Arx Robotics, formerly Arx Landsysteme, is a manufacturer of scalable robotic systems for use in military and commercial applications. The NATO Innovation Fund is leading the recently completed financing round. At nine million euros, it is the largest seed financing round to date for a European defense tech startup.
At the heart of Arx is the modular Gereon family of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). These can be equipped for a variety of military scenarios, including firing exercises and simulations, transport and medical evacuation, and sensor applications for reconnaissance missions. Several European armies are already using the Gereon robots, including those from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, and Ukraine.
Marc Wietfeld, CEO and co-founder of Arx, explains:
"The armies of Western democracies are unprepared for robot-assisted warfare. To significantly improve the capabilities of our armed forces, a networked critical mass of autonomous unmanned ground systems that can be manufactured easily and decentrally is required. Arx aims to contribute to Europe's technological sovereignty. This will be achieved by developing software-defined systems and manufacturing adaptable hardware to meet the demand for robust and autonomous unmanned systems."
Arx wants to expand production in Europe
Arx was founded by former soldiers. The founding team, consisting of Marc Wietfeld, Stefan Röbel, and Maximilian Wied, combines military knowledge, technical skills, and entrepreneurial experience. With the funds from the new financing round, the startupto expand the team and production capacities in Europe. In addition to the NATO Innovation Fund as the lead investor, Project A Ventures and Discovery Ventures also support Arx's mission.
Chris O'Connor from the NATO Innovation Fund commented on the funding:
"The war in Ukraine has shown that unmanned warfare is a future we must prepare for. While tremendous progress has been made with drones, ground autonomy remains a difficult problem to solve. The Arx team has developed a cost-effective, modular ground system that can be mass-produced and used in both military and civilian applications. Their experience with the armed forces and their sense of urgency to provide a solution to their customers make them a leader in this field. We are honored to support Arx in this round of financing so the company can expand its production across Europe."
And Uwe Horstmann added by Project A Ventures:
"We were impressed by Arx early on, having already accompanied the company's ideation process in our studio and then led their pre-seed round. Autonomous robots will fundamentally change the world in terms of safety and efficiency. The team has demonstrated a remarkable ability to develop robust and modular ground robots at scale for dual-use scenarios for both government and civilian customers."
