€1m · Seed · Software · Spain
YK-Robotics co-founders Joan Ortega Alcaide and Marco Guadagni. Image: YK-Robotics, via the company funding announcement.
YK-Robotics, which builds software for designing, programming and operating industrial robot cells, has raised €1m in seed funding. Draper B1 and First Drop co-led the round, with BStartup, Coben Ventures, Elephant Capital and PnP USA also participating. The company will use the capital to deploy cells across Spain, expand its partner network, develop natural-language operation across YK-Platform and grow its team, mainly in Barcelona.
Reducing the integration tax on factory robots
Buying a robotic arm is only one part of factory automation. Cameras, grippers, safety systems, production machinery and management software still have to work together, often through different vendor tools and industrial protocols. YK-Platform provides a hardware-agnostic environment spanning cell design and simulation, programming, commissioning, operation and remote support. It integrates robot brands including KUKA, FANUC, ABB, Universal Robots, Comau, Kawasaki and Estun, and the company says it can also bring previously installed equipment back into use after a product change.
The commercial mechanism is reusable integration. YK-Robotics sells turnkey cells and robotics-as-a-service, while system integrators and machine builders can license its software for their own projects. If the same programming methods, digital-twin workflow and support portal can be reused across robot brands and customer sites, each deployment should require less bespoke engineering. The company says a software-only deployment for partners takes one to two weeks, and reports up to 80% shorter cell-deployment time and roughly 20% higher output in its industrial projects. Those are company-reported results, but they describe the measurable outcomes customers and partners will need to validate.
Natural language still needs industrial guardrails
YK-Robotics began with a no-code approach, then moved towards natural-language interaction after working with more than 30 non-expert users. Its platform now contains more than 100 high-level methods that can be called through an AI interface. A user can describe a task, operator screen or product-format change, while the system translates that request into the protocols and programming languages used by the cell.
That interface may widen who can adapt automation, but factory software is judged on repeatability and safety rather than prompt fluency. YK-Robotics says the operator retains the final decision and that its software combines AI with collision-free path planning, deterministic validation and checks against applicable directives. It points to live work in Italy across food, chemicals, furniture, electrical components and other industries, including a customer using the platform to generate new collision-free production programs.
The seed round therefore finances both distribution and proof. Investor networks will support the first Spanish rollout in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Aragon and the Basque Country, while the expanded product must show that natural-language control can shorten commissioning and troubleshooting without moving risk onto factory operators. Repeatable deployments across varied equipment would make the software layer more valuable with each partner; persistent site-specific engineering would limit that leverage.
Sources checked:
YK-Robotics funding announcement · El Referente · YK-Robotics platform · Tech.eu Funding Explorer
