Robots sort Zalando returns: Stuttgart's Sereact shows its AI-driven arms at work

Stuttgart-based robotics company Sereact has released a video showing its AI-controlled dual-arm robots processing Zalando returns. According to the companies' announcement of October 7, the systems are in live operation at two CEVA Logistics sites in Greven, Germany, and Świebodzin, Poland. It is the first phase of a plan to automate returns handling across Europe; the robots are rented as a service ("robotics-as-a-service").

At the core is Sereact's AI platform Cortex, which is designed to grasp, identify and sort items the system has never seen before – without product-specific training. "Returns are the hardest manipulation problem in fashion logistics," said Sereact CEO and co-founder Ralf Gulde. The companies say staff will be relieved of repetitive handling and will instead supervise stations, handle exceptions and check quality.

On October 21, Sereact also announced an official partnership with Teradyne Robotics, the parent of robot makers Universal Robots and MiR. According to the companies, hundreds of Universal Robots arms are already working in Sereact's dual-arm systems at customer sites in Europe; Cortex is trained with Nvidia simulation software. Sereact was founded by Ralf Gulde and Marc Tuscher and raised $116 million in a 2026 funding round, with Zalando joining as a strategic investor in July.