‘Next wave of AI will be physical’: warehouse robotics startup Destro AI bags $8 million in seed funding
Destro AI, which is building a shared intelligence layer for warehouse robotics, has raised $8 million in seed funding co-led by Base10 Partners and Bonfire Ventures, with participation from CoFound Partners. The funding will accelerate deployment of Destro’s platform across enterprise warehouses and expand the company’s engineering and research teams.
“Everyone is building capable robots,” says Manthan Pawar, Founder and CEO at Destro AI. “We believe the next breakthrough won’t come from another robot. It will come from the intelligence layer that enables any robot to work together. Customers aren’t buying robots; they’re investing in throughput, reliability, and business outcomes. That’s what we’re building.”
Destro has built two complementary AI systems: MothershipOS and Vision OS. MothershipOS is pitched as the shared mind outside the robot body, intelligently deciding which robot should perform which task, where, when, and how, to optimise complex warehouse workflows. VisionOS is an on-robot intelligence platform that enables complex mobile manipulation using AI models trained from human demonstrations, allowing robots to better perceive, grasp, and interact with real-world environments.
“Destro’s human-robot collaboration platform gives us a new level of intelligence and control across these workflows, helping our teams operate more efficiently while continuing to meet the high service expectations of our customers,” says Rick Brunelle, Director of Automation, Yusen Logistics (Americas).
“We met Manthan when Destro had two pilots running. A few months later, they're live in production with some of the largest logistics operators in the country and winning head-to-head against companies with far more funding and far more hype,” says Adeyemi Ajao, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Base10 Partners. “This means the robots stay on, the warehouse keeps using them, and that's the hardest part of this industry to get right. Manthan and his team understood that most buyers aren’t actually looking for a robot, they're buying a warehouse that runs better tomorrow than it did today.”
Jennifer Richard, Principal at Bonfire Ventures, comments: “We invested in Destro because we believe the next wave of AI will be physical. The winners won't simply be the companies building robots. They'll be the companies that make robots useful inside real-world operations. We've spent enough time around warehouses and logistics networks to know that operational complexity is where good ideas go to die. The gap between a successful demo and a successful deployment is enormous. Destro understands that gap.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Supply chain automation will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
