RobCo raises $42.5 million, led by Lightspeed and followed by Sequoia

In recent years, the field of industrial automation has been undergoing profound changes.

Global automakers and large manufacturing companies have always been the largest users of industrial robots . But with the rapid development of technology and the reduction of costs, small and medium-sized enterprises have begun to embrace industrial robots and aim at automation upgrades.

Recently, RobCo, a robotics startup headquartered in Munich, Germany, announced the completion of a $42.5 million Series B financing round led by the well-known venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Kindred Capital, Promus Ventures and other institutions.

It is reported that the funds raised will be used to expand global distribution channels and product development. After the completion of this round of financing, RobCo's total financing amount will reach US$60 million.

RobCo was founded in 2020 by Roman H?lzl, director of the Department of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at the Technical University of Munich, and three other experts. It currently has more than 50 employees. RobCo is committed to developing flexible robotic solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. Its products include machine loading and unloading, dispensing, palletizing and welding. The company has multiple patents for modular robotic hardware, and also provides low-code programming and remote management platforms to help small and medium-sized enterprises easily implement automation.

Easy to use, greatly reducing the threshold for automation

Compared with traditional whole-machine solutions, RobCo's biggest advantage lies in modularity and low code.

The company's robot arm consists of 7-8 modular parts that can be freely combined, and the payload and working range can be adjusted according to actual needs. Users only need to perform simple configuration on the RobCo Studio digital platform to achieve remote management. RobCo Studio reduces the need for professional programming and debugging, greatly lowering the threshold for small and medium-sized enterprises to achieve automation, and the platform includes "future-oriented interfaces", as well as sensors and software layers to ensure the use of hardware.

Under the current dual pressures of labor shortage and capacity expansion, this simple and reliable automation solution is particularly important. According to actual user feedback, RobCo's solution can be put into use in a very short time, and immediately improves production efficiency and saves labor costs.

Help small and medium-sized enterprises industrialize and expand huge application space

For a long time, there has been a clear gap between small and medium-sized enterprises and large enterprises in the field of intelligent manufacturing, and the level of automation is seriously insufficient. RobCo's plug-and-play modular robots can provide companies with positive ROI on the first day of use, helping manufacturers cope with challenges such as labor shortages, production scalability and transition to Industry 4.0 .

In the foreseeable future, there is still room for further simplification and cost reduction of robotic automation. With the application and integration of new technologies such as 5G and AI, smart manufacturing will be used by more small and medium-sized enterprises. RobCo is taking the lead in this booming market and may become a leading company in manufacturing automation solutions for the new generation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the future.

This round of financing shows that industry investors recognize RobCo, which reflects the good expectations for the transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the era of Industry 4.0. Alex Schmitt, partner of Lightspeed, pointed out: "The high cost and technical complexity are huge challenges for many small and medium-sized enterprises, and RobCo has made a breakthrough in this field."

“The fact that a venture capital giant like Lightspeed is backing our next steps with a $42.5 million round tells us that we’re on the right path — and it’s an incredible motivation for all of us to take our solution to the next level,” said Hölzl, the company’s founder.