Locus Robotics is raising serious cash in its bid to automate warehouses, bringing industry investment to $70 million this year.

A few years ago, Amazon.com Inc. triggered a robot arms race when it purchased a company called Kiva Systems, maker of automated warehouse robots. Now its would-be rivals are landing bigger and bigger cash injections to try to compete with the e-commerce giant.

Locus Robotics is raising serious cash in its bid to automate warehouses, bringing industry investment to $70 million this year.

A few years ago, Amazon.com Inc. triggered a robot arms race when it purchased a company called Kiva Systems, maker of automated warehouse robots. Now its would-be rivals are landing bigger and bigger cash injections to try to compete with the e-commerce giant.