Tyson Ventures Invests in Food Robotics Firm

Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale, has invested in food robotics company Soft Robotics Inc. of Bedford, Massachusetts.

Soft Robotics raised $10 million from Tyson Ventures and several other venture firms in order to expand operations and launch its SoftAI robotics solutions. Tyson Foods already uses Soft Robotics’ technologies, and Tyson Ventures has invested $500 million in automation and technology in the past three years.

“At Tyson Ventures, we are continually exploring new areas in automation that can enhance safety and increase the productivity of our team members,” said Rahul Ray, senior director of Tyson Ventures. “Soft Robotics’ best-in-class robotic technology, computer vision and AI platform have the potential to transform the food industry and will play a key role in any company’s automation journey.”

For Tyson Foods, robotic automation can help improve safety while increasing productivity at facilities. The pandemic also has created safety concerns in production workforces.

“This is an exciting time at Soft Robotics,” Soft Robotics CEO Jeff Beck said. “The vulnerabilities of the food supply chain were illuminated by the pandemic making it clear that automation has graduated from a nice-to-have to a must-have across all large-scale food production operations. Soft Robotics patented technologies are ready and being used today to enable automation in the processing and packaging of proteins, produce and bakery products.

“Demand for both our hardware and SoftAI software solutions are increasing at an unprecedented pace. This new capital will support Soft Robotics’ exponential growth thereby ensuring automation plays a major role in safeguarding the food supply against future disruptions.”