Top 10 autonomous warehouse developments of January 2025

In January 2025, Automated Warehouse readers were drawn to stories about mergers, leadership changes, funding rounds, and more.

Here are the 10 most popular articles on this site from the past month. Subscribe to the Automated Warehouse Newsletter to stay updated and have the news delivered straight to your in-box.

The StoreX interface on top of an image of the AutoStore system.

10. StoreX Calculator from Kardex to help customers evaluate AutoStore technology

Kardex Holding AG debuted its latest tool, the StoreX Calculator, at the National Retail Federation show in New York. The technology provides an analysis of the potential capacity of automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) empowered by Kardex. Read more.

Robotic process automation enhances efficiency in a smart warehouse by automating material flow and managing inventory seamlessly. Source: Adobe Stock

9. An automation foundation feeds digital transformation to the intelligent warehouse

Automating operations in the intelligent warehouse can help overcome productivity challenges related to manual processes. And it is the first step in the direction of digital transformation in which aggregating and analyzing information results in data-driven decision-making. Read more.

Two orange automated guided vehicles from Toyota Material Handling and Raymond, which said in January 2025 they are merging, in a warehouse.

8. Toyota Material Handling to fully merge with Raymond

Consolidation is continuing in the mobile robot market. Toyota Material Handling Inc. and The Raymond Corp. announced that they plan to merge. The providers of material handling systems will integrate into one company under the name “Toyota Material Handling North America,” or TMHNA, effective April 1. Read more.

The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, shown here, is working with Mecalux on swarm intelligence for robots.

7. MIT director of Center for Transportation & Logistics discusses Mecalux collaboration

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Mecalux SA announced the establishment of the MIT Intelligent Logistics Systems Lab. The laboratory is part of a five-year project to explore the integration of artificial intelligence models in logistics. Read more.

A close up of the Cyngn autonomous tugger.

6. Cyngn secures $33M to prep for commercial release of DriveMod forklift

Cyngn Inc. announced in January 2025 that it recently secured $33 million in funding. The company said it plans to use the funding to scale the production and deployment of its autonomous tuggers and forklifts. Read more.

New Gather AI executives, as of January 2025: Left, Christopher Visnic, and right, Li Wu.

5. Gather AI announces new heads of sales and finance in January 2025

Gather AI announced Christopher Visnic as its new head of sales and Li Wu as its new head of finance. The drone-based inventory system provider aims to eliminate human error, reduce shrinkage, increase facility throughput, and improve accuracy. It does this with automated data collection and AI-based insights. Read more.

The Mega Omniverse Blueprint enables industrial AI and robot simulation through software-defined testing and optimization for factories and warehouses, said NVIDIA.

4. Mega framework in NVIDIA Omniverse to enable warehouse optimization

Supply chains are increasingly becoming software-defined. At CES, NVIDIA Corp. announced Mega, an Omniverse Blueprint for developing, testing, and optimizing “physical AI” and robot fleets at scale in a digital twin before deployment into real-world warehouses or factories. Read more.

3PLs such as Geodis are using automated storage and retrieval to improve working conditions, said AutoStore in January 2025.

3. Automation technology combats labor challenges in warehousing

As labor shortages persist and fulfillment demands rise, the warehousing sector faces unprecedented challenges. According to Gartner Inc., the scarcity of skilled workers, combined with constraints on operating space and capital, is driving logistics organizations to explore innovative solutions. Among these, automation is emerging as a critical strategy for gaining a competitive edge. Read more.

Cavalla CTO Victor Boyd (left) and CEO Mo Nafisi (right) with a prototype of the Cavalier autonomy retrofit kit.

2. Cavalla offers Cavalier on-site retrofitting kit to add autonomy to forklifts

At the TechConSoCal event, Cavalla Industries came out of “stealth mode” with retrofit kits to provide autonomy to existing forklift fleets. The company said its technology is intended to give warehouses of all sizes access to the same automation that previously only huge fulfillment companies like Amazon could afford to use. Read more.

Walmart has worked with Symbotic on warehouse automation since 2017. Symbotic said it is acquiring the robotics group in January 2025.

1. Symbotic to acquire Advanced Systems and Robotics unit from Walmart in $200M deal

Symbotic Inc. in January 2025 announced that it will acquire the Advanced Systems and Robotics business from Walmart Inc. The supply chain robotics company said the transaction expands its relationship with Walmart with the goal of “developing an integrated supply chain.” Read more.


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Written by

Brianna Wessling

Brianna Wessling is an Associate Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media. She joined WTWH Media in November 2021, and is a recent graduate from the University of Kansas. She can be reached at bwessling@wtwhmedia.com