Brussels startup Motion raises €1.7 million to expand humanoid robot rentals

The company is currently running five pilots with industrial, warehouse and logistics companies in Belgium. Its humanoid robots are being trained to perform tasks such as loading goods into crates, packing containers into boxes and placing components on conveyor belts, working alongside existing staff.

Motion plans to use the new capital to take its pilots into full production, expand its team and grow its robot fleet, beginning in the Benelux region. According to EU-Startups, the company aims to deploy hundreds of robots across Europe within twelve months.

Motion positions its technology as a way to address labour shortages in European manufacturing. The company notes that adoption of humanoid robots remains constrained by financing, integration, regulatory and operational requirements tied to deploying and managing robotic fleets.

Yair Reem, Partner at Extantia Capital, linked the investment to industrial and climate goals. EU-Startups reported that he said backing Motion means investing in the infrastructure needed to scale climate technologies faster, while making European manufacturing more efficient, resilient and globally competitive.

Zurich-based Enact Intelligence has left stealth with a $30m pre-seed round, drawing investment from Mistral's Arthur Mensch and Yann LeCun as it builds force-sensing robots.