Latest news with #ScottGravelle
Global News
20 hours ago
- Business
- Global News
Calgary tech darling company suddenly shuts down, laying off hundreds of employees
A once darling member of Calgary's booming tech industry has filed for bankruptcy protection. The warehouse robotics company known as Attabotics suddenly terminated most of their staff earlier this week. The possible demise of the company — which claims on its website to have more than 300 employees — comes despite it receiving millions of dollars in investment and funding from both private and government sources. View image in full screen Calgary-based Attabotics designed and built robotic automated storage and retrieval systems for warehouses. Global News Attabotics was a self-proclaimed disruptor technology that used robots to automate supply management in vertical warehouses. Story continues below advertisement The federal government and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan are amongst the organizations that gave Attabotics money or invested in it. 1:48 Homegrown Calgary company ATTAbotics gets $4.5 million in funding from city The city of Calgary gave it $4.5 million from its Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund. View image in full screen A notice posted on the door of Attabotics headquarters in northeast Calgary tells employees they will be getting 'termination' notice and 'do not go into the office.' Global News The employees — commonly referred to as 'Atta Peeps' — told Global News that they received a surprise email on Sunday, June 29, 2025, terminating their employment effective Monday and telling them not to go into the office. Story continues below advertisement The email was unclear whether severance or even employee expense claims would be paid, but the employees were were told to return all company property. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The official termination letters — more that 150 of them were expected — were sent out on Monday. View image in full screen Industry Canada confirmed to Global News that it has received Attabotics notice that it intends to file for bankruptcy. Provided to Global News On Tuesday, Industry Canada confirmed it had received the company's notice of intention to file for bankruptcy. View image in full screen Attabotics employees tell Global News they found out by email that they were being laid off, but there's no word on how that affects expenses they are owed or possible severance pay. Global News Attabotics has not responded to Global News' request for comment. Story continues below advertisement The company's CEO, Scott Gravelle, who once boasted of increasing revenues from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars within a few months, now has a message on his LinkedIn account that describes him as a 'Recovering visionary. Taking a long deserved break.' There's no word yet either on what the company's financial troubles mean for clients who now have products potentially tied up in Attabotics defunct supply system. None of the clients or investors would provide comments to Global News.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Calgary-based robotics company Attabotics files for bankruptcy protection
Attabotics Inc., a Calgary-based robotics and automation startup, has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to multiple reports. The company, founded in 2016 by CEO Scott Gravelle, designs and manufactures an automated storage and retrieval system, using robotics. Attabotics reportedly had more than 300 employees, including about 250 in Calgary as of 2022. It is unclear how many, if any, of the tech company's hundreds of employees will keep their roles. At Attabotics' manufacturing facility near the Calgary International Airport, a Postmedia photographer observed a few employees leaving, wheeling out personal items. The employees declined to comment, but two were seen shaking hands and said 'good luck.' A printout on the door of the facility said the company filed a notice of intention to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. 'Unless you have been spoken to directly about alternate arrangements to maintain your employment, this means that your employment will terminate effective June 30, 2025,' read the notice to staff. Filing a notice of intention allows financially troubled corporations the opportunity to restructure their affairs. However, a bankruptcy and insolvency records search conducted by Postmedia on Wednesday did not reveal any document results for Attabotics. The staff notice said employees would not be permitted on the premises as of Monday. 'On behalf of the Company, we take this opportunity to thank you for your contributions. We wish you success in your future endeavours,' read the notice. Postmedia attempted to contact Gravelle and several other employees, but did not receive a response. Numerous posts about the situation surfaced on social media, some from former employees. Many had listed their profiles as 'Open to Work.' Gravelle's LinkedIn bio read 'Recovering visionary. Taking a long-deserved break' as of Wednesday, although he was still listed as the company's CEO. Over the years, Attabotics amassed hundreds of millions in investment, $4.5 million of which was awarded through the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund in 2018. The City of Calgary-led program is stewarded by Calgary Economic Development. The company has also received funding from the federal government and several private entities. From 2019 to 2022, Attabotics raised around US$165 million from various sources, namely a US$71.7 million Series C-1 fundraising round. Attabotics' storage and retrieval system was designed to reduce the amount of warehouse space needed through using a vertical storage structure. swilhelm@
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Financial Post Calgary-based robotics company Attabotics files for bankruptcy protection
Attabotics Inc., a Calgary-based robotics and automation startup, has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to multiple reports. Article content The company, founded in 2016 by CEO Scott Gravelle, designs and manufactures an automated storage and retrieval system, using robotics. Article content Attabotics reportedly had more than 300 employees, including about 250 in Calgary as of 2022. It is unclear how many, if any, of the tech company's hundreds of employees will keep their roles. Article content Article content 'Unless you have been spoken to directly about alternate arrangements to maintain your employment, this means that your employment will terminate effective June 30, 2025,' read the notice to staff. Article content However, a bankruptcy and insolvency records search conducted by Postmedia on Wednesday did not reveal any document results for Attabotics. Article content Article content The staff notice said employees would not be permitted on the premises as of Monday. Article content 'On behalf of the Company, we take this opportunity to thank you for your contributions. We wish you success in your future endeavours,' read the notice. Article content Article content Numerous posts about the situation surfaced on social media, some from former employees. Many had listed their profiles as 'Open to Work.' Article content Gravelle's LinkedIn bio read 'Recovering visionary. Taking a long-deserved break' as of Wednesday, although he was still listed as the company's CEO. Article content Over the years, Attabotics amassed hundreds of millions in investment, $4.5 million of which was awarded through the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund in 2018. The City of Calgary-led program is stewarded by Calgary Economic Development. Article content The company has also received funding from the federal government and several private entities. Article content
