Kindred
Founders: George Babu, James Bergstra, Suzanne Gildert, Geordie Rose
CEO: Marin Tchakarov
Founded: 2014
HQ: San Francisco, CA & Toronto, ON
Kindred is a robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) company that develops robots to solve real-world problems. Since its founding in 2014, its mission has been to enhance the industrial workforce with the world’s most intelligent machines.
Kindred’s cutting-edge technology is the foundation of a number of proprietary platforms including CORE/AutoGrasp™, developed to operate robots autonomously in dynamic environments. To solve workforce disruption and social distancing concerns for its e-commerce clients, Kindred developed SORT, the AI-powered, reinforcement learning pick and place robot. SORT helps e-tailers fill gaps in the workforce and meet increased demand, all while optimizing fulfillment center efficiency and throughput. Kindred intelligent SORT robots augment the workforce, collaborating with humans to automate mundane, repetitive sortation tasks.
Kindred robots are currently utilized by e-commerce leaders including Gap, Inc., Carter’s and American Eagle Outfitters. Its team of scientists, engineers, and business operators are co-located in San Francisco and Toronto. In November 2020, Kindred was acquired by the Ocado Group, the UK-based online grocery market pioneer.