A&K Robotics has closed an C$8 million Series A investment to scale deployment of Cruz, an autonomous micro-vehicle designed to transport passengers through complex indoor airport environments. The round is led by BDC Capital’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund and Vantage Futures, with participation from RiSC Capital, Grep VC, Nimbus Synergies, and Dan Gelbart.
Key takeaways
- Cruz is an indoor self-driving mobility robot that navigates autonomously using onboard sensors and AI, dynamically adjusting paths to move safely alongside pedestrians.
- Already deployed at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD), with operators in North America and Europe.
- Funding will transition Cruz from pilot programs to permanent deployments, expand production capacity, and support a new R&D facility in Surrey, British Columbia.
- Manufacturing capacity is set to grow from dozens to hundreds of autonomous vehicles per year.
The investment addresses a growing need: roughly 17% of the global population lives with mobility challenges, and airport assistance requests are rising 10-15% annually, outpacing passenger growth. A&K Robotics positions Cruz as a scalable solution for airports facing labor constraints and accessibility requirements, bringing autonomy indoors—a more complex challenge than road-based driving due to dense, unpredictable crowds.
Source: Robotics & Automation News (roboticsandautomationnews.com) · Published 2026-04-21 · “A&K Robotics raises C$8 million to build autonomous ‘micro-vehicle’ for airports”