COVID-19 accelerated the adoption curve for technology in many industries, and robotics was no exception. Last year, Louisville-based AMP hired 50 new employees as demand for its recycling robots spiked.
“Recycling facilities really saw our technology as a bridge to operational continuity,” Carling Spelhaug, senior PR and marketing communications manager at AMP, told Built In. “When COVID [hit and] people were out sick, there was concern about working in close proximity. Robots facilitate social distancing naturally. It just accelerated what was already happening with some of these jobs that are in difficult environments, like recycling facilities.”
Now, following the company’s $55 million Series B round in January, AMP is ramping up its hiring. The company, which has already hired 65 people this year, currently has 150 employees and plans to add an additional 75 later this year. This would more than double the size of AMP’s team year over year. (The robotics company had just 90 employees at the end of 2020 and about 40 at the end of 2019.)
“2020 was a really big year for AMP in terms of both go-to-market strategy as well as proof of concept in the market,” Emilie Kintner, head of talent and culture at AMP, told Build In. “You saw us hit the 100 robot sale mark, you saw us picking up in terms of sales across the country. Ensuring that we can continue to deliver on that scalability of the organization requires further production and engineering talent in order to meet the demands of the market as well as some different projects we have in R&D.”
Hiring will be done across the company with a focus on engineering, production and operations, Kintner said. AMP is actively hiring for dozens of roles.
AMP aims to make operating a waste management facility cheaper — and better for the planet — by using AI and robots to sort through waste. The automated robotic system uses AI to identify specific materials that can be recycled based on their color, shape, size and more.
“We’re both modernizing the existing recycling infrastructure and working to expand and create new infrastructure,” Spelhaug said.
AMP’s AI platform can now classify more than 100 different categories and characteristics of recyclables through various mediums, including construction, demolition debris and single-stem recycling, according to a June news release.
