry.”