Fresh from €1.2 billion raise, NEURA Robotics acquires Adlatus Robotics to give cleaning robots a “new brain”

In a deal announced today, NEURA Robotics, a Metzingen-based cognitive robotics startup, acquired 100% of Adlatus Robotics, an Ulm-based maker of autonomous cleaning robots. The acquisition was completed through NEURA Mobile Robots GmbH, NEURA's logistics and automated-vehicle arm, and includes Adlatus's existing customer base of cleaning and sweeping robots within NEURA's "Neuraverse" platform.

NEURA's founder and CEO, David Reger, emphasized the strategic importance of the acquisition, stating that the objective is not solely to add cleaning robots to their portfolio, but rather to imbue these machines with a "new brain." He explained that NEURA is developing a platform where robots can not only navigate their environment but also comprehend and learn from their surroundings, marking a new generation of physical AI machines.

This acquisition follows closely after NEURA Mobile Robots completed the purchase of Bosch Rexroth's ACTIVE Shuttle automated guided vehicle business, integrating Bosch's ACTIVE Fleet Manager and ROKIT navigation software into the NEURA Group. NEURA Robotics, founded in 2019, specializes in building cognitive robots such as the humanoid 4NE1 and the MAiRA and LARA robotic arms, along with the necessary software and AI infrastructure.

The company is creating a new AI infrastructure where robots can continuously learn and share skills across various real-world environments through a shared intelligence ecosystem called the Neuraverse. This is a departure from traditional robotics companies that focus on isolated machines or narrow industrial automation, instead combining robotics, AI, sensors, edge compute, and large-scale learning infrastructure into a single unified platform architecture designed for global deployment.

NEURA's recent capital raise has significantly bolstered their operations. In June, they raised a Series C financing of up to €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion), described as the largest round ever raised by a full-stack robotics company. The company's order book and deployment pipeline already exceed €864.8 million ($1 billion), and the new capital will be used to scale manufacturing towards several million robots in production by 2030 and expand their network of "NEURA Gyms" - real-world training environments for cognitive robots.

NEURA Mobile Robots, headquartered in Hamburg, specializes in developing and delivering mobile transport robotics for production and warehouse logistics for international companies under its ek robotics brand. Adlatus, based in Ulm, Germany, boasts over 20 years of experience in building autonomous cleaning robots for various industries such as industry, logistics, healthcare, and commercial and public spaces.

They also develop their own navigation software and possess deep knowledge of real-world cleaning operations. NEURA envisions the Neuraverse as an open platform, aiming to allow other manufacturers of cleaning and mobile robots to eventually integrate their machines into the system. Reger highlighted the collaborative nature of this ecosystem, stating that physical AI will only truly scale if it becomes an ecosystem.