Attabotics, founded in 2015 by Scott Gravelle, raised nearly $200-million from investors and lenders. It also received $34-million from the federal government’s Strategic Innovation Fund in 2020.Jeff McIntosh/The Globe and Mail
Calgary warehouse robotics startup Attabotics Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection after running out of cash, despite heavy backing from some of Canada’s largest institutional investors and the federal government.
A source familiar with the situation said the company was burning through several million dollars a month when it filed for protection under the Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as they are not authorized to discuss the matter.
On Wednesday Stephanie Lee, an official receiver for the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada, issued a certificate stating that Attabotics had filed a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal under subsection 50.4 (1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It’s not clear when the document was submitted to the office, but a copy of a document sent by Attabotics to an unidentified employee stated the company had filed the notice on June 30.
A copy of that document was posted online by supply chain industry consultant Brittain Ladd. The document also said Richter Inc. had been appointed as trustee. That proved to be the case when Attabotics appeared Wednesday evening on a list of the professional services firm’s insolvency clients on its website.
Several people posted on social media channels early this week saying the company had laid off a mass number of employees and was filing for protection.
E-mails to the company and CEO Scott Gravelle were not returned, and Pan Communications, which handled Attabotics’s press releases as recently as March, is no longer its agency of record. On his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Gravelle describes himself as “Recovering visionary. Taking a long deserved break.”
Attabotics, founded in 2015 by Mr. Gravelle, has raised nearly $200-million from investors and lenders, including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Export Development Canada, Coatue Management, Comcast Ventures, Forerunner Ventures and Werklund Growth Fund. It also received $34-million from the federal government’s Strategic Innovation Fund in 2020.
“Recent financial and operational challenges have impacted the company’s liquidity and overall growth prospects,” wrote Dan Madge, a spokesperson for OTPP, in an e-mail. “Our exposure to the company represents a very small portion of TVG’s total portfolio and will not have a material impact on the Fund’s future performance.”
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Attabotics, which had between 150 and 200 employees, makes automation equipment used to fulfill orders that transforms product warehouses into high-density, vertical and scalable storage structures inspired by ant-colony frameworks. Instead of moving goods from aisle to aisle, Attabotics robots move up and down vertical structures, grabbing goods with extendable arms, then bringing them back to workers who prepare them for packing and shipping.
The company has worked at several sites across North America with customers such as Canadian Tire CTC-A-T, Gordon Food Services, Pan Pacific Pet and Modern Beauty Supplies. The company recently signed a supply agreement with British grocery conglomerate Tesco.
Earlier this year it settled its lawsuit against Canadian Tire over a March, 2023, warehouse fire after the startup blamed the retail giant for the incident and accused it of damaging its reputation and business opportunities.