Good morning. Collaborative industrial robots, or “cobots,” soon could become many employees’ new workplace besties—to say nothing of how much workflows improve or how much money their companies save.
Cobots, which are evolving alongside the tech used for motion-sensing capabilities, are among the next generation of robots on the rise, according to a June 20 report in Bank of America Institute’s “Next Gen Tech” series. They are “small, nimble robots” that can move around a factory floor to collaborate with workers, the report notes. Powered by AI and machine learning, cobots work alongside humans and are designed to conduct much more complex tasks than traditional robots. Some that are programmed with generative AI will be able to communicate with humans, a far cry from traditional robots, which actually cost more and are harder to program.
“The cobot is now a more competitive option for a customer looking to automate a factory without the need for large areas of fenced-off factory floor,” according to the report.
Raising funds for this emerging sector is becoming similarly competitive. Collaborative Robotics, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based company that develops cobots, announced in April that it had raised $100 million in Series B funding, led by General Catalyst and joined by Bison Ventures, Industry Ventures, and Lux Capita. It’s now raised to over $140 million in less than two years.
“We see a virtuous cycle where more robots in the field lead to improved AI and a more cost-effective supply chain,” founder Brad Porter said in a statement in April. “This funding will help us accelerate getting more robots into the real world.” The company expects cobots to be used in sectors such as manufacturing, health care, retail, and e-commerce, partially because they’re more cost-effective than humanoid robots, another type that BofA is including among its next generation along with autonomous vehicles and drones.
Porter, a former Amazon VP of robotics and an engineer, founded the company in 2022. The Cobot team includes robotics and AI experts from Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and even NASA. Other companies leaning into cobots are Schneider Electric and Universal Robots, a Danish manufacturer, which announced its new CFO, Sonja Østergaard, in May.
“The company’s opportunities are immense given our cutting-edge technology and the highly innovative industry we are working in,” Østergaard said at the time. “I see finance as playing a pivotal role in the journey we are on.”
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Brett Humphrey was named SVP and CFO at MG Insurance Services, LLC (The Mutual Group), an integrated insurance operations platform. Humphrey previously held various senior positions during his nine-year tenure at American International Group, Inc. in New York and Japan, most recently as VP of separation finance. He joined AIG from Aegon Sony Life Insurance, where he led as head of actuarial and finance. He also served as CFO at Hartford Life Japan.
Cameron Nofi was named EVP and CFO at VeraBank. Cameron, who has been with the bank since 2021, most recently held the role of SVP, director of finance, where he was responsible for the bank’s financial planning and analysis, asset-liability monitoring, and reporting. Before joining VeraBank, Nofi focused on accounting and finance for both public and private community and regional banks.
Big Deal
PwC’s June 2024 Pulse Survey finds that CFOs are investing heavily in tech initiatives, focusing on performance improvement, and exploring new ways to reach customers.
For example, 58% of CFOs surveyed say they’re dedicating more time to financial planning and analysis and business performance management. Also, 58% say they’re spending more time on tech investment and implementation compared to a year ago.
Another key finding in the survey is only 8% strongly agree that there will be a recession in the next six months, compared to 18% of all executives. And over the next three to five years, CFOs also see fewer significant challenges related to cost (36%) and value extraction (31%) from tech compared to other C-suite executives overall, (42% and 36%, respectively), according to PwC.
The complete PwC Pulse Survey findings are based on a survey of 673 executives and board members from Fortune 1000 and private companies, of which 84 were CFOs.
Going deeper
World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2024 includes a Global Gender Gap Index, which annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions—economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
It's based on a benchmark of gender parity across 146 countries. In 2024, gender parity inches forward, with a gender gap score of 68.5%, a slight 0.1 percentage point improvement from the previous year. The report also includes which countries are closing the gender gap.
Overheard
“The consumer is really focused on what price they’re paying [everywhere], not just in restaurants. But at the same time, our guests aren’t managing their checks like we’ve seen in prior quarters.”
—Rick Cardenas, CEO of Darden Restaurants—which owns Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House—said during the company’s Thursday earnings call, Fortune reported.
