Calgary tech darling company suddenly shuts down, laying off hundreds of employees
The warehouse robotics company known as Attabotics suddenly terminated most of their staff earlier this week.
The possible demise of the company — which claims on its website to have more than 300 employees — comes despite it receiving millions of dollars in investment and funding from both private and government sources.
View image in full screen
Calgary-based Attabotics designed and built robotic automated storage and retrieval systems for warehouses. Global News
Attabotics was a self-proclaimed disruptor technology that used robots to automate supply management in vertical warehouses.
Story continues below advertisement
The federal government and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan are amongst the organizations that gave Attabotics money or invested in it.
1:48
Homegrown Calgary company ATTAbotics gets $4.5 million in funding from city
The city of Calgary gave it $4.5 million from its Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund.
View image in full screen
A notice posted on the door of Attabotics headquarters in northeast Calgary tells employees they will be getting 'termination' notice and 'do not go into the office.' Global News
The employees — commonly referred to as 'Atta Peeps' — told Global News that they received a surprise email on Sunday, June 29, 2025, terminating their employment effective Monday and telling them not to go into the office.
Story continues below advertisement
The email was unclear whether severance or even employee expense claims would be paid, but the employees were were told to return all company property.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The official termination letters — more that 150 of them were expected — were sent out on Monday.
View image in full screen
Industry Canada confirmed to Global News that it has received Attabotics notice that it intends to file for bankruptcy. Provided to Global News
On Tuesday, Industry Canada confirmed it had received the company's notice of intention to file for bankruptcy.
View image in full screen
Attabotics employees tell Global News they found out by email that they were being laid off, but there's no word on how that affects expenses they are owed or possible severance pay. Global News
Attabotics has not responded to Global News' request for comment.
Story continues below advertisement
The company's CEO, Scott Gravelle, who once boasted of increasing revenues from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars within a few months, now has a message on his LinkedIn account that describes him as a 'Recovering visionary. Taking a long deserved break.'
There's no word yet either on what the company's financial troubles mean for clients who now have products potentially tied up in Attabotics defunct supply system.
None of the clients or investors would provide comments to Global News.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Calgary Herald
White: Eau Claire back in the game with athletic club
Many Calgarians, back in early 2021, were sad to hear the downtown's Eau Claire YMCA was closing after 33 years. I am happy to report the site will reopen in early July as the Eau Claire Athletic Club. The mega makeover retains the pool, gym, running track and two squash courts, but also includes designated spaces for several golf simulators, separate Pilates, yoga, spin and dance studios and a state-of-the art weight room. There is even a Nordic spa. There are also office spaces for private healthcare service providers to rent. Article content And yes, it is family friendly! Kids will love the pool, gym, programs for all ages and they even have their own virtual games room. There will also be daily childminding services. Article content Article content The interior décor is elegant with its four-storey tall water feature in the middle of the central staircase as the highlight. On the main floor is a members and guests-only restaurant, bar and lounge, as well as a small public café accessible from the new Eau Claire Plaza. The pool is spectacular with its huge window onto Eau Claire Plaza. Article content Toggle full screen modePrevious Gallery Image Next Gallery ImageToggle gallery captions Article content Article content In its heyday, the late 1990s, the Y had 10,500 members. But over the years that number dwindled to 1,300 while the cost of operating the building increased dramatically, as did the cost for repairs and upgrades to a 30-plus-year-old building. It became too much for the YMCA to manage. Article content Some city council members thought the City of Calgary should buy the building and convert it into a public recreation centre, but a motion by Coun. Jeromy Farkas to do so was defeated. I expect administration told them it was not cost effective to upgrade and operate the building as a public recreation centre based on the revenue that would be generated by the fees the city could charge. Article content Article content The building was put up for sale and Telsec bought in late in 2021. They explored various options — from converting it into a hotel to tearing it down and building a residential tower. But in the end, they decided to refurbish it and create a luxury private recreation centre. Article content Kudos to Telsec for retaining the building — as its human scale and timeless brick façade will create a people-friendly edge to the new Eau Claire Plaza. I was invited by Kris Van Grieken, president of Telsec, to tour the old Y building when they were contemplating what to do with it and again for a preview tour. I am amazed at how they have kept the building's bones the same, while transforming it into an upscale 21st century athletic club. It is an impressive and expensive makeover. Article content Who is Telsec? Article content Telsec, originally established in 1976 by Dick Van Grieken, remains a family-owned, Calgary-based business. It initially focused on providing small office spaces with administrative support, effectively acting as a precursor to modern co-working spaces with their 'fully equipped offices for less than the cost of a secretary' tagline.
Cision Canada
5 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Net Zero Now Clears Key Milestone on 320-Acre Energy Campus, Accelerating Alberta's Low-Carbon Data Center Infrastructure Build Out
CALGARY, AB, July 4, 2025 /CNW/ - Net Zero Now Ltd. ("Net Zero") is pleased to announce the completion of environmental studies on its first energy campus in Alberta, a 320-acre site specifically selected to meet the infrastructure requirements and locational preferences of both electricity generation and data centers. With data centers applying for 16,229MW of load capacity from the electricity grid in Alberta, and the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) imposing an interim large load connection limit of 1,200MW, Net Zero's energy campus is solving the most critical constraint in Canada's fastest-growing data center market: access to electricity where data centers want to operate. "As the AESO's large-load interconnection queue grew exponentially, we recognized the need for a fundamentally different approach to powering these large loads," said Scott Martin, Head of Energy at Net Zero. "We're giving hyperscale operators the ability to directly connect through a co-located energy campus, or contract with our energy campus virtually through the electricity grid in order to bring their own generation online and serve a pre-existing site." The 320-acre energy campus provides a speed-to-market and low-cost electricity supply solution that includes 400MW of base load electricity generation, power quality services, backup supply, and an accompanying data center campus, the renderings of which are pictured above. In addition to the focus on achieving a net zero carbon emission electricity supply, Net Zero will deploy net zero building techniques to reduce the embodied and operational carbon footprint of its data center structures which include: advanced insulation systems, sustainable materials, and energy-efficient construction practices. "While Alberta is not currently ranked as a top-tier global data center market, we expect that will change in the near future as investors and operators look at the favourable electricity cost, tax environment, and foreign exchange rate that comes with doing business in Alberta," said Logan Downing, Head of Carbon Strategy at Net Zero. "Many data center operators are reluctant to enter a new market due to a lack of electricity supply, local contacts, or regulatory experience. We provide fully-permitted construction-ready energy campuses that enable speed-to-market, low-cost electricity supply, and a best-in-class carbon intensity to accelerate Alberta's position in the rapidly growing AI industry." Net Zero's energy campuses will bring more electricity supply online to help keep electricity costs low for all Albertans and Alberta-based businesses, while also contributing new property tax revenue and jobs to the communities. Net Zero is pleased to see how the Alberta government has positioned itself as an attractive location for data centers by creating a stable political environment, focusing on reducing red tape, and creating pathways to establish meaningful connections with the communities and First Nations. As a result, Net Zero is also evaluating additional strategic sites across Alberta to meet the growing electricity demand from data center operators. Net Zero Now is building the infrastructure backbone of Canada's digital future. Our energy campuses enable the co-location of electricity generation and compute load, accelerating access to shovel-ready projects with low-cost electricity and net zero carbon emissions at strategic locations in Alberta.
Global News
6 hours ago
- Global News
GTA home sales down year-over-year in June, listings up: real estate board
Greater Toronto Area-home sales ticked 2.4 per cent lower in June compared with a year earlier as 6,243 properties changed hands, while new listings rose. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says sales were up 8.1 per cent from May on a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, as the housing market 'continued to show signs of recovery.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The board says 19,839 new properties were listed in the GTA last month, up 7.7 per cent compared with last year. TRREB president Elechia Barry-Sproule says that with more listings available and lower borrowing costs than this time last year, home ownership is becoming more attainable and buyers have been negotiating discounts on asking prices. The average selling price decreased 5.4 per cent compared with a year earlier to $1,101,691, and the composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 5.5 per cent year-over-year. Story continues below advertisement Active listings hit 31,603 last month, up 30.8 per cent from June 2024's inventory of 24,169 homes.
