Broaned by venture capital, robotics makes a remarkable return in the portfolios of some informed European investors. The case of Filics, which has just raised 13.5 million euros to industrialize its flat robots dedicated to intralogistic, illustrates this inflection. Hybrid solutions, combining light equipment and software management now appeal to certain funds.
In the 2010s, hardware had a bad press in venture capital, too risky, too capital, too slow. Scalable software platforms, with a recurring SaaS model, won most of the attention. However, the convergence of crises rebats cards and robots today are no longer seen as gadgets, but as concrete industrial responses to physical bottlenecks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdzbotdebuw
The robot as an entry point into the software
Filics, Munich Startup founded in 2019, is part of this logic, with its first product, the Filics Unit. The latter is based on a torque of flat robots capable of slipping under pallets to move them independently. At the key, up to 66 % space savings in ground warehouses, a major gain for logistics operators.
But beyond the material, it is The orchestration software platform which attracts attention. Autonomous navigation, flow optimization, integration with WMS and ERP systems: system intelligence does not reside so much in the robot itself as in its ability to be controlled remotely, coordinated in swarms, and integrated into heterogeneous environments.
This architecture Hardware + software Constitutes a differentiation lever, the robot is a physical terminal in a system piloted by algorithms, a model that brings robotics closer to SaaS logic, while relying on a hardly replicable material basis.
An investment thesis in changing
It is this approach that funds such as Alven,, Sandwater,, F-LOG Venturesor Capnamicwho participated in the lifting of Filics, joined by theAmazon Industrial Innovation Fund.
The return of robots in VC wallets does not mean the return of robot factories. It is a question of investing in solutions with high technological density, capable of generating margins via service, analysis, predictive maintenance or rental on demand.
Robot produced in the robot service
This switch is part of a broader movement: The »as-a-service” of the physical world, cAs for vehicle fleets or industrial machines, robots become a line in an operating dashboard, controlled remotely, and deployed on demand.
Society Wirefounded in 2019 in Munich, therefore loops a round of table 13.5 million euros led by Sandwater,, Alven,, F-LOG Ventures and the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fundwith the participation of Bayern Kapital,, Capnamic,, 10x Foundersas well as business angels like Andrei Danescu (Dexory) and Helmut Schmid (ex-agilox). The founders are Gregor Kolls,, Julian Ludwig And Tobias Hey. Funding will make it possible to industrialize the product, strengthen the software platform, and prepare a European expansion in 2026.
