Swiss startup mimic raises €13.8M to bring human-like dexterity to industrial robots

Switzerland’s mimic secures €13.8M to deploy frontier physical AI for robots that can handle complex, dexterous tasks in manufacturing and logistics.

Zurich-based mimic, a robotics company, has raised $16M (nearly €13.86M) in an oversubscribed seed round funding led by Elaia, with participation from Speedinvest.

The round also saw participation from Founderful, 1st Kind, 10X Founders, 2100 Ventures, and the Sequoia Scout Fund, bringing the company’s total funding to more than $20M.

mimic develops physical AI systems that enable robots to perform dexterous tasks beyond the scope of standard machines. The company plans to use the new capital to advance its foundation AI model, refine its robotic hand technology, and expand deployments with global industry partners.

According to mimic, the funding will support efforts to scale its technology across multiple sectors where adaptable robotic systems are in demand.

Andreas Schwarzenbrunner, General Partner at Speedinvest, says, “At Speedinvest, we’ve always believed that Europe’s strength lies in marrying world-class engineering with foundational research. With mimic, we see exactly that: a platform that unlocks human-level dexterity with frontier AI and solves billion-dollar problems on factory floors today. This is the moment Europe steps forward to compete and lead in the new era of AI and robotics”

Teaching robots to work like people

mimic is developing physical AI systems that enable robots to perform tasks based on real human demonstrations. The company’s approach focuses on transferring human motion data to robotic platforms through direct learning.

mimic’s method involves skilled operators wearing custom data collection devices while performing routine work on factory floors. The devices record motion and interaction data in real production settings without interrupting workflow. These datasets train AI models through imitation learning, allowing robots to replicate human movements and respond to changes in position, orientation, or contact during operation.

“Humanoids are exciting, but there aren’t many industrial scenarios where the full-body form factor truly adds value,” says Stephan-Daniel Gravert, co-founder and CPO at mimic. “Our approach pairs AI-driven dexterous robotic hands with proven, off-the-shelf robot arms to deliver the same capabilities in a way that is much simpler, more reliable and rapidly deployable.”

The company’s current efforts include building a foundation AI model and robotic hands that bring human-like manipulation to machines across sectors such as manufacturing, assembly, and logistics. The systems are designed to function autonomously within environments originally built for people.

“Our general-purpose AI models allow us to automate manual labour in a way that simply was not possible before,” says Elvis Nava, co-founder and CTO at mimic. “Thanks to our unique focus on human-like dexterity and human data, we are competitive at the robot foundation model layer as well as the application layer.”

mimic was founded in 2024 by Stefan Weirich (CEO), Stephan-Daniel Gravert (CPO), Elvis Nava (CTO), Benedek Forrai (Founding Engineer), and Robert Katzschmann (Scientific Advisor).

Expanding physical AI deployments

mimic is working with manufacturers and logistics providers to bring physical AI into large-scale operations. Its technology is under pilot with Fortune 500 companies, global automotive firms, and multinational logistics operators, addressing tasks that depend on human skill and coordination.

Founded as a spin-off from ETH Zurich, mimic employs a team of 25 engineers, researchers, and operators. The company has received non-dilutive funding from Switzerland’s federal innovation agency and participated in the AWS Generative AI Accelerator, a program supporting early-stage firms applying advanced AI to industrial challenges.

Stefan Weirich, co-founder & CEO at mimic, says, “We’re at an inflection point in robotics where learning-based systems meet real industrial needs. We make dexterity deployable at scale, closing the gap between what AI can do in the lab and what factories actually need. Europe has the talent, the infrastructure, and the demand, and we’re building the company that brings all of this together.”

Clément Vanden Driessche, Partner at Elaia, mentions, “Elaia is thrilled to lead the seed round in mimic. The world-class team at mimic is addressing one of the most challenging problems in physical AI: dexterous manipulation. mimic’s breakthrough approach integrates a proprietary robotic hand, state-of-the-art foundation models for robotics, and novel data acquisition and training methods.” Vincent Faber, Investment Manager at Elaia, adds, “This enables autonomous, versatile manipulation and unlocks a previously untapped segment of the automation market, where the demand for flexible solutions continues to grow.”