While the luddites among us may still proclaim “the robots are taking our jobs!” the truth is, the current focus of robotics is more on making our jobs a whole lot easier.
Take, for instance, the robotic process automation firm UiPath, which just raised $568 million.
Founded in 2005, UiPath has been developing AI-enabled software that is capable of automating rote and repetitive tasks currently done by human workers. The company’s tools operate in a range of fields including claims processing, human resources, accounts payable and more.
According to reports, UiPath plans on utilizing the funds to scale its support for front-office operations, including more customer-facing tools. The idea is that by automating these otherwise repetitive processes, companies are able to provide users with speedier and accurate results, while employees on the backend are freed from tedious tasks, thus improving job satisfaction.
“Business leaders everywhere are augmenting their workforces with software robots, rapidly accelerating the digital transformation of their entire business and freeing employees to spend time on more impactful work,” said UiPath co-founder and CEO Daniel Dines in a statement.
UiPath is not designed to be a one-size-fits-all replacement, but rather a collaborative and ever-expanding tool. With more than 400,000 users worldwide, the UiPath system is in the midst of constant evolution.
UiPath is leading this workforce revolution [to] deliver on our vision of a robot helping every person.”
“UiPath is leading this workforce revolution, driven by our core determination to democratize [robotic process automation] and deliver on our vision of a robot helping every person. We are just getting started,” said Dines.
That “start” has already seen UiPath’s tools being leveraged by some of the biggest names across a range of global industries. Google, Quest Diagnostics, Uber, the U.S. Navy and Virgin Media are all counted among the company’s customers.
Per UiPath, 50 percent of the top 50 Fortune Global 500 rely on UiPath’s workflow automation.
Coatue led the company’s latest $568 million funding, with Dragoneer, Wellington and Sands Capital also participating. Numerous returning investors also participated, including Accel, CapitalG and Sequoia.
Prior to today, UiPath’s most recent funding came in the form of a $265 million Series C, raised in September of 2018. Currently, UiPath’s post-money valuation rests at a lofty $7 billion.
Clearly, this company is not slowing down.
