Robotics

01 DroneSeed

On average, the world loses 18.8 million acres of forest to fires every year. Seattle-based DroneSeed uses swarms of large proprietary drones to carry seeds—delivered in vessels to keep the seed hydrated and protected from animals—to burned areas and plant them where they’re most likely to grow. The company is working with the Nature Conservancy and several large timber outfits.

02 Skydio

Skydio’s new X2 drones have six 4K cameras for images and video, a thermal camera, and a powerful Nvidia chip for image processing and computer vision, enabling autonomous flight. The made-in-the-U.S.A. alternative to the Shenzhen, China–based DJI, Skydio has courted government agencies that are restricted from buying drones outside the United States.

03 Geekplus

The Beijing-based logistics company supplies AI and robotics to retailers seeking to add speed and capacity to product-fulfillment processes. The five-year-old company scored $200 million in funding in early 2020, bringing its total to almost $390 million. With more than 10,000 robots deployed worldwide, Geekplus in November delivered 13.2 million orders during the Chinese Singles’ Day shopping holiday.

04 Makeblock