Sarcos Robotics, developer of robots that augment humans to enhance productivity and safety, announced that it will become publicly listed through a merger transaction with Rotor Acquisition Corp., a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon closing, the combined company’s common stock is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol STRC. The transaction represents an enterprise value of $1.3 billion for the combined company, plus a potential earnout of an additional $281 million based on the combined company’s future share trading price.
Sarcos is developing mobile, highly dexterous robotic systems designed for dynamic or unstructured environments. With a focus on augmenting humans for non-repetitive tasks where human decision making is essential, Sarcos’ robotic solutions are designed to enhance individual productivity, making physically demanding jobs safer and more accessible to more people, alleviating skilled worker shortages, and reducing the economic and social impact of occupational injuries, while also equalizing job opportunities for tasks that previously required significant strength and stamina.
Exoskeleton
Leveraging more than thirty years of development efforts and its robust patent portfolio, Sarcos expects to commercially release its Guardian® XO® full-body wearable industrial exoskeleton robot in mid-2022, followed later in the year by its Guardian® XT™ highly dexterous force feedback industrial teleoperated robot. The Guardian® XO® and Guardian® XT™ robots are expected to join the Company’s highly versatile multi-purpose inspection robot in its commercial lineup, with the aim of delivering a full suite of robots capable of performing physically demanding work that requires human-like skill, dexterity, and range of motion.
With end-market product applications including the aerospace, automotive, logistics, defense, maritime, oil and gas, power and utilities, construction, and manufacturing industries, Sarcos is well-positioned to capture market share in the massive traditional labor markets, representing a total addressable market in U.S. industrial sectors alone of approximately $147 billion. Sarcos plans to expand its product availability globally and recently announced a memorandum of understanding to introduce its products to the Middle East and Africa.
Robots as a Service
Sarcos intends to deploy its robot fleet primarily through a Robotics as-a-Service (RaaS) solution, which it expects will accelerate the adoption of its products by offering a scalable source of labor augmentation to support its customers. The Company has strong engagement and support from key strategic partners and potential customers, including several Fortune 100 companies.
Management Comments
“Sarcos is building advanced mobile industrial robotic solutions that will advance the future of the workforce,” said Ben Wolff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sarcos. “We have a strong foundation and a clear road map to launch our next-generation highly dexterous mobile industrial robotic systems that are intended to increase productivity, save lives, and reduce injuries. Our transaction with Rotor accelerates our access to resources that will facilitate our broad product launch and enable us to execute potential bolt-on acquisitions to fortify our platform and enhance our capabilities. Rotor brings significant experience in the industrial and consumer sectors and a shared vision for the future of robotics and the workforce.”
Opportunities
Mr. Wolff continued, “This transaction and the opportunities we believe it will create are a result of the efforts of our team. Moving forward, our team and their dedication to innovation will continue to be the ultimate drivers of our success. We want to thank our customers and business partners for their support as we enter this new chapter for Sarcos.”
Stefan M. Selig, Chairman of Rotor, said, “We launched Rotor Acquisition Corp. with the goal of identifying and partnering with companies that are leveraging technology and innovation to disrupt ‘old-economy’ businesses in large and growing markets. Sarcos fits these criteria perfectly, and we are excited to partner with them and create value by building out the Sarcos platform and bringing the Company’s robotics technology to the global workforce.”
“In January of last year, we were proud to announce our partnership with Sarcos Robotics to bring its cutting-edge products to our frontline teams. It was remarkable to have Sarcos’ Guardian XO industrial exoskeleton join me on stage at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show for its first public demonstration,” remarked Ed Bastian, Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines. “Delta’s employees are the key ingredient to our success, and we are committed to reducing on-the-job injuries as well as fostering workforce diversity and improving worker longevity for a healthier and safer team. My enthusiasm for Sarcos’ potential has only grown since then as we continue to work closely with Sarcos to turn our everyday heroes into superheroes, making their jobs safer and easier than ever.”
See also
Sarcos awarded contract by U.S. Air Force to develop dexterous robotic systems with AI
