International Federation of Robotics: 500K+ industrial robots were installed in 2021, an all-time high, bringing the number of global installations to 3.5M (Christopher Mims/Wall Street Journal)

Brianna Wessling / The Robot Report:
AMP Robotics, which creates robotics systems that use AI to sort recyclable materials, raised a $91M Series C, bringing its total raised to $165.5M  —  AMP Robotics, a company creating robots that can organize recycling, brought in $91 million in corporate equity in a Series C funding round.

Jason Douglas / Wall Street Journal:
IFR data: Chinese factories installed 243K+ robots in 2021, up 45% YoY and around 50% of the global total, adapting to a changing workforce and rising wages  —  Industrial automation climbs as country tries to extend manufacturing dominance despite labor challenges

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Ambi Robotics, which is developing AI-powered robots for warehouses, raised $32M led by Tiger Global and Bow Capital, bringing its total funding to $67M  —  Ambi Robotics, a startup developing supply chain automation hardware, today announced that it raised $32 million in additional funding led …

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
Amid a downturn, tech companies may shift their focus from “gee-whiz” projects, like self-driving cars and metaverses, to truly useful products that make money  —  History shows that downturns are when the industry shifts focus from flashy novelties to things that are truly useful

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
As car makers cede control of their auto-operating systems to Apple and Google, the limited choice in the duopoly of smartphone OSes may soon extend to cars  —  In the future, your choice of smartphone ecosystem—Android or iPhone—could determine which make and model of car you choose

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
A look at some of the challenges of zero-trust systems that can create friction for users and employees, as businesses increasingly adopt them to fight hackers  —  Hackers keep tricking employees to gain access to corporate networks, so companies are changing their approach to make it harder to wreak havoc once they’re in