Logistics start-up raises US$3.8 million

The start-up Noyes Technologies has turned an automated shelving system into its business model and has now been able to convince investors.

Anyone who promises to deliver groceries within ten minutes has one thing above all else: time pressure. While the clock is ticking, so-called pickers pack up orders in warehouses. Noyes Technologies promises to do this fully automatically and faster. The Munich-based start-up has now received 3.8 million US dollars in a seed round, led by venture capitalist Vsquared Ventures, which is also based in Munich. 468 Capital and Abacon Capital are also involved. The founders still hold 80 percent of their company.

"After decades of working at the interface of logistics and innovation, we clearly saw the need for a forward-looking approach to automated warehousing," says Aaron Spiegelburg, who co-founded Noyes Technologies with Marco Prüglmeier. Both had previously worked at BMW for a long time. "We are the first provider to offer our customers intelligent, fully automated nano warehouses that can be used to sustainably optimize processes and significantly reduce costs," Spiegelburg continues.

According to the company, customers should be able to install the shelving in any room. The system is also expandable, offers various degrees of cooling and is automated. The module in which the required item is located always moves to the picker. The cost per system is currently in the mid six-figure range, but customers only need up to a tenth of the space they would need with other systems, Spiegelburg promises Gründerszene.

When the founders came up with the idea, they did not initially have 10-minute delivery services in mind as customers. However, the companies showed interest in the Noyes Technologies system of their own accord. The Munich-based company is now in negotiations with two of them, they tell Gründerszene. Who the potential customers are remains a business secret, but Gorillas is not one of them.