Aformic raises $6.95M seed to expand self-driving forklifts into AI data centres

Seed funding and expansion plans

Aformic, an industrial robotics startup based in Duncan, South Carolina, has secured $6.95 million in seed funding. The round was led by Veteran Ventures Capital, with participation from ff Venture Capital, Mana Ventures, Red Beard Ventures, and Alamo Angels. The funds will be used to hire engineers and sales staff, advance the company’s Qursor software, and develop new robots for AI data centre construction and maintenance.

Aformic’s robots operate without the need for floor markers or tape, using Qursor software to plan routes and assign tasks. The company was originally spun out of AIUT, a Polish industrial automation group, and maintains an engineering and production centre in Gliwice, Poland.

Traction and customer base

Aformic reports over $34 million in orders and hundreds of robots already deployed across customer sites. In the past year, its robots have logged more than 186,000 miles within customer facilities, including plants operated by Toyota, Hitachi, 3M, Hyundai Mobis, and Oshkosh Defense.

The push into AI data centres is driven by rising demand for automation in construction and maintenance, as data centre builders cite a shortage of skilled workers as a key bottleneck.

Connections to broader industry trends

Aformic’s expansion into AI data centres aligns with growing investment in automation for large-scale infrastructure projects. Earlier reporting on Toyota’s partnerships with Waymo highlights similar trends in autonomous vehicle deployment, though Aformic focuses on industrial logistics rather than passenger transport.

3M, another Aformic customer, has been in the news for unrelated legal settlements, but its adoption of automation reflects broader manufacturing sector interest in robotics to improve efficiency and address labour shortages.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

Aformic’s seed round and focus on AI data centres signal growing demand for automation in industries facing labour shortages, particularly in infrastructure-heavy sectors. For founders and operators, this highlights opportunities in niche robotics applications—like data centre construction—where traditional automation solutions may not yet be established. The participation of industrial giants like Toyota and Hitachi as customers also underscores the credibility of Aformic’s technology and its potential to scale in regulated, high-stakes environments.

Key takeaways

• Aformic’s $6.95M seed round reflects investor confidence in robotics for industrial logistics, particularly in sectors like AI data centres where labour shortages are acute.
• The startup’s existing traction with major manufacturers (Toyota, Hitachi, 3M) may reduce perceived risk for other enterprises exploring automation.
• Founders in robotics or industrial automation should note the growing appetite for solutions that address specific pain points, such as data centre construction, rather than broad horizontal applications.

Related on Lazyfounder

• Toyota
• 3M
• Waymo partners with Toyota to deploy autonomous bZ4X robotaxis in Japan and the U.K.