Third Wave Automation

Market position

Third Wave Automation describes the TWA Reach as the only high-reach forklift automation solution offering deployment in four modes — fully autonomous, remote operation, remote assist and manual — and positions its approach against traditional automation that requires costly infrastructure changes.

Differentiation rests on shared autonomy: trucks run routine work autonomously and request human help for exceptions, with remote operators able to take control from an office, and on multimode operation of a standard forklift form factor that can still be driven manually. The company cites a 10:1 ratio of one operator supervising ten autonomous forklifts and deployment in weeks rather than years without infrastructure changes.

Technology

The Shared Autonomy Platform uses machine learning and artificial intelligence so that forklifts adapt and improve over time, with every recorded operator interaction used to improve the wider fleet. Mapping uses automotive-grade 3D lidar that sees from floor to roof and across aisles, reducing mapping of fixed environments from months to days. A camera-based warehouse perception system provides 360-degree, centimetre-level 3D perception that distinguishes people, forklifts and payloads, and includes Collision Shield, an autonomous obstacle detection system that gives remote operators insight into obstacles and views of target pick-and-place locations. The stack is described as combining adaptive automation based on 3D perception, shared autonomy in which human supervisors train robots on unfamiliar situations, and continuous learning that propagates guidance across all Third Wave-powered robots on any site.

Go-to-market

The company sells directly to warehouse operators, 3PLs and retailers, typically starting with pilots that expand across a customer's network, and extends reach through OEM and strategic partnerships, including a technology collaboration with The Raymond Corporation, part of Toyota Material Handling North America, and an earlier strategic partnership with Toyota Industries Corporation.

Warehouse and distribution operators, third-party logistics providers and retailers; the company has said it was in conversations with the top 20 3PLs and retailers, and named customers and prospects include Armada Supply Chain Solutions and 3PL firm Holman Logistics.

Geography

Headquartered in Union City, California, with a stated focus on U.S. warehouse operators; the partnership with The Raymond Corporation covers North America.

History

Third Wave Automation was founded in 2018 in Union City, California, to address supply chain stress with intelligent automation products and services. It formed a strategic partnership with Toyota Industries Corporation in 2021, closed a $40 million Series B led by Norwest Venture Partners in August 2021 that brought total investment to $59 million, and closed a $27 million Series C led by Woven Capital, Toyota's growth fund, in October 2024, bringing total capital raised to $97 million. It subsequently announced a technology partnership with The Raymond Corporation to scale physical AI across Raymond lift truck fleets.