Cartken Inc. builds AI-powered autonomous mobile robots for indoor and outdoor short-distance industrial material transport, with payloads from 20 to 1,500 kg.
Cartken Inc. is an AI-powered robotics company founded in 2019 by former Google engineers. The firm builds autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that automate material flow across complex industrial sites, moving goods over short distances both indoors and outdoors. Its engineering work spans autonomous and multi-terrain navigation and integration with site infrastructure such as elevators, gates, doors and MES/WMS systems. Headquarters are in Oakland, California, with offices in Munich, Tokyo and Detroit.
The company sells a three-robot portfolio. Cartken Runner handles indoor point-of-use deliveries; Cartken Courier is designed for lightweight deliveries; and Cartken Hauler is a heavy-duty industrial robot rated to 660 lbs (300 kg). Payload capacity across the range runs from 20 to 1,500 kg, and the robots operate in temperatures from -4°F to 122°F.
Cartken's robots are deployed in manufacturing, warehousing, distribution centres, corporate campuses and life sciences. Named global customers include ZF Lifetec, Mitsubishi, Magna and Novo Nordisk. The company began life in last-mile food delivery, with partnerships including Uber Eats and GrubHub, and pivoted to industrial automation in 2023 after securing ZF Lifetec as its first major industrial customer.
