Supply Chain · Profile from Supply Chain Research Companion
AutoStore
The Norwegian maker of cube storage — aluminium grids in which storage bins are stacked in columns and battery-powered robots on top dig out the bin a picker needs and deliver it to a "port" — founded in 1996 (some sources 1995) inside Jakob Hatteland's Hatteland group on Norway's west coast, which chose to sell a standard product through integrators rather than design custom warehouses. Its US story runs through Boston and Washington: Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL), the Boston private-equity firm, bought control from EQT in 2019 (~€1.6bn per Mergermarket via Unquote; ~$1.9bn in another source — basis unclear); in Oct 2020 AutoStore asked the US International Trade Commission to bar imports of Ocado's robots for Kroger's US warehouses, and lost — the ITC judge ruled for Ocado on 13 Dec 2021, the Commission affirmed in Mar 2022, the UK High Court followed in Mar 2023, and in Jul 2023 AutoStore agreed to pay Ocado £200m in 24 monthly instalments to settle every case worldwide. In between, SoftBank bought ~40% for $2.8bn (Apr 2021) and AutoStore listed in Oslo at NOK 31 a share (Oct 2021), valued at ~$12bn — Norway's largest IPO in two decades (reported). Then orders fell: 2025 revenue was $538.6m (−10.4%), though with an adjusted EBITDA margin of ~42% that few hardware companies reach. In 2026 orders rebounded — Q2 revenue $192.1m (+43%), order intake $217.6m (+45%), backlog $596m, and full-year revenue guided to ~$700m (company).
At a glance
- Founded
- 1996 (most sources; some 1995) within the Hatteland group, Nedre Vats, Norway; founder Jakob Hatteland
- Headquarters
- Nedre Vats / Stavanger region, Norway (verify current registered office); holding company AutoStore Holdings Ltd (Bermuda, verify); US office in New Hampshire (verify)
- Ownership / structure
- Public, Oslo Børs (AUTO) since Oct 2021; major holders SoftBank (~40% bought Apr 2021; current stake verify) and THL (verify current stake); EQT sold control to THL in 2019
- Leadership (2026)
- Mats Hovland Vikse, CEO (verify start date; succeeded Karl Johan Lier)
- Segments / lines
- Cube-storage systems (grid, robots, ports, bins) sold through ~two dozen integrator partners (verify count); software; service and spare parts; Pio, a packaged small-warehouse system sold online (2023, verify); pay-per-pick and subscription pricing options (verify)
- Scale
- Revenue $538.6m (FY2025, −10.4%); Q4 2025 $179.7m (+9% y/y); Q2 2026 $192.1m (+43.4% y/y); FY2026 guide ~$700m; ~150 new customers and 11 new products in 2025 (company)
- Financials
- FY2025 adjusted EBITDA $228.1m (42.3% margin), EBIT $140.1m (−37%), record backlog $557m (+22%), net debt $180m, cash $90.1m. Q2 2026: gross margin ~72%, adjusted EBITDA margin ~45%, order intake $217.6m, backlog $596m; buyback of up to $75m authorised (company releases)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding in the Hatteland group (1996); the integrator channel (2000s); THL buyout from EQT (2019); patent offensive against Ocado (2020, failure); SoftBank 40% stake (2021); Oslo IPO (2021); Ocado settlement and cross-licence (2023, failure); order slowdown and new business models (2023–26, partial failure and recovery)
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1996
Founding in the Hatteland Group
Founding / technology bet
2005
Integrator Channel and First Installations
Pricing or service change / distribution model (sell a standard product through integrator partners)
2019
THL Buyout from EQT
Financing / change of private-equity control (secondary buyout)
2020
Patent Offensive Against Ocado
Regulatory or legal action (offensive patent litigation, including a US import-ban request) — failure
2021
Oslo IPO
IPO
2021
SoftBank 40 Percent Stake
Financing (sale of a minority stake to a strategic-financial investor)
2023
Ocado Settlement and Cross Licence
Regulatory or legal action (global settlement with payment and cross-licence) — failure of the 2020 offensive
2023
Order Slowdown and New Business Models
Strategy pivot in a downturn (new products, pricing models and customer segments) — partial failure, then recovery