25-03-2025
Austin robotics startup secures $13.5M in funding after winning SXSW Pitch award
An Austin-based robotics startup has secured millions in funding after winning the South by Southwest Conference and Festival's Pitch Award.
Contoro Inc. recently filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating the start-up has raised $13.5 million from 11 investors. The company had previously raised $8.5 million from backers like South Korean firm SV Investment, Bass Investment, Future Play, Kakao Ventures and UT Seed Fund, among others.
Contoro develops autonomous robots, called "Dock Duck," for trailer and container unloading, with its primary technology being the artificial intelligence and remote operation of its robotic arms. The company is led by founder and CEO Youngmok 'Mok' Yun, who also co-founded the Austin-based robotic rehabilitation startup Harmonic Bionics.
The additional funding comes after the company announced its bots have unloaded at least a hundred trucks through its partnerships with States Logistics.
Contoro was one of two Austin-based startups to win pitch awards during SXSW's first weekend. The company won in the robotics, web3, voice & extended reality category. The other Austin company, Polygraf AI, won the enterprise, smart data, fintech and future of work category as well as best in show.
Contoro did not respond to requests for comment.
Contoro is not the only Austin-based startup to see large amounts of funding in recent months.
More: At SXSW, Austin-based Apptronik, NASA explore what humanoid robots could do in space
Apptronik received additional $53 million investment led by Mercedes-Benz last week for the company's autonomous humanoid robots, called Apollo. Mercedes is also planning to incorporate the startups's robots in its manufacturing lines in the near future.
And NinjaOne, an Austin startup that makes an endpoint monitoring and management platform that helps IT professionals and companies secure computer devices, recently announced that it had raised $500 million in a funding round at a $5 billion valuation. The funding more than doubled the company's value from a year ago.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin robotics startup raises $13.5M after winning SXSW Pitch award
