Melbourne-based logistics technology company Nexobot has been selected as one of six finalists in the inaugural Propel-AIR program, Australia’s first dedicated AI and Robotics Sprint.
The program offers finalists the chance to collaborate with MassRobotics in Boston – considered a global centre of robotics innovation, Nexobot stated in a news release.
Nexobot is competing with its low-cost parcel sorting platform, designed to make automation accessible to small and regional logistics operators.
“We’re not a deep-tech company—we’re a wide-tech company,” said Dominic Lindsay, Founder and CEO of Nexobot. “Our goal isn’t to serve the top 1%, it’s to give thousands of small Australian businesses access to robotics that save labour, improve accuracy, and enhance safety from day one.”
While many large logistics companies invest heavily in automation infrastructure and deploy high-end sorting robots with impressive throughput and accuracy, Nexobot has focused on delivering comparable results through a simpler, more affordable, and modular approach.
Nexobot’s system claims over 99.9 per cent accuracy and boosts sorting throughput from 80 items per hour manually to over 500 items per hour using automation.
It also reduces worker walking distances from 40 metres per carton to just 6 metres.
The company’s first live deployment is operating in Warragul, regional Victoria, where it has reportedly delivered measurable improvements in productivity, safety, and sorting accuracy. Nexobot sees this as a potential blueprint for over 250 similar deployments across regional Australia.
The company also sees growing international demand in developing economies across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America – markets where traditional robotics solutions remain out of reach.
“This could be the first step into robotics for businesses across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We’re not solving niche problems, we’re enabling wide adoption,” said Lindsay.
Nexobot’s engineering team designs and builds every system component – from 3D-printed shells to the cloud software integrating with transport systems. As part of its growth strategy, the company is preparing for a capital raise and is accelerating development of camera-based AI navigation systems while exploring strategic partnerships both locally and internationally.
“I invented a new way to offload cartons from robots without expensive hardware. This drastically reduces cost and complexity. Our customers can now automate at a fraction of the price,” Lindsay said.
The winner of Propel-AIR will receive a one-month residency at MassRobotics in Boston, gaining access to world-leading robotics companies and research institutions including MIT and Harvard.
