Other Attabotics investors include Honeywell International Inc., Coatue Management, Comcast Ventures, Forerunner Ventures and Werklund Growth Fund. Attabotics also received $34-million from the government’s Strategic Innovation Fund in 2020.
“We have a big focus on moving our technology out beyond North America and into the rest of the world,” chief executive officer Scott Gravelle said in an interview. He said the company is also looking to introduce a recurring revenue model where customers pay as they use the technology, in order to provide a stream of cash that is steadier than one-time installation contracts.
In the end Export Development Canada “didn’t just come in and try to take advantage of the situation” but made “a really fair, good offer,” Mr. Gravelle said. “Those are rare right now. It’s a very Canadian offer.” “But at the end of the day, we’re not here to subsidize” companies. “We need to look at companies that have good prospects of success, then do what we need to do to allow that to happen.”