Rethinking old name, Heartland will henceforth be known as Rethink Robotics; Boston company adds $30 million to coffers

Rethink Robotics...will do for manufacturing workers what the PC did for office workers—increase their productivity by giving them direct access to technological tools.

“Just as businesses had to completely rethink ways to use computers when the PC was first introduced, they will want to take advantage of opportunities created by this new class of robot,” said Rod Brooks, chairman, founder, and CTO of Rethink Robotics. “With our robots, businesses will have the opportunity to rethink manufacturing, rethink automation, and rethink outsourcing.”

The new $30 million round of funding is being led by Sigma Partners of Boston, and it includes Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a new investor in the company. Rethink has now raised $62 million in total funding, making it the best capitalized robotics startup in Boston's recent history. (iRobot raised about $38 million in venture capital before its IPO, and Kiva Systems, a developer of warehouse robots, raised $33 million before its acquisition by Amazon.)

"Rodney and [CEO] Scott [Eckert] have built a phenomenal team there," says Paul Flanagan, the partner at Sigma who first put money into Rethink in November 2010. "The progress on the technology has been really remarkable. They have a truly compelling value proposition in that robot that will deliver great value to manufacturing companies, both domestically as well as all over the world. It's a technology that is going to be great for companies, great for employees, and great for consumers."

Way back in 2002, I talked with Brooks about his career in robotics at the Harvard Faculty Club; that interview aired on C-Span's BookTV.