Cartken develops autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) designed for material transport across industrial environments where robots must transition between indoor and outdoor terrain without manual intervention. Founded in 2019 by former Google engineers, the company focuses on the navigation and perception challenges inherent to mixed-infrastructure sites - manufacturing floors, distribution centers, and corporate campuses - where GPS reliability, surface variability, and dynamic obstacles create compounding edge cases for autonomous systems.
The product line spans three platforms with distinct payload and deployment profiles: Cartken Runner handles indoor point-of-use deliveries, Cartken Courier is built for lightweight deliveries, and Cartken Hauler supports heavy-duty industrial use with a 660 lb capacity. Across the fleet, payload range extends from 20 to 1,500 kg, and the robots are rated to operate in temperatures from −4°F to 122°F. The hardware/software boundary is structured around AI-powered autonomous navigation that addresses both structured warehouse layouts and less predictable outdoor routes within campus-scale environments.
Cartken's deployments target sectors including manufacturing, warehousing, distribution centers, corporate campuses, and life sciences - environments where throughput constraints and safety requirements demand reliable operation without teleoperation fallback. The company is headquartered in Oakland, California, with additional presence in Munich, Tokyo, and Detroit, reflecting deployment footprints across North American, European, and Japanese industrial markets.
