Robco raises $100M Series C funding to dominate AI robotics manufacturing in US and Europe

Germany's Robco raises $100m to expand growing US presence

Robco says US is a strategic priority and a major growth market for its industrial robots. German automation start-up Robco has raised $100m in a Series C round to advance its physical AI roadmap, expand enterprise deployments and accelerate its US market presence. The major funding round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lingotto Innovation - an arm of Exor, alongside participation from Sequoia Capital, Greenfield Partners, Kindred Capital, Leitmotif and the Friedkin Group. Bloomberg reported that the latest infusion takes the company's valuation above $500m. "With $100m of additional funding, we will become the dominant AI robotics company for manufacturing in the US and Europe" said Roman Hölzl, the co-founder and CEO of Robco. "This will allow us to execute on our purpose of automating the ordinary, so humans can do the extraordinary." Founded in 2020 by three researchers at the Technical University of Munich, Robco develops AI-powered flexible robotic hardware kits for various applications in SME manufacturing, such as machine loading and unloading or palletising. The company develops hardware and software as a single full-stack platform. Robco said that its robots can acquire task-specific skills through demonstration and self-learning rather than manual programming, enabling faster deployment and easier adoption. Robco expanded into the US in 2025, currently operating in San Francisco and Austin outside of its headquarters in Munich. It said that the US has become a strategic priority and a major growth market with manufacturers in the country fast adopting automation efforts in response to labour constraints and reshoring initiatives. Robco raised $42.5m in its last funding round in 2024 led by Lightspeed. "After leading Robco's Series B, we're excited to double down and co-lead this $100m round," said Alexander Schmitt, a partner at the venture capital. "Our bar is exceptionally high, and Robco has continued to raise the standard for what modern robotics can look like in real-world production." Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

RobCo nabs $100M to scale autonomous industrial robotics platform - SiliconANGLE

RobCo nabs $100M to scale autonomous industrial robotics platform RobCo Inc., an artificial intelligence-driven robotics company, announced today that it has raised $100 million in a Series C funding to advance its automation roadmap and enterprise presence in markets within the United States. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lingotto Innovation co-led the round, alongside Sequoia Capital, Greenfield Partners, Kindred Capital, Leitmotif and The Friedkin Group. "With $100 million of additional funding, we will become the dominant AI robotics company for manufacturing in the U.S. and Europe," said founder and Chief Executive Roman Hölzl. "This will allow us to execute on our purpose of automating the ordinary, so humans can do the extraordinary." RobCo provides the hardware and software for what is increasingly known as physical AI, a branch of artificial intelligence that combines AI with machines. It enables robotics and autonomous systems to perceive, understand and interact with the physical world in real time. Unlike software-only AI, which only produces text, images, audio and the like, it combines AI models with sensors and actuators to move beyond digital-only tasks and perform "embodied" actions, such as moving robot arms, cars, opening doors and windows, or otherwise manipulating the environment. Founded in 2020 in Munich, the company expanded into the U.S. in 2025 and now has offices in San Francisco and Austin. Hölzl said the U.S. is a priority for the company and a major growth market as manufacturers continue to modernize. The company's robotics and software have been deployed across a range of industrial environments, including large global manufacturers, such as automotive and engineering, such as BMW AG and Rosenberger Group. RobCo's robots are developed from day one to acquire task-specific skills through demonstration and self-learning rather than manual programming. This enables them for faster deployment, rapid iteration and makes them adaptable to a multitude of industrial situations and variable processes. The company describes this as "acting as a single pane of glass" for customers in its own parlance. Robots are delivered through a recurring robots-as-a-service model, supporting industries to automate a wide range of industrial workflows, including machine tending, palletizing, dispensing and welding. "RobCo has what it takes to build a global champion: systems that already deliver in industrial environments today and a platform grounded in Physical AI that can scale across use cases and geographies," said Alexander Schmitt, a partner at Lightspeed.