Wandelbots Raises $84M Series C for Robot Teaching Software

For more tasks to be automated, software is needed to make robots more intuitive to instruct. Wandelbots GmbH, which offers software to make industrial robots more accessible, last week said it has raised more than $84 million in Series C funding. The Dresden, Germany-based company said it will use the funding to scale its flagship teaching solution to support more robots, applications, and regions worldwide.

“I’m very proud to see Wandelbots’ mission become a reality," said Christian Piechnick, co-founder and CEO of Wandelbots. "Our platform will help to accelerate human-centered robotics solutions in the industry."

Founded in 2017, the company said its "no-code" approach to automation enables application experts to teach their robots independently and become robot experts without the need for coding skills. Wandelbots has more than 140 employees from 17 countries.

Wandelbots aims to ease robot coding

Wandelbots Teaching offers easy-to-use software interfaces, and the hardware-agnostic platform allows for one centralized interface for all robots, claimed the company. By making robotics programming simple, Wandelbots said it empowers companies of all sizes to use robots on their shop floors.

Leading robot manufacturers such as Unversal Robots and Yaskawa use Wandelbots' software at customers like BMW, Bayer, VW, Fraunhofer, Schaeffler, Rotop, and Vitesco. The company has also partnered with operational technology (OT) systems integrators in Europe such as Gibas, Alumotion, Heidenbluth, and Sojka.

Wandelbots plans to use its latest financing to open its Robotics Software Platform to automation providers and the third-party developer community. The opening will enable developers to build their own robotics applications on top of a manufacturer-agnostic control plane, the company said.

Insight Parters leads funding, joins board

Insight Partners led Wandelbots' Series C round. Existing investors 83North, Microsoft, Next47, Paua, Atlantic Labs, Haniel, and EQT also participated. The company has raised more than $123 million to date.

“One of the largest challenges we see in the adoption of robotics and increased automation, from a time, cost, and talent perspective, is robot programming," said Philine Huizing, principal at Insight Partners. "Wandelbots dramatically streamlines robot programming across OEMs and manufacturers using a platform approach."

"Their impressive manufacturing partnerships and strong technical team have made Wandelbots a standout in the industry," she added. "Wandelbots’ long-term vision is to be the universal control plane for the massively complex and fragmented ecosystem of robotics. We look forward to partnering with the Wandelbots team as they continue to grow and realize their vision of democratizing the robotics market.”

Huzing will join Wandelbots' board. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. The New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm funds high-growth technology and software companies.

"We look forward to working with Insight Partners and can’t wait to see what developers will create in the future based on our transformative technology," Piechnick said.

Wandelbots said it will also use the funding to expand its global footprint, accelerate hiring, and build go-to-market organizations in the U.S. and Asia.