Berkshire Grey

Acquired by SoftBank Group · 2023 · $375M

Berkshire Grey was founded in 2013 in Lexington, Massachusetts by Tom Wagner, a former CTO of iRobot and DARPA veteran. The company develops robotic picking, packing, and sortation systems that combine computer vision, AI, and custom end-of-arm tooling to automate warehouse tasks traditionally done by human workers. Customers include Walmart, Target, FedEx, TJX, and major 3PLs, and the company has particular traction in retail replenishment and parcel sortation workflows. Berkshire Grey went public on Nasdaq in July 2021 via a SPAC merger with Revolution Acceleration Acquisition Corp at a roughly USD 2.7 billion enterprise value. The stock performed poorly post-listing amid broader declines in SPAC-issued robotics companies. On March 24, 2023, Berkshire Grey entered a definitive merger agreement with SoftBank Group Corp. — already a shareholder since 2019 — for an all-cash go-private transaction valued at approximately USD 375 million (USD 1.40 per share, a ~24% premium). SoftBank completed the acquisition of the ~71.9% stake it did not already own on July 20, 2023. Tom Wagner remained CEO post-acquisition; former President & COO Steve Johnson departed in January 2024. Berkshire Grey announced a co-developed CarouselAI product with AutoStore in 2025. Sources: SoftBank merger agreement — Berkshire Grey press release and Goodwin Law, March 2023; Bloomberg Law coverage of $375M deal value; Robotics 24/7 and Modern Materials Handling May–July 2023 completion coverage.

Berkshire Grey is the highest-profile warehouse-AI company to ride the SPAC boom, crash, and get rescued by a strategic — a template for what happens to over-capitalized automation bets.

berkshiregrey.com Warehouse AI

United Statesacquired

At a glance

Total raised

$322M

last round series b (pre-spac)

Headcount

201-500

approximate · public range

Headquarters

Bedford, Massachusetts

United States

Founded

2013

13 years active

Status

Acquired

by SoftBank Group

Patents on file

USPTO grants

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Funding history

Total raised

$322M

Rounds tracked

Latest stage

Series B (pre-SPAC)

Date	Stage	Amount	Valuation	Lead investors
Jan 21, 2020	Series B (pre-SPAC)	$263M	—	SoftBank Group

Founder backgrounds

Tom Wagner

Founder & CEO

Earned a PhD in artificial intelligence and computer science from UMass Amherst, then spent years in academia as a professor at the University of Maine and in research at DARPA before moving into industry. Served as CTO of iRobot during the rise of the Roomba, which gave him firsthand insight into how AI could move beyond consumer vacuums into industrial applications. He founded Berkshire Grey in 2013 to apply that thinking to warehouse robotics, went public via SPAC in 2021, and was taken private by SoftBank in 2023.

AI bull / bear

Bull case

Berkshire Grey now operates as a private SoftBank subsidiary, insulated from public-market volatility and quarterly earnings pressure that plagued its SPAC years. The company has marquee deployments across Walmart, Target, FedEx, and TJX—blue-chip customers validating its robotic picking and sortation systems in live production. The recent FedEx partnership underscores a strategic shift among logistics giants toward outsourcing automation to proven specialists rather than building in-house, positioning Berkshire Grey as a preferred vendor in a massive, underserved addressable market. The 2025 CarouselAI collaboration with AutoStore signals integration with complementary warehouse platforms, expanding reach beyond standalone systems. SoftBank's backing—totaling more than $263 million in Series B plus the $375 million buyout—provides patient capital and access to a global robotics portfolio (Arm, Boston Dynamics, Symbotic). With Tom Wagner still at the helm and the operational freedom to iterate without Wall Street scrutiny, Berkshire Grey is well-positioned to refine go-to-market, improve unit economics, and capture accelerating e-commerce and 3PL demand.

Bear case

Berkshire Grey's valuation collapse from $2.7 billion to $375 million—an 86 percent haircut in under two years—reflects fundamental execution risk: slow sales cycles, high customer integration costs, and unproven ROI at scale. The warehouse robotics market is intensely competitive, with well-capitalized rivals like Symbotic (also SoftBank-backed), Locus, 6 River Systems (Shopify), and established incumbents (Dematic, Honeywell) all vying for the same enterprise budgets. The January 2024 departure of President & COO Steve Johnson hints at internal turbulence post-acquisition. SoftBank's track record with robotics is mixed—Boston Dynamics has struggled commercially, and the Vision Fund portfolio saw widespread markdowns. Berkshire Grey's reliance on bespoke end-effectors and custom vision stacks risks vendor lock-in fatigue, especially as customers like FedEx embrace multi-vendor strategies. Without public financial disclosure, it's unclear whether the business has achieved sustainable unit economics or remains subsidy-dependent. If macro headwinds slow warehouse capex or if integration delays persist, SoftBank may face another write-down.

Generated by claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929 · April 25, 2026Refreshes quarterly · see disclosures

In the news

Berkshire Grey · last 30 days

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Leadership

Tom Wagner

Founder & CEO

Mark Fidler

CFO

—

Products

Robotic Product Sortation (RPS)
High-capacity automation solution that robotically picks, sorts, and packs individual items into outbound order containers without operator interaction. Uses AI and machine learning software coupled with advanced machine vision, sensors, patented gripping technology and engineered material handling components. Fourth-generation systems autonomously process millions of items per month, increasing fulfillment by up to 2X without adding labor. Can operate as stand-alone modules or integrate with ASRS solutions and other Berkshire Grey technologies. Modular design scales to process thousands of orders simultaneously and millions of items per week. Currently deployed in leading retailer warehouses; customers picked more than 2X the units in 2023 than 2022.
Robotic Pick and Pack (RPP)
Stationary robotic picking and packing station that combines item selection and packaging into one processing station, decoupling the workflow from ASRS and micro-fulfillment systems. The system automates picking and packing of items directly from inventory totes to outbound customer shipping packages, targeting eCommerce fulfillment. The system uses proprietary SpectrumGripper™ technology and AI-enabled sensors to handle diverse SKU types—from rigid boxes to poly bags and porous textiles—with item-specific grip force optimization. First deployed at SoftBank Logistics' flagship fulfillment center in Ichikawa, Japan, with global availability announced September 2021.
Robotic Shuttle Put Wall (RSPW)
AI-powered automated put wall that increases capacity and throughput with robotic automation for e-commerce order fulfillment. The system can provide sort locations for up to 240 orders processed simultaneously, compared to an industry average of 80 orders for manual put walls. It accommodates nearly 100% of typical SKU assortments, including challenging items like soft polybags and cylinders/tubes across apparel, footwear, beauty, and general merchandise. The RSPW increases customer order sortation throughput by up to 300%. Berkshire Grey's solutions are available via Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) implementation models, allowing customers to accelerate adoption without upfront capital expenditures. First deployed at Maersk's UK facility at SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway ahead of the 2023 peak season.
Robotic Induction
Robotic Induction consists of independent stations that robotically pick and induct items from totes into traditional unit sorters. The core of each station is fast, reliable robotic each picking from feeder totes or belts. Stations can be outfitted with Berkshire Grey's patented HyperScannerTM omni-directional optical identification technology to handle pick and place from mixed-item totes and belt presentations. Stations are compatible with a variety of transport, sortation, and packing solutions including auto-baggers, auto-boxers, and traditional tilt-tray, bomb bay, cross-belt, and pouch sorters. RIS customers will typically see 25% – 50% increases in throughput capacity without incurring additional labor. RIS solutions are offered via both capital purchase and Robots as a Service (RaaS).
CarouselAI (with AutoStore)
AI-powered robotic piece-picking solution for AutoStore systems, developed by Berkshire Grey. The system picks up to 650 items/hr with 99.5% pick accuracy and features advanced self-learning capabilities that automatically adapt to new SKUs and inventory changes without human intervention. Designed with highly versatile grasping and handling capabilities, it can efficiently pick a broad range of SKUs and product types. Available in EMEA and North America from summer 2025.

Most recent patents

Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.·2026-02-24
Systems And Methods For Separating Objects Using Vacuum Diverts With One Or More Object Processing Systems
US12561538
Abstract
Systems And Methods For Separating Objects Using Vacuum Diverts With One Or More Object Processing Systems
US12561538
Abstract A distribution system for use in an induction system with an object processing system. The distribution system provides dissimilar objects into one of a plurality of receiving units. The distribution system includes an air intake system with an opening that is a fixed distance from a conveyor section, said air intake system aiding in moving an object on the conveyor section from the conveyor section to one of a plurality of adjacent transport units.
View on Google Patents
Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.·2026-02-17
Systems And Methods For Providing Detection Processing With Velocity Matching
US12552013
Abstract
Systems And Methods For Providing Detection Processing With Velocity Matching
US12552013
Abstract A dynamic movement analytics system is disclosed that includes a programmable motion device including an end-effector, and a perception transfer system for receiving an object from the end-effector and for moving the object toward a distribution conveyance system moving in a first direction at a first speed. The perception transfer system includes at least one perception system for providing perception data regarding any of weight, shape, pose authority, position authority or identity information regarding the object and for moving the object along the first direction at the first speed for transferring the object to the distribution conveyance system.
View on Google Patents
Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.·2026-02-10
Systems And Methods For Acquiring And Moving Objects Having Complex Outer Surfaces
US12544915
Abstract
Systems And Methods For Acquiring And Moving Objects Having Complex Outer Surfaces
US12544915
Abstract In accordance with an embodiment, the invention provides an end effector for use with a programmable motion device. The end effector includes a pair of mutually opposing surfaces, at least one of the pair of mutually opposing surfaces being movable with respect to an end effector support structure for supporting the at least one of the pair of mutually opposing surfaces.
View on Google Patents
Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.·2026-02-03
Systems And Methods For Providing Detection Via Transfer Of Objects
US12539601
Abstract
Systems And Methods For Providing Detection Via Transfer Of Objects
US12539601
Abstract A dynamic movement analytics system is disclosed that includes a programmable motion device including an end-effector, and a perception transfer system for receiving an object from the end-effector and for moving the object toward any of a plurality of destination containers. The perception transfer system includes at least one perception system for providing perception data regarding any of weight, shape, pose authority, position authority or identity information regarding the object as it is moved toward the any of the plurality of destination containers.
View on Google Patents
Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.·2026-01-27
Systems And Methods For Separating Objects Using Drop Conveyors With One Or More Object Processing Systems
US12536394
Abstract
Systems And Methods For Separating Objects Using Drop Conveyors With One Or More Object Processing Systems
US12536394
Abstract A distribution system is disclosed for use with an induction system with an object processing system. The distribution system provides distribution of dissimilar objects into one of a plurality of receiving units. The distribution system includes an urging system for urging an object on a conveyor from the conveyor to a chute that includes at least one actuatable door for selectively dropping the object through the at least one actuable door, said chute leading to a first receiving station with a second receiving station being positioned below the at least one actuable door.
View on Google Patents
Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.·2025-12-23
Systems And Methods For Processing Objects Including Payload Positionable Mobile Carriers
US12503305
Abstract
Systems And Methods For Processing Objects Including Payload Positionable Mobile Carriers
US12503305
Abstract An object processing system is disclosed that includes a plurality of remotely actuatable carriers for controlled movement in at least two mutually orthogonal directions, each carrier including a base and a payload portion for receiving a container, each the payload portion being adapted to move in an elevational direction and a rotational direction about a rotational axis that is substantially parallel with the elevational direction.
View on Google Patents
Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.·2025-12-09
Systems And Methods For Providing Shipping Of Orders In An Order Fulfillment Center
US12492036
Abstract
Systems And Methods For Providing Shipping Of Orders In An Order Fulfillment Center
US12492036
Abstract A standardized shipping tray is disclosed for use in an order fulfillment system. The standardized shipping tray includes a bottom panel that includes raised portions that assist to inhibit rolling on an object within along the bottom panel, and at least two flexible side panels that are adapted to fold inward under a force of a wrapping.
View on Google Patents
Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.·2025-12-09
Systems And Methods For Providing Dynamic Communicative Lighting In A Robotic Environment
US12491646
Abstract
Systems And Methods For Providing Dynamic Communicative Lighting In A Robotic Environment
US12491646
Abstract A robotic system is disclosed that includes an articulated arm with an end effector. The robotic system is for use in a robotic environment requiring interaction with persons in the robotic environment, and includes a plurality of lights that are illuminated responsive to known near-future movements of the articulated arm to convey the known near-future movements of the articulated arm to the persons in the robot environment.
View on Google Patents

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