AILOS Robotics has taken a significant step forward in solving the challenges of modern robotics by securing €3.5 million to develop backdrivable gearboxes. Robotics enthusiasts have long felt that inefficient, rigid, and noisy mechanisms stood in the way of creating humanoid robots and cobots that could work safely and seamlessly alongside humans. With AILOS introducing their R2poweR gearbox, these barriers may soon start to dissolve.
Why this matters for robotics
At its core, backdrivable gearboxes allow movement in both directions between input and output, paired with high torque capability. This feature makes robots lighter, less power-hungry, and safer for handling dynamic forces or human interaction. For entrepreneurs and innovators focused on robotics, this evolution isn’t a small technical tweak, it opens doors to designing machines that are leaner on resources, friendlier in shared workspaces, and even applicable in medical technologies like exoskeletons and prosthetics.
AILOS Robotics, a Belgian startup led by Pablo López García, aims to commercialize this patented R2poweR architecture to overcome the widespread issues faced by conventional robotic gears. In robotic startups, I know how essential material versus operational changes are, having dealt with hardware limitations when my team at Fe/male Switch worked on integrating CAD products and scalability within early-stage ventures.
Funding details and investor motives
Let’s dive into the numbers. AILOS closed their seed round with support from QBIC, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Wallonie Entreprendre, and finance&invest.brussels. They aim to utilize this €3.5M jumpstart toward industrializing the R2poweR gearbox and preparing for high-volume manufacturing by 2028. Robot makers, including aspiring founders, stand to benefit by reducing production costs without sacrificing performance.
If you’ve been thinking about entering the robot manufacturing space, take a look at the possibilities. Using modular parts like these creates cost efficiency and sustainable demand, two areas investors like QBIC prioritize heavily, alongside fostering European technology leadership.
The lessons for female entrepreneurs
Having founded multiple ventures myself, I’ve learned that understanding the landscape of “market-ready technologies” is crucial if you wish to innovate strategically rather than waste resources chasing ideas. AILOS Robotics isn’t disrupting robotic systems; they’re improving components, making them transformative over time. This incremental change resonates with the approach of bootstrapped startups: test your core value proposition within a niche first, then scale globally.
Women-led startups too often steer away from heavy engineering projects, perceiving them as expensive or inaccessible. But innovation on the component level, like gearboxes for cobots, is a much better starting point than designing a hyper-advanced robot from scratch. When adding hardware to software development strengths, blending materials engineering partnerships, such as what AILOS seeks, offers actionable shortcuts to testing viability.
How robotics founders can seize this opportunity
If robotics fascinates you but you’re unsure where to begin, try reverse engineering simple cobot applications, such as lifting aids or automated joint technologies. Partner with hardware startups innovating specific elements like R2poweR. Good starting points for collaboration include firms like High-Tech Gründerfonds that back component-focused ventures. They see potential in startup ecosystems across medical device creation or safer factory automations.
Explore ways to balance early costs. Having scaled both game startups focused on virtual education and hardware-centric F/M initiatives for female innovators, I strongly recommend two paths: clip together grant funding and mid-value VC rounds from bodies like EU-backed funds; or make proposals targeting efficiency improvements for outside manufacturers.
Common mistakes to watch out for when entering deeptech
Startups often make the mistake of jumping too fast toward finished systems without first validating component technologies. Focusing energy into perfecting key elements, like smooth human-robot interfacing via gearbox designs, is what saves time and avoids long product delays. Coordination with distribution channels also takes time; lean into partnerships rather than overproducing.
The takeaway for future founders
AILOS Robotics’ journey, from concept to commercial testing, offers female entrepreneurs advice for managing technical design projects with more practical steps. Begin with standout IP platforms or ideas. Pursue modular applications rather than “perfect prototypes.” Build in strategic alliances locally before entering cross-industry markets later. Finally, observe early players, and do not treat component success as unscalable. Modular innovation creates global product ecosystems.
For technical founders or non-tech operators planning impactful startups across Europe, this isn’t only about creating viable product designs, this is proof that step-by-step modular engineering, iterated thoughtfully, world-builds progress. Not just for robotics, but for any deep-projecting business vision.
For more insight into AILOS’ approach, check out their story at AILOS Robotics’ official site. Explore similar funding stories like their lead investor QBIC’s background, or watch a case study on how financing niche technical revolutions within robotics has made historical moves globally.
FAQ
1. What is AILOS Robotics and what do they develop?
AILOS Robotics is a Belgian startup dedicated to revolutionizing robotic mechanisms by introducing backdrivable R2poweR gearboxes, enabling lighter, safer, and more efficient humanoid robots, cobots, exoskeletons, and prosthetics. Discover AILOS Robotics
2. How much funding did AILOS Robotics receive and who are the investors?
AILOS Robotics secured €3.5 million in seed funding from QBIC, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Wallonie Entreprendre, and finance&invest.brussels for commercializing their backdrivable gearbox technology. Explore the funding details
3. What problem does the R2poweR gearbox solve in robotics?
The R2poweR gearbox addresses inefficiencies in current robotic gear systems, providing smooth backdrivability, high torque density, and low noise, making robots safer and more adaptive in environments shared with humans. Learn how R2poweR transforms robotics
4. Who leads AILOS Robotics, and what is their expertise?
AILOS Robotics is led by Pablo López García, along with a team specialized in human-centric robotics, automotive engineering, and advanced mechanical systems. Meet the AILOS Robotics team
5. What is the target market for the R2poweR gearbox?
The R2poweR gearbox is designed for humanoid robots, cobots, wearable exoskeletons, and prosthetic devices, enabling safer and more efficient robotic applications. Learn more about R2poweR's markets
6. When does AILOS Robotics plan to begin mass production?
AILOS Robotics aims to industrialize its R2poweR gearbox and start high-volume manufacturing by early 2028. Explore their manufacturing goals
7. Why is backdrivability important in robotics?
Backdrivability allows robots to safely interact with humans, adapt to external forces, and consume less power, making it crucial for industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and collaborative robotics. Understand backdrivability
8. How does R2poweR compare to traditional gear systems?
Unlike traditional high-ratio gears that are stiff and noisy, or direct drives that are bulky, R2poweR combines smooth backdrivability with high torque efficiency in a lightweight, compact design. Discover R2poweR's advantages
9. How can robotics startups collaborate with AILOS Robotics?
Collaborating with AILOS Robotics can involve pilot testing of R2poweR gearboxes or forming partnerships for humanoid, cobot, or prosthetic device development. Partner with AILOS Robotics
10. What advice does AILOS’ journey offer aspiring entrepreneurs?
Focus on improving key components rather than entire systems, test within niches first, and build strategic local partnerships to scale globally, principles AILOS has implemented effectively. Learn from the AILOS journey
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
