Shorooq and Presight Accelerate the $80B Warehouse Automation Market with Maven Robotics Deal

 

Maven Robotics, a Santa Clara-based hardware startup founded in 2024, has secured a $100 million Series A funding round led by Abu Dhabi’s Shorooq Partners and Presight, alongside LocalGlobe, Vine Ventures, and XTX Ventures.

The capital injection finances the manufacturing of 250 third-generation, mixed-case palletizing and tote-handling units, targeting an estimated $80 billion industrial logistics sub-sector.

Why are Shorooq and Presight investing in Maven Robotics?

Shorooq and Presight have invested in Maven Robotics, an industrial robotics company developing what it describes as a general-purpose robotics system.

The investment was made through the Presight–Shorooq AI and Bedaya Funds, managed by Shorooq, with participation from RoboStrategy, LocalGlobe, Vine Ventures, and XTX Ventures.

Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Maven develops intelligent robots designed for logistics and manufacturing environments. Its initial focus is on mixed-case palletizing and tote handling, workflows Maven estimates represent an $80 billion addressable market.

Maven says its robots are already operating for up to 16 hours per day at customer sites, with more than 99% reliability.

The new investment will support the production of 250 third-generation machines, as Maven expands beyond its initial applications and develops a fourth-generation platform.

What market is Maven Robotics targeting?

Maven is entering a warehouse automation market worth tens of billions of dollars, beginning with two highly repetitive industrial workflows: palletizing mixed product cases and handling totes.

Maven Robotics metric	Key figure
Founded	2024
Headquarters	Santa Clara, California
Initial workflows	Mixed-case palletizing and tote handling
Estimated addressable market	$80 billion
Robot operating time	Up to 16 hours/day
Reported reliability	99%+
Planned third-generation production	250 robots
Investment vehicle	Presight–Shorooq AI and Bedaya Funds

The strategy reflects a broader shift in industrial AI: rather than applying AI exclusively to software and information workflows, companies are increasingly using intelligent systems to automate physical tasks.

How does Maven's robotics technology approach industrial automation?

Maven's robots are designed to combine artificial intelligence with physical automation, allowing them to operate in environments where performance is measured by practical outcomes such as throughput, reliability, and return on investment.

The company began with palletizing and tote handling but plans to expand into broader materials-handling applications. The new capital will support:

• Production of 250 third-generation robots

• Development of a fourth-generation machine

• Expansion from palletizing into broader materials handling

• Deployment of intelligent robotics at additional customer sites

• Continued development of the data infrastructure required for robots to learn from real-world operations

Maven says its systems have already won work against competitors with longer-established robotics platforms.

Its founding team includes veterans from AI, robotics, engineering, and autonomous systems, with experience developing the data pipelines required to enable hardware to learn from physical-world operations.

Why does Shorooq see Maven as a physical AI opportunity?

For Shorooq, Maven fits an investment thesis centered on companies bringing artificial intelligence into the physical economy.

Bilal Baloch, Partner at Shorooq, said:

“The first wave of AI reshaped how we work with information; the next will reshape how the physical economy runs, and that is a far larger prize.”

He added that Maven is focused on solving industrial problems rather than competing primarily on research benchmarks, with an emphasis on the operational requirements of real-world customers.

The investment also reflects Shorooq's strategy of backing frontier technology companies globally while connecting them to the UAE's growing AI ecosystem.

Baloch described the investment as an example of backing frontier technology “from Abu Dhabi into Silicon Valley”, linking regional capital and networks with technology companies operating at the global frontier.

What does Presight bring to Maven's expansion?

The partnership combines Shorooq's investment and company-building capabilities with Presight's expertise in applied AI and its connection to the broader G42 ecosystem.

Presight's role is particularly relevant to Maven because the company's technology requires more than hardware production. Scaling intelligent robotics also depends on AI capabilities, compute infrastructure, data, and enterprise relationships.

Thomas Pramotedham, Chief Executive Officer of Presight, said:

“AI creates value when it works reliably in the environments where businesses operate.”

He said Maven's focus on moving and handling goods demonstrates how AI can be applied to operational environments where performance is measured through tangible business results.

Through the Presight–Shorooq Fund I, Presight aims to support companies such as Maven with capital, applied AI expertise, and relationships that can help them scale.

How will Maven use the new capital?

The investment will primarily support Maven's transition from early deployments toward a larger production and deployment footprint.

The company's immediate priorities include:

1. Building 250 third-generation robots as it scales production.

2. Developing a fourth-generation system for future industrial applications.

3. Expanding beyond palletizing into broader materials-handling workflows.

4. Increasing customer deployments across logistics and manufacturing environments.

5. Strengthening the data and AI infrastructure that enables robots to learn from real-world operations.

This moves Maven from proving individual robotic applications toward building a broader platform for industrial automation.

What does Maven's investment mean for the UAE's AI ecosystem?

For Maven, the partnership provides access to investors and strategic partners that can contribute more than capital.

Hamza Derbas, CEO and co-founder of Maven Robotics, said:

“We're not in the race to build the biggest model — we're in the race to solve industrial labour and make this work possible at the scale the world needs.”

Derbas said Shorooq and Presight bring an ecosystem spanning compute, data, and enterprise relationships, which could help Maven deploy its technology faster and reach customers it might not otherwise access.

He also highlighted the potential for the region to serve as a node for Maven's global expansion.

The partnership therefore connects three elements of the emerging physical AI economy: industrial robotics in Silicon Valley, capital from the UAE, and AI infrastructure and enterprise networks linked to Abu Dhabi's technology ecosystem.

What does Maven's deal say about the future of physical AI?

The Maven investment illustrates how the next phase of AI development is moving beyond digital workflows into physical environments.

The company's initial $80 billion addressable market is concentrated in specific warehouse workflows, but its longer-term strategy is broader: developing robots capable of performing a wider range of industrial tasks.

For investors such as Shorooq and Presight, this creates an opportunity to apply AI infrastructure and capital to markets where automation can be measured through physical output, operating hours, reliability, and labor productivity.

Maven's expansion from third-generation production to a fourth-generation platform will be an important step in determining whether its technology can move from individual deployments toward broader industrial adoption.

The investment also adds to Shorooq's growing portfolio of frontier technology companies, reinforcing its strategy of backing artificial intelligence and deep-tech businesses while connecting them to the capital, compute, and enterprise networks of the UAE's AI ecosystem.