FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RENTON, WA, and WOODRIDGE, IL – Sept. 2, 2025
Acumino and Spindle announce a partnership that aims to revolutionize the commercial laundry industry with advanced AI-powered robotics to develop a suite of modular robotic solutions for textile manipulation. These solutions target three critical processes—feeding, folding, and packaging—each representing a distinct and significant market opportunity. Applications for this technology span multiple sectors, including the textile maintenance and rental industry, as well as textile manufacturing and the retail industry. Automating these tasks addresses a multibillion-dollar market need but requires foundational technology that can reliably handle diverse and unpredictable items. This partnership will establish a clear roadmap for developing these solutions—either as standalone products or as a fully integrated system—and provide a clear view of the potential Return on Investment (ROI) in each target industry.
The core technical challenge involves creating a unified robotic system that can:
The primary bottleneck for flexible automation is the development of advanced computer vision and adaptive manipulation capabilities that can generalize across countless variations in item type, size, material, and presentation.
Acumino brings proven expertise in robotic grasping, dexterous manipulation, and robotic dexterity. We are confident in our ability to deliver the robotic dexterity required for these tasks.
“The critical unknown is the degree to which a single system can be made to handle the immense variety of textiles in a commercial laundry environment, especially from a robotic perception point of view,” said Minas Liarokapis, CEO and CTO of Acumino. “Rather than promising a single solution, our approach is to assess and integrate the most advanced vision and AI-based manipulation strategies to establish a baseline of what is currently possible. Together, we represent the best chance of a commercially viable solution.”
Acumino, a leader in general robotic intelligence, and Spindle, laundry’s leader in robotic solutions, today announced a partnership. This collaboration will integrate Acumino’s advanced AI platform with Spindle’s specialized automation systems to create the next generation of smart robotic solutions for the commercial laundry sector.
The partnership will address the commercial laundry industry's most pressing challenges, including chronic labor shortages, rising operational costs, and the need for increased efficiency and reliability. By combining Acumino’s hardware-agnostic AI and human-to-robot skill transfer technology with Spindle’s deep industry expertise and established robotics platforms, the two companies will deliver automation solutions with unprecedented dexterity and intelligence.
“Our mission at Acumino is to bring general robotic intelligence to any industry that can benefit from it,” said Patrick Jarvis, president of Acumino. “Spindle Robotics’ deep understanding of the commercial laundry landscape makes them the ideal partner to bring our AI technology to this sector. Together, we can provide solutions that not only solve the immediate labor challenges but also significantly improve the efficiency and quality of laundry operations, leading to a rapid return on investment for our customers.”
The integrated solutions will enable robots to perform a wider range of complex tasks, from delicate garment handling and sorting to adaptive problem-solving in dynamic laundry environments. This will allow commercial laundries to automate tasks that were previously too complex for robotic systems, freeing up human workers to focus on higher-value activities.
“Spindle Robotics is focused on bringing practical, impactful automation to the commercial laundry industry,” said Tom Abbett, business development director at Spindle. “This partnership with Acumino allows us to take a quantum leap forward. By embedding Acumino’s AI into our systems, we will offer our customers a level of robotic intelligence and flexibility that was previously unimaginable. We are excited to work with Acumino to co-develop a new generation of robotic solutions that will set a new standard for the industry.”
Acumino is a leader in practical General Robotic Intelligence, addressing some of the most challenging problems in robotic AI. The company is significantly enhancing robots' capabilities to perform exceptionally complex tasks in industrial settings through groundbreaking new approaches in human-to-robot skill transfer. Acumino's deployment-first strategy empowers the development of the most advanced models for robots that adapt safely and accurately to diverse real-world environments with high reliability.
With over 30 years in the laundry industry and decades as both a system integrator and software developer, Spindle – a division of Dober – combines deep, hands-on expertise with partnerships in robotics to deliver end-to-end automated solutions. With a focus on seamless integration and addressing real-world operational pain points, Spindle helps laundry operators overcome labor shortages, increase productivity, and improve overall efficiency. By collaborating with industry leaders, Spindle is committed to making advanced automation accessible to laundries of all sizes.