Robotical, the Edinburgh-based robotics company, has secured a seed investment round of £285,000, which it said will allow the company to scale its manufacturing operation, create new jobs and target export markets in 2018.
Founded by Dr Alexander (Sandy) Enoch in 2016, Robotical’s first product is Marty the Robot, an educational tool that is “far more than just a toy”. Marty is a fully programmable robot that can walk, dance and play football.
The latest investment round follows a crowd funding campaign on the Indiegogo platform that raised £90,000 for the company in 2016. It comes from five angel investors with experience across the IT, manufacturing, gaming, and robotics sectors.
Rob Dobson, of DevicePilot and Float), Gareth Williams, of Skyscanner, Donald Houston, of Rain Dance Investments, Professor David Lane, of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, and David Doak, formerly of games studio Rare, will be working closely with the Robotical team to take advantage of the growing educational robotics market.
Robotical believes that Marty the Robot, its first product, will inspire the next generation of roboticists and engineers, at a time when governments are emphasising the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) education.
“I can’t imagine a better group of people to have on board to help take Robotical to the next level,” said Dr Enoch, “and fulfil the company’s dream to get more kids excited about Robotics”. Rob Dobson added: “It is fantastic to be working with the exciting Robotical character, Marty, to bring a new face to education in STEM subjects”.