Next Generation Robotics (NGR), a Tuscan startup specializing in railway robotics and a spin-off from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, has successfully closed a €4.5 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by CDP Venture Capital SGR through its Digital Transition Fund, which utilizes resources allocated by the European Union's NextGeneration EU initiative to support the digital transformation of supply chains and small to medium-sized enterprises. The round also saw participation from the Toscana Next Fund—established and managed by CDP Venture Capital with backing from major Tuscan banking foundations—as well as RIF-T, AVM SGR's Cysero EuVECA Fund, Kilometro Rosso, SIMEST, Pariter Robotics, and RoboIT. Finanza Repubblica
Founded in 2020, NGR currently employs a team of 12, including 11 engineers, under the leadership of CEO and co-founder Massimiliano Gabardi. The company aims to become a reference point in the railway robotics sector. The newly acquired funds will be utilized to accelerate the company's growth, consolidate its presence in the European market, and expand internationally.
In collaboration with Trenitalia and the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, and with support from RoboIT since 2022, NGR has developed ARGO, a robot capable of autonomously inspecting the undercarriage of trains. This area includes critical mechanical safety components such as brakes and discs, as well as systems like connectors and piping, all of which require regular maintenance and inspection.
"We are very pleased with this significant milestone," said Massimiliano Gabardi. "It allows us to further highlight our flagship product, the ARGO robot, designed to automatically inspect train undercarriages and serve as an enabling technology for implementing innovative predictive maintenance strategies. Collaborations with key industrial partners like Trenitalia and Deutsche Bahn have enabled us to develop robotic solutions that meet the real needs of the sector. Thanks to the onboard availability of multiple sensors, including artificial vision systems, our robots can acquire real-time data aimed at training AI algorithms with increasingly predictive capabilities."
Please follow the news here