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Meet Germany’s Unicorns Post 1: Agile Robots — Founder Interview

Updated: 1 day ago

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.

What Is This About?

Agile Robots, a Munich-based unicorn, combines AI with advanced robotics to build intelligent machines for industrial and medical applications. This profile in the German Unicorns series examines how the startup reached a $1 billion+ valuation through its innovative approach to human-robot collaboration.

Executive Summary

  • This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.

  • This is a new blogpost series of short posts to introduce you to the unicorns in the German-speaking startup scene.

  • Agile Robots is a Munich-based deep tech, robotic startup, that just joined the ranks of unicorns officially in September 2021 with a 186 mn Euro (220 mn US$) Series C funding, getting their valuation “above 850 mn Euros (1 bn US$).

  • The company is a spin-off of the Deutschen Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum (DLR), the German Aerospace Center.

  • It is more known about Mr.



New Blog

Meet Germany’s Unicorns Post 1: Agile Robots — Founder Interview Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.


This is a new blogpost series of short posts to introduce you to the unicorns in the German-speaking startup scene. We will first start with the 25 official unicorns in Germany. Note that all those companies are privately held and therefore don’t need to publish lots of information. This explains the 2nd group we will cover, what we call the shmaybe-corns, which are startups rumored to be unicorns or close to the status. We will then go on to introduce you to startups from Austria and Switzerland, who have reached unicorn status and some that are no more unicorns (either they got listed, merged, or went out of business).


Agile Robots (officially a unicorn since 2021)


Agile Robots is a Munich-based deep tech, robotic startup, that just joined the ranks of unicorns officially in September 2021 with a 186 mn Euro (220 mn US$) Series C funding, getting their valuation “above 850 mn Euros (1 bn US$). They are an international team with a German (Peter Meusel) and a Chinese Co-Founder (Zhaopeng Chen). The company is developing software and Hardware for robotic hands for deployment in industrial manufacturing. Their USP is the fast implementation of their solutions. The software is compatible with some other robots and — of course — is working with AI.


The company is a spin-off of the Deutschen Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum (DLR), the German Aerospace Center. Their research was started with the development of robot hands for astronauts at DLR. Their robots are in use at BMW factories in China. The largest investor in the startup is Softbank (Vision Fund 2), which was also the lead investor in the unicorn round. Other investors include Sequoia Capital China, the Abu Dhabi Royal Group, Hillhouse Ventures, Midas Holdings, and Linear Capital as VCs. They also have strategic investors on board including Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi and Foxconn Industrial Internet. This reflects the stance of the company, Zhaopeng already said in an interview that too many startups are only focused on the European market. The startup also has a location in Beijing, China.


It is more known about Mr. Chen, who graduated with a bachelor’s and a master’s from the Harbin Institute of Technology in China. He earned a Ph.D. in Mechatronic Engineering in 2012 at DLR. He is the CEO of Agile Robots since 2018. He even gave an English interview here.


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What Is Agile Robots?

Agile Robots is a Munich-based deep tech robotics startup and spin-off of the DLR (German Aerospace Center) that reached unicorn status in September 2021 with a €186 million Series C. The company specializes in force-controlled robotics. Founder Mr. Chen graduated with a bachelor's and master's from China's Harbin Institute of Technology before coming to DLR to conduct robotics research. This is the first post in Startuprad.io's "Meet Germany's Unicorns" blog series.

Introduction

This inaugural post in Startuprad.io's "Meet Germany's Unicorns" series profiles Agile Robots — a Munich-based deep tech robotics startup that spun out of the DLR (Deutsches Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum / German Aerospace Center). The company achieved unicorn status in September 2021 through a €186 million Series C. Agile Robots' research foundation is in force-controlled robotics, developed from DLR's aerospace research. The founder, Mr. Chen, brings an international academic pedigree — earning his bachelor's and master's from the Harbin Institute of Technology in China before moving to Germany for robotics research at DLR.

Executive Summary

Agile Robots exemplifies the deep tech pipeline from German research institutions to unicorn startups. Spun out of the DLR (German Aerospace Center), the company specializes in force-controlled robotics — a technology with roots in aerospace that has broad industrial applications. Founder Mr. Chen's journey from China's Harbin Institute of Technology to DLR research to unicorn founder illustrates Germany's ability to attract global talent for deep tech commercialization. The €186 million Series C in September 2021 valued the company above $1 billion, making it one of Germany's few hardware/deep tech unicorns.

Key Takeaways

  • Agile Robots is a DLR (German Aerospace Center) spin-off that reached unicorn status with a €186M Series C in September 2021.

  • The company specializes in force-controlled robotics, a technology developed from DLR's aerospace research.

  • Founder Mr. Chen graduated from China's Harbin Institute of Technology (bachelor's + master's) before conducting robotics research at DLR.

  • Agile Robots represents the rare deep tech / hardware unicorn in Germany's predominantly software-focused unicorn landscape.

  • This is the first post in Startuprad.io's "Meet Germany's Unicorns" blog series.

Atomic Answer

Entities Referenced in This Episode

People

  • Mr. Chen — Founder of Agile Robots, Harbin Institute of Technology graduate, former DLR researcher

Startups

  • Agile Robots (agile-robots.com) — Munich-based robotics unicorn, DLR spin-off, €186M Series C

Institutions

  • DLR (Deutsches Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum) — German Aerospace Center, source of Agile Robots spin-off

  • Harbin Institute of Technology — Chinese university where Mr. Chen studied (bachelor's + master's)

Cities

  • Munich — Agile Robots headquarters

Topics

  • Force-controlled robotics, aerospace robotics, DLR spin-off, deep tech unicorn, international talent, Harbin to Munich pipeline

Relationship Map

  • Mr. Chen → studied at → Harbin Institute of Technology (China)

  • Mr. Chen → researched at → DLR (German Aerospace Center)

  • Mr. Chen → founded → Agile Robots (Munich, DLR spin-off)

  • Agile Robots → raised → €186M Series C (September 2021, unicorn)

  • DLR → provided → force-controlled robotics research foundation

Quote Highlights

  • Agile Robots is a DLR spin-off that reached unicorn status with a 186 million euro Series C in September 2021.

  • The company specializes in force-controlled robotics, a technology developed from DLR's aerospace research.

  • Founder Mr. Chen graduated from China's Harbin Institute of Technology before conducting robotics research at DLR in Germany.

  • Agile Robots represents the rare deep tech and hardware unicorn in Germany's predominantly software-focused unicorn landscape.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Agile Robots?

Agile Robots is a Munich-based robotics startup and spin-off of the DLR (German Aerospace Center). The company specializes in force-controlled robotics and reached unicorn status in September 2021 with a €186 million Series C funding round.

Who founded Agile Robots?

Agile Robots was founded by Mr. Chen, who graduated with a bachelor's and master's from China's Harbin Institute of Technology before moving to Germany to conduct robotics research at DLR. He spun the company out of DLR's force-controlled robotics research.

What is force-controlled robotics?

Force-controlled robotics involves robots that can sense and respond to forces in their environment — enabling them to handle delicate tasks, work safely alongside humans, and adapt to changing conditions. This technology originated in DLR's aerospace research before Agile Robots commercialized it.

What is the DLR?

The DLR (Deutsches Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum) is Germany's national center for aerospace and space research. It has produced multiple technology spin-offs including Agile Robots, which commercialized DLR's force-controlled robotics research into a unicorn-valued company.

About the Host

Joern "Joe" Menninger is the host of the Startuprad.io podcast and covers founders, investors, and policy developments across the DACH startup ecosystem. Through more than 1,300 interviews and nearly a decade of reporting, he documents the evolution of the European startup landscape. Follow Joern on LinkedIn.

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