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Robco’s modular robotic arms are made up of seven or eight modules. | Supply: Robco

Robco, a Munich-based startup that builds modular robots to automate processes in small to medium-sized industrial companies, introduced in round $13.8 million, or €13 million, in Collection A funding, in line with reporting from TechCrunch.

Sequoia led the funding spherical, which additionally included participation from Kindred Capital, Promus Ventures, Torsten Reil, Christian Reber and Daniel Dines. Based on Sequoia, Robco stands other than different robotics platforms due to its flexibility. With Robco, customers can change their robots’ capabilities to adapt to their altering manufacturing wants. 

Robco has discovered its area of interest in automation by automating tough duties and constructing robotics which might be cost-effective sufficient to be obtainable to smaller producers. Robco’s modular robotics options at the moment have three end-effector parts which might be able to lathe turning, laser engraving and palletizing. The corporate hopes so as to add extra modules over time, particularly in milling and high quality inspection. 

Robco’s robotic arms are made up of seven or eight modular items which have various payload capacities and ranges relying on the use case. For instance, the corporate’s machine tending laser resolution is made up of eight modules, has a 4 kg (8.8 lbs) payload, and has an 800 mm (31.5″) vary. In the meantime, its palletizing resolution, which additionally makes use of eight modules, has an 8.5 kg (18.7 lb) payload and 1,300 mm (51″) vary. 

The corporate plans to make use of the funding to develop the capabilities of its modules, proceed including extra purchasers and develop its geographical attain, together with into the U.S. market.

Robco’s robots are supplied underneath the robots as a service (RaaS) mannequin. RaaS fashions enable corporations to begin automating with out having a giant chunk of capital to offer upfront.

Robco sometimes costs $1,000/month for its robots, whereas general costs can run as excessive as $4,000/month. The general price depends upon how advanced the consumer’s robotic setup can be. Robco’s robots will be deployed in just some days.

Robco was based in 2020 by Roman Hoelzl, now the CEO, Paul Maroldt, now head of robotic engineering, and Constantin Dresel, now the top of software engineering, as a spin-out from the Technical College of Munich.