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49 startups and 2.1 billion euros in funding
Admittedly, we've already covered robotics startups from Munich in this podcast. But with 49 startups included in our insights into this industry, there's obviously much more to talk about, which you can hear starting at minute 2:25. For example, the industry's total valuation is €2.1 billion—with just over €900 million going to the unicorn Agile Robots, a very large portion. Incidentally, Munich-based robotics startups have raised over €347 million in funding this year alone.
And the market for robots is also huge: According to the International Federation of Robotics, global sales of professional service robots reached $6.7 billion in 2020—a 12 percent increase over the previous year. According to the association, a total of 131,800 units were sold last year, 41 percent more than the previous year.
Robots: Modular and Social
In the future, there will be even more – and then also from Munich startups like RobCo (formerly Kea Robotics or Flexmate). Founded in mid-2020, the company has developed a modular robot that is primarily aimed at SMEs. The special feature of this solution is that the robots can be flexibly constructed from a standard set of modules. This allows for the creation of almost any robot setup that is plug-and-play and ready for use at the customer's site. You can learn more from minute 3:35.
Also Navel Robotics (from minute 5:25) dreams of boosting sales with its robots. However, the Munich-based company's helper is still in the testing phase. With Germany's first social robot, the startup aims to focus on social settings, providing support in retirement and nursing homes, for example. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the startup in its development.
Software for artificial helpers
In addition to hardware, software also plays a major role in robotics. Sometimes, new solutions even make individual components completely obsolete. The startup Visevi Robotics is working on exactly that: With the help of its computer vision solution, it wants to teach robotic arms to sensitively pick up any type of object. This involves using only a single camera, eliminating the need for additional sensors. You can hear the rest starting at minute 7:35.
Robominds (from minute 9:25) has set itself the goal of teaching robots to see, understand, grasp, and coordinate independently. In this way, the system, called "Robobrain," is intended to be able to automatically control entire processes. Since Robominds operates independently of robot and component manufacturers and their interfaces, any company can integrate the startup's solution into its production or logistics environment.
The Initiative for Industrial Innovators
From minute 11:00 we also take a look at the Initiative for Industrial InnovatorsThe European initiative aims to promote prototype development and early-stage startups. Specifically, it aims to have funded a total of 2,000 disruptive tech solutions by 2024. We explain exactly what they're looking for.
