The startup has already offered to test its robots for Nova Poshta and raised $5 million in investments from BGV Trident Capital.
Programmer Pavel Pikulin founded the startup in 2018. He invested $1 million in the project from his pocket and $500,000 in angel investments. He also worked for the gaming company WhaleApp, which produced mobile games for Hidden Hotel, Family Zoo, Resort Hotel, and Rise of Heroes.
The startup team is working on three types of robots: sorting goods weighing up to 30 kg, transporting racks up to 300 kg, and a cargo robot for transporting pallets. The last robot can lift up to 1 ton of cargo, so it is the most expensive to manufacture.
Currently, the startup assembles robots in Ukraine and purchases parts for them in China, Europe and the USA. They do not plan to launch their own production in China, but the team wants to rent a plant in Kyiv, where it already has an R&D center.
In 2021, Deus Robots has assembled 40 robots, and plans for the next year are 1000 machines and a way to achieve profitability.
In Ukraine, the startup is already working with Nova Poshta, but according to the founder, it is now negotiating cooperation with 13 more local companies. Overseas, the startup wants to work with warehouses (retail, postal operators, pharmaceuticals and car companies).
The team raised $5 million in investments from BGV Trident Capital, founded by a Russian citizen with Ukrainian citizenship Ilya Ponomarev and Ukrainian entrepreneur Gennady Butkevich.
Where will this investment go?
At first, Pikulin thought to build his own factory for $20 million, but now he plans to rent cheaper premises in Kyiv and buy equipment there. There are plans to expand the team from 25 to 80 people, enter international markets: Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, USA, as well as develop the production of up to 400 robots per month.
