Robotics startup Burro brings millions in VC to Pennsylvania

This story was reported with support from Pennsylvania Gets It Done and the BusinessPA team at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Their work connecting businesses to financial resources, strategic partnerships and tailored guidance aims to build a stronger, more successful Pennsylvania economy.

Robotics company founder Charlie Andersen sees no reason to leave Philly to grow his business — even if he could get more money elsewhere. 

Burro, Andersen’s agtech robotics startup, has raised about $46 million to date, only $75,000 of that coming from Pennsylvania funders. Still, he said, the commonwealth has more to offer than just cash.

Along with personal ties, Philadelphia has a strong pool of talent, convenient suppliers and a supportive robotics community, according to Andersen, CEO and founder of Burro. While raising capital from Pennsylvania investors is difficult, those other benefits have helped him grow the company to this point. 

“You don’t necessarily need to move to where you’re raising money from,” Andersen, whose company has raised cash from global investors, said. “You go raise money somewhere and bring it back to where you are.” 

Headquartered in Center City, Burro designs autonomous vehicles that help move products around on farms and other manufacturing sites, pulling carts of flowers and produce, for example. The goal is to become the next big brand for outdoor work, in line with companies like Bobcat and Deere, he said. So far, the company has 550 robots around the world. 

Philly’s robotics scene has big players, like Ghost Robotics and Exyn Technologies, but the ecosystem isn’t well enough known for its wins for investors to seriously take notice. Philly founders need to do a better job of touting the region’s accomplishments, especially to the industry at large, according to Andersen. 

“If you’re a more gritty, Philadelphia-based company, and you’ve got to go earn it,” Andersen said. “[If] you’ve got to build the right thing with a scarce number of resources, and you’ve got to prove product market fit without having a ton of capital to throw at it, you’re likely to build a better company.”

The workforce, not the VCs, makes a city stand out

For Burro, one of the biggest draws of the region the community. 

Burro’s team totals 56 people, about 40 of whom are based in the Philly region, according to Andersen. Many team members are transplants, but once they settle in Philly, they tend to stay.

Which is a good thing as the company sources talent from local universities like the University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh University and Drexel University. Some of the top researchers in computer vision and artificial intelligence are at Philly universities, teaching the next generation, he said. 

“The way we’ve made connections more recently is trying to be more of a beacon,” Andersen said. “Where, if people want to work in Philadelphia and they’re looking for a robotics company to go work for or work with, we’re a great one.”