KEWAZO, the robotics company shaking up heavy industry, has announced a $35 million funding milestone, led by Schooner Capital and backed by Chevron Technology Ventures, Asahi Kasei, Benson Capital, Mana Ventures, Gaingels, Atlas Ventures, and existing investors True Ventures and Cybernetix Ventures.
The company’s flagship LIFTBOT is already hard at work at more than 20 industrial sites across North America and Europe, including refineries, petrochemical plants, chemical complexes, and power facilities. By replacing cranes and manual handling, LIFTBOT is boosting safety, efficiency, and schedule predictability for maintenance, turnarounds, and capital projects.
With LIFTBOT on site, KEWAZO collects structured operational data from high-barrier industrial environments—a foundation for its Physical AI platform, which aims to bring transparency today and automation tomorrow.
KEWAZO is positioning itself as the go-to robotics and AI provider for heavy industry. The addition of Chevron Technology Ventures and Asahi Kasei to its investor base will accelerate deployments, expand workflows, and deepen integration with existing customer operations.
“Our clients hear about robotics, but they rarely see robots operating at their plants,” said Artem Kuchukov, Co-Founder & CEO.
“KEWAZO changes that. We help industrial asset owners adopt automation by delivering instant value in vertical material movement, and many clients already ask us to expand into additional workflows. With the support of Schooner Capital, Chevron Technology Ventures, Asahi Kasei, and our existing investors, we’re accelerating this shift.”
“Robotics and automation are transforming industrial operations, mirroring the adoption of AI across the economy,” said Alexandra Manick, Managing Director at Schooner Capital. “KEWAZO is perfectly positioned to lead the charge in heavy industry, as evidenced by the team’s technical depth and strong commercial execution. We are proud to lead this round and support their continued expansion and vision.”
“KEWAZO’s LIFTBOT technology offers an innovative approach to improving safety and cost-efficiency in industrial operations,” said Jim Gable, Vice President of Innovation within Chevron’s Technology, Projects & Execution organization and President of Technology Ventures at Chevron.
“This is the latest investment from our Core Venture Fund, which focuses on high-growth startups and emerging technologies that have the potential to improve Chevron's core businesses, as well as create new opportunities for growth. We welcome KEWAZO to the portfolio.”
