Azalea Robotics automates airport baggage handling with intelligent robot operations. The global market for airport baggage handling systems is $20+ billion and growing, presenting a significant opportunity for innovation and market disruption in this sector.


Passenger air traffic volume is increasing, driving demand for efficient and reliable baggage handling at airports and putting immense pressure on existing infrastructure. In 2023 alone, airports processed approximately 4.5 billion bags, highlighting the need for advanced solutions to manage this load effectively. Azalea Robotics provides state-of-the-art robotic systems that enhance efficiency, reduce mishandling, and improve passenger experience through more reliable operations.


Baggage handling is a critical component of airline ground operations, yet it is fraught with challenges. The work is physically demanding, often leading to long-term injuries among workers. Traditional baggage handling involves repetitive lifting and maneuvering of heavy loads, which can result in long-term health issues. Azalea Robotics addresses these challenges by automating the most strenuous tasks, thereby reducing the risk of injury and enhancing operational efficiency.
Automating airport baggage handling with robots.
Title: Azalea Robotics Corporation: Automating airport baggage handling with robots. | Y Combinator

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### Automating airport baggage handling with robots.

Azalea Robotics automates airport baggage handling with intelligent robot operations. The global market for airport baggage handling systems is $20+ billion and growing, presenting a significant opportunity for innovation and market disruption in this sector. Passenger air traffic volume is increasing, driving demand for efficient and reliable baggage handling at airports and putting immense pressure on existing infrastructure. In 2023 alone, airports processed approximately 4.5 billion bags, highlighting the need for advanced solutions to manage this load effectively. Azalea Robotics provides state-of-the-art robotic systems that enhance efficiency, reduce mishandling, and improve passenger experience through more reliable operations. Baggage handling is a critical component of airline ground operations, yet it is fraught with challenges. The work is physically demanding, often leading to long-term injuries among workers. Traditional baggage handling involves repetitive lifting and maneuvering of heavy loads, which can result in long-term health issues. Azalea Robotics addresses these challenges by automating the most strenuous tasks, thereby reducing the risk of injury and enhancing operational efficiency.



Azalea Robotics Corporation

Founded:2023

Team Size:2

Location:Berkeley, CA

### Active Founders

### David Millard, Founder

David is a roboticist and software engineer with a background in mathematics and computer science. He previously worked as a software engineer at Google X on the Everyday Robots project, Microsoft, and at IronOx (W16). David's doctoral research focused on robotic systems manipulating non-rigid objects and was funded by a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship. He has published research with the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Ames Research Center, and Google DeepMind.



### John B. Stroud, Founder

John B. is a finance and operations professional with experience in airline operations, management consulting, and large-scale operations finance. He has a full-time MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in finance and strategy. From his time at United Airlines, John B. understands the inner workings of major international airlines and the inherent challenges of running manual baggage handling systems that he brings to Azalea Robotics.



### Company Launches

[### Azalea Robotics - Robots moving bags at airports](

**TL;DR** - [**Azalea Robotics**]( is building robots to handle baggage between touchpoints at airports. Our robots work around the clock, never get tired, and never lose or damage your bag after check-in.

**The Team** - [David]( and [John B.]( met in undergrad at the University of Georgia and have been close friends for 12 years. David has a PhD in Computer Science from USC and is an expert in soft-body robotic manipulation. John B. has an MBA from Kellogg and extensive experience in airline ground operations. They founded Azalea Robotics at the intersection of their combined strengths to modernize bag-handling systems at airports.



**The Problem** - Airport baggage handling is broken. It requires an immense amount of back-breaking labor, using decades-old infrastructure at airports, all while passengers increasingly choose to cram everything into a carry-on because they don’t trust airlines to deliver their luggage on time and in one piece. Airlines and airports have an increasingly hard time hiring these workers and are plagued by frequent system outages and customer confusion and complaints during large weather events.

**The Solution** - Robotic systems work around the clock, never get tired and damage your bag, never misidentify bags, and are significantly cheaper to deploy than manual labor. Our technology allows large robotic arms to handle all bag types and intelligently improve with every bag transferred.

Check out a sneak peek of our system in action!  
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**Our Customers** - We sell our systems to airports and airlines around the world. Depending on the size of their airport presence (i.e., is this a hub for a given airline?), airlines will either outsource or hire in-house baggage handling for their customers. Airports are typically public entities run by the local city or metropolitan area and can be more or less hands-on with baggage handling, depending on their passenger volume. Worldwide, airports and airlines spend $20B+ to handle 4.5B+ bags (and growing) every year!

**Our Ask** - Everyone has a nightmare baggage story, and we’d love to hear yours at [mishandled@azalearobotics.com](mailto:mishandled@azalearobotics.com)! Otherwise, if you're interested in learning more or have someone you think we should talk to, let us know at [founders@azalearobotics.com](mailto:founders@azalearobotics.com)!


