Ati Motors announced Wednesday it has raised $20 million. The funding comes as the India-based autonomous mobile robot (AMR) startup looks to expand globally. The company hopes to capitalize on growing demand for domestic manufacturing in the United States, India and Southeast Asian countries as they look to reduce their dependence on China.

In 2023, India's Ministry of IT proposed a national policy called the "National Robotics Strategy" to position the South Asian country as a global robotics leader by 2030. The country is the seventh largest robot market, with annual industrial robot growth of 59% year-on-year, and installations will reach 8,500 units by 2023, according to the International Federation of Robotics. But it still lags significantly behind China, Japan, and the United States.

“Our competition is always going to be the status quo, not another robot,” Saurabh Chandra, founder and CEO of Arti Automotive, said in an interview. "Typically, we're replacing people who are manually operating or driving a vehicle or pushing a vehicle by hand."

The seven-year-old startup, which has manufacturing and R&D facilities in Bengaluru, has developed seven different robots, two of which are currently being tested and will be available starting this quarter. Robots can move trolleys, boxes and pallets around a factory or warehouse.

Ati Motors' robot is equipped with 3D lidar sensors and has spatial awareness. This allows these robots to work even in harsh environments, where bad weather, including rain, can impact manufacturing. The robots can also move across a variety of floor conditions and can even handle slopes, cracks or oil spills in their path, Chandra told TechCrunch.

“We do the full stack ourselves,” he said. “Our ability to do complete multi-disciplinary engineering is our unique selling point.”

Ati Motors designed the software and hardware for its in-house robots, including sensor fusion algorithms. The company, like many others in the space, relies on Nvidia's Jetson platform for edge computing. It also offers dedicated fleet management software that can be used with other companies’ mobile robots to provide customers with interoperability.

"In the future, millions of robots will enter factories. No one company can build millions of robots on its own. Should we want to play with other people from day one? Yes," Chandler Ra said.

Founded in February 2017, Ati Motors started its journey with towing robots. However, based on customer feedback and demand, it expanded to pallet trucks and lifts.

The startup offers a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model that allows companies to rent its AMRs. Customers can also purchase the system directly.

Ati Motors said it has deployed "hundreds" of Sherpa robots across 40 manufacturers, including Airbus, Ceat Tyres, Forvia, Hyundai, Samsung and TVS Motor. Of its total customer base, 80% is from the automotive industry, with the United States dominating its revenue. As a result, the startup plans to expand its North American operations in Detroit.

The all-equity Series B round was co-led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and NGP Capital. It also attracted existing investors, including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners and Blume Ventures.