Flux Auto vs Hermes Robotics

About

Flux Auto is an autonomous driving technology company focused on commercial and industrial vehicles — developing retrofit autonomous solutions for existing heavy machinery including trucks, forklifts, and agricultural equipment rather than building new autonomous vehicles from scratch. Founded in 2016 in Mumbai, India by Pranav Manpuria and Abhishek Gupta, Flux Auto is Y Combinator-backed and raised over $6 million to develop its autonomous industrial vehicle platform. In March 2025, Flux Auto launched Odin, a fully autonomous solution for industrial heavy-lifting in warehouses, farms, and mines.\n\nFlux Auto's retrofit approach installs sensors (cameras, LIDAR, radar) and control systems onto existing commercial vehicles, enabling autonomy without requiring customers to purchase new purpose-built autonomous vehicles. This retrofit model significantly reduces the capital investment required for industrial automation — a warehouse operator can add autonomous capability to their existing forklift fleet rather than replacing it. The Odin platform (launched 2025) targets the industrial automation segment where GPS-denied indoor environments and unstructured terrain require robust perception systems.\n\nIn 2025, Flux Auto operates in the industrial autonomous vehicle space competing with Vecna Robotics, Seegrid, and Locus Robotics for warehouse automation, and with various autonomous tractor startups for agricultural applications. The industrial automation market has accelerated as labor costs and availability challenges push manufacturers and logistics operators toward automation investments. India's manufacturing and logistics sectors represent a large addressable market, and Flux Auto's cost-effective retrofit approach is well-positioned for cost-sensitive emerging market industrial customers. The 2025 strategy focuses on scaling Odin deployments, expanding from Indian markets to global industrial customers, and deepening agricultural autonomy capabilities.