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HL Robotics, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate HL Group, announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Stanley Robotics, a French start-up specializing in outdoor parking robots. The operation, advised by corporate finance company Blueprint Partners, aims to strengthen HL Robotics’ position in the global market for automated parking solutions.
Founded in Paris in 2015, Stanley Robotics, which we presented to you from its first fundraising round, has developed patented technologies and carried out more than 100,000 robotic missions, particularly in the airport and automotive logistics sectors. The company, which employs around fifty people, has a portfolio of ten international patents and offers a complete set of solutions combining autonomous robots, fleet management software and operational services.
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For its part, HL Robotics benefits from the financial and strategic support of HL Group, a major player in the automobile and construction industry in South Korea, listed on the Seoul Stock Exchange (KRX: 060980.KS). By relying on the technological know-how and experience of Stanley Robotics, HL Robotics intends to accelerate its development and strengthen its offering of automated parking systems on an international scale.
According to the players involved, this merger will create significant synergies, both technologically and commercially. The agreement also marks the growing interest of Asian conglomerates in European start-ups, at a time when competitiveness and innovation have become key success factors in the robotics and automation sector.
“Stan” is a robot valet that autonomously takes care of your vehicle and parks it in a parking lot. Once the user has reserved their parking space online, they simply leave their car in front of a box reserved for Stanley Robotics. Once the vehicle has been dropped off by the customer, the automatic valet, which looks like a forklift, arrives on the other side of the box to slide its extendable pallet under the vehicle then lift it by the tires and park it in one of the spaces parking available.
3 robots to manage 500 parking spaces in Lyon Saint-Exupéry
To deploy its robot valet, Stanley Robotics, which raised 3.6 million euros in May 2017, first turned to airports, because the long-term parking generated by air travel by motorists corresponded to the management issues. In addition, long-term parking allows the French start-up to more easily organize the parking lots it manages. Depending on the customers’ return flight, the robot can fill and empty the lines without risking finding itself unable to pick up a vehicle in the middle of a block of cars.
After an initial six-month test at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, Stanley Robotics is deploying its fleet of robots in a parking lot at Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport. On this 16,000 square meter playground, the company installed 12 boxes and deployed 3 robot valets capable of managing 500 parking spaces. In 2020, the company hopes to increase the capabilities of its robot tenfold so that it can manage more spaces and deploy its solution in new airports, as well as in TGV stations, which face the same parking problem as airports. . Vinci Airports, which manages 46 airports in 12 countries around the world, including Lyon Saint-Exupéry, could thus constitute an ideal gateway to a global market.
