Metzingen-based Neura Robotics GmbH (NEURA), an emerging AI and robotics startup, announced the closing of a €15 million investment round with American private equity firm InterAlpen Partners. This comes less than three months after the German company closed a €52 million funding round with leading European investors, garnering recognition from the New York Stock Exchange. InterAlpen’s investment in Neura will bolster its growth and expansion into the U.S. market.
Robots based on the NEURA Robotics platform are able to see, hear and perceive touch. Combined with reflexive sensory processing, these capabilities are essential for autonomous and predictive action. With the founding team’s vast expertise in robotics and artificial intelligence, these collaborative robots (cobots) are being developed to collaborate with humans in various industries and in a wide range of environments. NEURA is on track to bring the first multi-purpose humanoid robot to market, developed as a solution for the increasing shortage of skilled workers.
“NEURA Robotics represents one of the most compelling companies we’ve seen in our careers,” said InterAlpen founder Stephen George. “Their mission of empowering humanity with robotics is highly aligned with InterAlpen’s sustainable impact mission. We believe that the amazing products and partnerships that the team have created will power NEURA to become a global industry leader in the rising field of collaborative robotics.”
It took founder and CEO David Reger only three years to make NEURA an industry leader in cognitive robotics. As the first company to combine AI and robotics, NEURA unveiled the world’s first market-ready cognitive cobot, named MAiRA, shortly after its founding. MAiRA is autonomous and can fully perceive its environment and humans it comes into contact with. These kinds of advances provide NEURA and their partners with applications for multiple sectors, including manufacturing, hospitality and elder care. The steadily growing product line of cobots offers unmatched flexibility and cost efficiency in automation.
“Having an American investor on board creates the perfect conditions for our U.S. market launch in 2024,” commented Reger. “We’re proud to partner with InterAlpen, particularly because Stephen George is truly an entrepreneur-investor. He was an early investor in Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter and Epic Systems, and can sense the next big thing. InterAlpen believes that forward-looking AI and first-class hardware made in Germany will not only change robotics, but change the world.”
Founded in 2019 NEURA’s imminent expansion comes at an opportune time. The U.S. is the biggest market for robotics in the world, generating an estimated $7.7 billion in revenue in 2023. The global robotics market is expected to grow steadily to a market volume of $45 billion by 2028.
