Project Financing within the Robotics Industry

• Overall, initial research indicates that project financing designed specifically for robotics companies represents an area of white space in the industry.
• Notably, robotics companies (e.g., Universal Robots, RobotWorx, Mobile Industrial Robots) are increasingly partnering with banks to offer tailored financing services that enable customers to acquire their products.
• However, it appears that robotics startups remain largely dependent on more traditional, generic sources of company and project financing, including:
•  Angel and Venture Capital investors
•  Factoring (i.e., selling assets at a discount for up-front capital)
•  Bank Loans 
•  Small Business Association Loans 
•  Microloans (Accion, SBA microloan program)
•  Grants (e.g., state grants, such as Governor’s Office of Economic Development, National Science Foundation, Grants.gov)
•  Credit Cards 
•  Crowdfunding (e.g., Kickstarter.com)
•  Thrust Fund and other earnings pledge sites

Banks that Specialize in Robotics Financing

• With that said, banks are joining the roster of angel and venture capital firms that specialize in offering their capital to robotics companies.
• Although there appears to be no pre-compiled list of banks that are targeting robotics startups, the research team identified several bank-led robotics financing programs.
• Nexseer offers "Creative and Flexible Financing for Robotics" within the following parameters:
• "Project, installation, and construction financing available
• Single transactions or master lease lines $1MM to $50MM
• Equipment leases and loans
• Cross border, international, and multi-currency
• Investment grade, middle market, and turnaround credits
• Up to 10 year terms
• Financing for software, soft costs, installation, etc."
• US Capital Corporation similarly provides "Robotics & Automation Equipment Financing."
• DLL offers major lease and usage-based financing solutions for software and robotics-related needs.
• Notably, such robotics-oriented financing programs may be explored further to identify the typical criteria and steps involved in setting up and executing project financing to robotics companies.

Robotics Accelerator Programs

• A variety of accelerator programs are offering company and project financing to robotics companies, including RobotUnion and RobotShop.
• Similarly, these accelerator programs may be assessed to identify the typical criteria and steps involved in setting up and executing project financing to robotics companies.

Capital-Offtake Providers

• Meanwhile, initial research indicates that there is limited, pre-compiled information about capital-offtake providers within the robotics industry (or in general).
• However, generic best practices around structuring capital-offtake agreements can be further researched.