The Munich-based robotics start-up RobCo is the latest unicorn to emerge from the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Founded six years ago by three former robotics students from the TUM Chair of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Real-Time Systems, the company focuses on AI-powered automation solutions for industrial manufacturing. It is now the 24th unicorn to emerge from TUM's entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Axel Griesch In brief
- Valued at over one billion euros for the first time.
- Three TUM students founded the start-up six years ago
- 'Plug-and-play' as the core concept
According to the company, its valuation has more than doubled since the start of the year and has now exceeded the billion mark for the first time. The company was founded in 2020 by Paul Maroldt, Constantin Dresel and the current CEO, Roman Hölzl.
TUM president Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann: "Congratulations to co-founders Paul Maroldt, Roman Hölzl, and Constantin Dresel. Your alma mater TUM is proud of you! Robotics and AI are fields where innovation grows directly out of cutting-edge research, and TUM has plenty of it to offer. Once again, this shows what research-driven entrepreneurship can make possible."
Simplicity as a strategy
RobCo's business model is based on simplicity: many small and medium-sized enterprises do not use robots due to their complexity and cost, even though they are suffering from labour shortages and losing their competitive edge. RobCo has developed a robot system for these companies that is easy to install via 'plug-and-play' and intuitive to operate. No specialist knowledge is required to use the software either. As the robots have a modular design, they can be adapted for various applications. The start-up also offers the robots for hire. The technology is based on research carried out at the Chair of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Realtime Systems led by Prof. Alois Knoll.
Intensive start-up support at TUM for RobCo
The founders - supported by Prof. Matthias Althoff - took their first steps towards setting up their own start-up with the help of the exist research transfer programme. In 2019, they won second place at the TUM IDEAward. The idea at the time was to develop a modular system consisting of just a few components, from which a wide range of different robots could be easily assembled and reconfigured with minimal effort. In 2024, the TUM graduates, operating as RobCo, reached the final of the Presidential Entrepreneurship Award. The three founders also received support from, amongst others, the XPRENEURS Incubator and the Centre for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM).
