Munich-based RobCo, a provider of affordable and connected robotics automation solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has secured $42.5M (approximately €39.17M) in a Series B round of funding.
With this round, RobCo’s total investment surpasses $60M (approximately €55.29M).
RobCo facilitates SMEs’ entry into automation and addresses challenges such as skilled labour shortages, production scalability, and the transition to Industry 4.0.
Investors supporting RobCo
The investment came from global VC firm Lightspeed Venture Partners along with existing investor Sequoia Capital. Kindred Capital and Promus Ventures also participated in this round.
Alex Schmitt, Partner at Lightspeed, says, “The use of robotics in the industrial setting was previously reserved almost exclusively for large corporations with the corresponding financial and human resources.”
“High costs and enormous complexity made them partly unaffordable and challenging to manage for small and medium-sized enterprises. RobCo has already made a significant breakthrough in this field with its developments.”
“We recognise both technological and commercial potential for the German and international markets. It is crucial to optimally foster this potential and make robotic automation solutions accessible to all companies.”
Plug-and-play robot automation in SMEs
Founded in 2020 by a team led by Roman Hölzl – the Chair of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at the Technical University of Munich, RobCo specialises in creating flexible robotic hardware kits tailored for SME manufacturing.
The company’s kits, designed for applications like machine loading, unloading, and palletising, offer a modular and intuitive assembly through the vertically integrated hardware and software platform called RobCo Studio.
Roman Hölzl, CEO and co-founder of RobCo, says, “The ongoing development of our modular robotic platform for industrial use is crucial for addressing the current and future challenges in economy and society.”
“Today, our robots can already be set up, programmed, and managed with software and AI assistance. The next step is to make industrial robots even more autonomous and intelligent in their operational environment.”
“With our RobCo Autonomy approach, we focus on a deeper implementation of AI in our software so that robots can autonomously sense, reason, and act in their environment, planning and executing actions independently in the near future.”
The company’s platform allows remote configuration, implementation, and management of robots via a digital twin, using a low-code approach that eliminates the need for complex programming or specialised personnel.
Capital utilisation
RobCo will use the funds to expand its distribution channels and advance product development, supporting its overall development and growth strategy.
Co-founder Hölzl says, “We are only at the beginning of an extensive journey in automation and aim to become a leader in modular robot automation for SMEs in Europe. RobCo is uniquely positioned with its easy-to-implement robots that offer a positive ROI from day one.”
“We see ourselves as an extension of companies in automating their production and supporting the transformation towards Industry 4.0.”
“The fact that a venture capital powerhouse like Lightspeed supports our next steps with a $42.5M financing round tells us that we are on the right path – and is an incredible motivational boost for all of us to take our solutions to the next level.”
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