Swedish robotics company Cognibotics has been selected for €6.5 million in financing from the European Innovation Council’s EIC Accelerator programme. The package consists of a €2.5 million grant and €4 million in equity financing from the EIC Fund. The Lund-based company plans to use the funding for the further development, industrialisation and commercial introduction of its HKM1800 robot platform. The robot is designed for high-speed material-handling applications in logistics and manufacturing. Cognibotics will also continue developing the motion-control and programming software used to operate the platform.
The financing is structured as blended finance, combining a non-dilutive grant with an equity investment. Cognibotics has been selected for the package, but the entire amount has not necessarily been transferred. The EIC said that grant agreements for most companies selected in this round were expected to be finalised within three months of the announcement on 15 June 2026. Equity investments will follow according to the development and financing strategy of each company.
Robot for larger work areas
The HKM1800 uses a hybrid-kinematic design that combines elements of serial and parallel robot architectures. Cognibotics developed the system to provide high picking speeds over a larger working area than conventional delta robots.
According to the company, the robot can complete more than 2,000 picks per hour and cover a working area of approximately ten square metres. It has a radial reach of 1.8 metres, a nominal payload of two kilograms and a maximum payload of 7.5 kilograms. The platform can be installed in applications including order picking, kitting, packing and the transfer of products between warehouse systems and packaging lines.
Cognibotics claims that the HKM1800 provides around ten times the workspace of comparable high-speed robots while consuming approximately one-third less energy than conventional alternatives. These comparisons were provided by the company and were not independently verified as part of the EIC announcement.
The robot is combined with Cognibotics’ software for model-based motion control and robot programming. The company says this software is intended to reduce the engineering work required to integrate the robot with vision systems, grippers, conveyors and other warehouse equipment.
“This is an important validation of both our technology and our direction as a company,” said Cognibotics CEO Fredrik Malmgren. He added that the project covers both the commercialisation of the HKM1800 and further development of the software and automation technology behind it.
One of 38 selected companies
Cognibotics was one of 38 start-ups and small and medium-sized companies selected in the latest EIC Accelerator evaluation round. A total of 87 proposals reached the interview stage.
The selected companies represent 16 EU member states and countries associated with the Horizon Europe programme. Together, they were proposed to receive €90 million in grants. The EIC has also reserved €202 million for possible equity investments. Around 84 percent of the selected companies qualified for blended financing.
The EIC specifically mentioned Cognibotics’ HKM1800 project as one of five examples from the funding round. The programme provides grants of up to €2.5 million and equity investments of between €1 million and €10 million to start-ups and smaller companies developing technologies that require substantial capital before reaching commercial scale.
Cognibotics was founded in Lund in 2013 and develops industrial robots, motion-control technology and calibration systems. The company previously raised SEK 60 million in 2022 from investors including Newton ApS, Fairpoint Capital, Tibia and Porte-Monnaie. That financing was intended to support customer-specific automation systems, market development and an expansion of the company’s customer-support organisation.
