RobCo, a Munich-based robotics startup, aims to bring automation to small and medium-sized factories which lag behind their large-scale competitors. The company is the creator of low-cost, modular robots to easily assist smaller factories. Co-founded by Forbes 30 Under 30 alumni Roman Hözl, the startup has successfully raised $43 million in a recent round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
The funding will support RobCo’s plan to enhance its robots’ AI capabilities, for instance, making them smarter and more efficient at their tasks. In his interaction with Forbes, the company’s CEO Hözl pointed out that they leverage AI to determine a given task, “You upload your factory, and we determine the ideal motion with AI,” he said.
Since its establishment in 2020, RobCo has now reached a total investment of $61 million and is valued at around $200 million. The company’s robots have a significant differentiation from the complex, custom-designed systems linked with larger factories. RobCo’s models are modular and cost-effective, appealing to smaller manufacturers seeking flexibility and economical solutions.
Presenting the company’s approach, Hözl expressed, “It’s a Lego model enabled by a software platform.” By now, RobCo’s robots are used for standard factory tasks like loading material into machines, offloading completed parts, and organizing pallets.
In the face of labor shortages, manufacturers are turning to automation solutions like those provided by RobCo. The company offers its robots as a service ranging from $2000 to $4000 per month – less than the cost of a machine operator’s monthly shift. Encouragingly, around 70% of RobCo’s clients are deploying robots for the first time.
Alex Schmidt, a Lightspeed partner based in Berlin, praised the startup’s strategy, acknowledging that it could successfully “untap that market” of smaller businesses where automation is nearly nonexistent.
RobCo was conceived from research that Hözl began at the Technical University of Munich, one of Germany’s preeminent robotics research centers. Alongside co-founders Paul Maroldt and Constantin Dressel, Hözl left his Ph.D. program to start the company.
Source: German Robotics Startup Raises $43 Million To Automate Smaller Factories.
