Teradyne, a prosaic-sounding but flush company that provides automated testing equipment for industrial applications, has acquired the Danish robotics company MiR for an eye-popping $148 million, with $124 million on the table after meeting performance goals.
MiR, which despite the lowercase “i” stands for Mobile Industrial Robots, does what you might guess. Founded in 2013, the company has grown steadily and had a huge 2017, tripling its revenues to $12 million after its latest robot, the MiR200, received high marks from customers.
MiR’s robots are of the warehouse sort, wheeled little autonomous fellows that can lift and pull pallets, boxes, and so on. They look a bit like the little ones that are always underfoot in Star Wars movies. It’s a natural fit for Teradyne, especially with the latter’s recent purchase of the well known Universal Robotics in a $350 million deal in 2015.
Testing loads of electronics and components may be a dry business, but it’s a booming one, because the companies that test faster ship faster. Any time efficiencies can be made in the process, be it warehouse logistics or assisting expert humans in sensitive procedures, one can be sure a company will be willing to pay for them.
Teradyne …read more
Source:: TechCrunch Gadgets
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