Embotech raises 10 million Swiss francs

Embotech has raised 10 million Swiss francs in fresh capital as part of a Series A financing round led by ZF Friedrichshafen AG together with the South Korean firm VC FuturePlay and angel investors including Emilio Frazzoli, professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and co-founder of the firm nuTonomy. In addition, existing investors were also involved in the financing round. According to a press release, Embotech and ZF have agreed a partnership contract for the development of a common Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) solution.

With a total of 17 million Swiss francs raised to date, Embotech is “is well positioned to scale its efforts in the automation software for commercial and passenger vehicles as well as robotics on private grounds such as distribution centers, ports, car factories, mines and smart factories”, the company writes in the press release. Embotech combines these autonomous systems with robotics software for automated charging processes. There are just a handful of companies worldwide that can offer both of these aspects, Embotech CEO Andreas Kyrtatos states. Moreover, these electric vehicles are also able to charge themselves when required.

“While autonomous driving on public roads currently remains a promise of the future, applications on private grounds already offer a working business case to the end customer”, Kyrtatos explains in the press release. In terms of examples, he cites an OEM factory for passenger cars where vehicles autonomously drive off the production line as well as a logistics company transporting containers from a factory to an inland port.

The Series A financing will be put towards expanding the current 45-strong team by a further 50 percent over the coming two years, while the existing software products of the ETH spin-off and winner of the 2021 Swiss Technology Award will also be refined and enhanced. Moreover, Embotech will seek to “further develop full L4 autonomy systems for gated areas together with key partners”, the press release explains.