RoBoa

Cover Block

Name	RoBoa
Tagline	Snake-like robots for inspection and rescue in confined, hazardous, and hard-to-reach spaces.
Headquarters	Zurich, Switzerland
Founded	2025
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	Hardware + Software
Industry	Deeptech
Technology	Robotics
Geography	Western Europe
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Academic Spinout (ETH Zurich)
Funding Label	Pre-seed
Total Disclosed	~$2.27M (estimated) [Forbes, 2026]

Links

• Website: https://www.roboa.ch/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roboa/

The Short Version

RoBoa is a Zurich-based robotics spinout commercializing a novel, snake-like soft robot for inspecting and operating in hazardous, confined spaces [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025]. Founded in February 2025 by four graduates from ETH Zurich's Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, the company is built on technology developed at the university's Autonomous Systems Lab [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025]. Its core product uses a proprietary "growing-based locomotion" system, where a pneumatically actuated tube extends and steers itself around bends and obstacles, enabling it to penetrate up to 100 meters into pipes, tanks, and rubble [36kr].

The founding team, led by CEO Alexander Kübler, combines expertise in robotics and industrial applications [Venture Kick]. To date, financing has come from non-dilutive sources, including a CHF 150,000 award from Venture Kick and support from the ETH Pioneer Fellowship and ESA BIC, with the company reporting total funds raised of over 2.1 million Euros (estimated) [Venture Kick] [Forbes]. The business model targets a dual revenue stream, planning direct sales of robots to rescue agencies and a subscription service for industrial inspection contracts [Venturelab].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Core facts confirmed by ETH Zurich, Venture Kick, and Forbes.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	Hardware + Software
Industry / Vertical	Deeptech
Technology Type	Robotics
Geography	Western Europe
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Academic Spinout
Funding	Pre-seed (total disclosed ~$2,270,000)

The Company in Brief

RoBoa was founded in February 2025 as an academic spinout from the Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zurich's Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering (D-MAVT). The company was incorporated by four D-MAVT graduates, Alexander Kübler, Betim Djambazi, Nicolas Aymon, and Pascal Auf der Maur, to commercialize a novel snake-like robot initially developed as a student focus project [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025].

Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the company's early trajectory has been defined by non-dilutive grant funding and institutional support. Within months of founding, RoBoa secured a CHF 150,000 award from the Swiss pre-seed program Venture Kick in April 2025 [Venture Kick]. The company has also been a beneficiary of the ETH Pioneer Fellowship, the Swiss Technology Award, and support from Innosuisse and the ESA Business Incubation Centre, which collectively have provided over 2.1 million Euros (estimated) in non-equity funding [Forbes, 2026] [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025].

Key milestones to date reflect a focus on technology validation and early market entry. The robot is reported to be "almost market-ready" and is undergoing testing in initial, unnamed pilot projects [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Core facts (founding date, team, HQ, Venture Kick round) confirmed by ETH Zurich and Venture Kick. Total non-equity funding figure is reported by Forbes with corroboration from institutional award listings.

What They Have Built

The product is a tubular soft robot that moves by extending itself, a method the company calls "growing-based locomotion" [36kr]. This approach allows the device to navigate winding, cluttered, or slippery environments where wheeled or tracked systems fail, penetrating up to 100 meters into confined spaces like pipes, sewers, and structural rubble [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025]. The design is pneumatic and modular, enabling 3D steering and the integration of vision sensors and tools for tasks such as inspection and liquid delivery [Startup-seeker].

Functionally, the robot operates autonomously, sensing its surroundings to steer around obstacles [Venturelab]. Its soft, pneumatic construction is cited as a safety feature, making it suitable for use in explosive areas [13, 2024]. The company plans a dual revenue model: direct sales of the robot hardware to rescue agencies, and a subscription service for industrial inspection applications [Venturelab]. Pilot projects are underway [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Core product claims are confirmed by multiple independent sources including ETH Zurich and Venturelab.

Market Size and Demand

The market for robots that can operate where humans cannot is being reshaped by a growing need to inspect aging infrastructure and conduct safer disaster response. Industrial inspection represents a primary application. Venturelab frames the problem as existing solutions that "struggle in winding, cluttered, sharp, or slippery environments" like pipes, sewers, and tanks [Venturelab]. The value proposition is minimizing downtime and avoiding hazardous human entry. The global non-destructive testing (NDT) equipment market was valued at approximately $8.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8.2% through 2032 [Grand View Research, 2024].

Search and rescue operations form the second major wedge. ETH Zurich specifically cites "rescue missions" as a target, with the robot designed to penetrate rubble and confined disaster zones [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025]. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security allocated over $1 billion for firefighter assistance and safety technology grants in its recent budget [U.S. DHS, 2024].

Metric	Value
Non-Destructive Testing Market 2024	8.3 $B
Projected CAGR 2024-2032	8.2 %
U.S. DHS Firefighter Grant Funding 2024	1 $B

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing is drawn from analogous, third-party industry reports; specific TAM for confined-space snake robots is not publicly available from the company or a dedicated analyst.

Who Else Is Fighting for This

RoBoa enters a robotics niche defined by physical constraints, where its primary competition is not from other startups but from established industrial players and a handful of specialized deeptech firms.

Metric	Value
RoBoa (Subject)	1
Sarcos Robotics	2
GE Aerospace (OC Robotics)	2
Other Incumbents & Substitutes	3

• Direct, Named Competitors. Sarcos Robotics, a publicly traded company, offers the Guardian S, a snake-arm robot designed for industrial inspection and manipulation [Crunchbase]. GE Aerospace, through its acquisition of OC Robotics, possesses deep IP and integration pathways within aerospace and energy sectors [Crunchbase].
• Incumbent Inspection Methods. The larger competitive set consists of traditional methods RoBoa aims to displace: manual human entry and tethered, rigid robotic crawlers or camera bores [Venturelab].
• Adjacent Substitutes. Emerging adjacent technologies include drone-based external inspection and fixed sensor networks for predictive maintenance.

RoBoa's defensible edge today rests on its academic IP and a specific technical approach. The "growing-based locomotion" and pneumatic actuation, developed at ETH Zurich's Autonomous Systems Lab, enable navigation in environments that challenge rigid-link robots [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor identification is confirmed, but detailed comparative performance data and market share are not publicly available.

Opportunity

The prize for RoBoa is a foundational role in the high-value, high-risk inspection of critical infrastructure and disaster zones. The headline opportunity is to establish the de facto standard for confined-space inspection in hazardous industrial and emergency response settings. Existing solutions, including rigid robotic arms and drones, "struggle in winding, cluttered, sharp, or slippery environments," according to Venturelab [Venturelab]. RoBoa's growing-based locomotion and pneumatic soft robot is engineered for precisely these conditions, with a cited capability to penetrate up to 100 meters into narrow spaces [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst	Why it's plausible
Industrial Standard	RoBoa becomes the mandated inspection tool for aging European chemical and energy infrastructure.	A major industrial accident prompts new regulatory mandates for internal pipe and tank inspection.	The technology is already being tested in industrial pilot projects and is described as "safe for explosive areas" [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025] [13, 2024].
Emergency Services Platform	Fire departments and urban search-and-rescue teams globally adopt RoBoa as core equipment.	A successful, publicly documented rescue in a collapsed structure or complex fire serves as a category-tipping case study.	The company's stated business model includes direct sales to rescue agencies, and the robot's design for confined, hazardous spaces matches this mission profile [Venturelab].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core technology claims and initial grant funding are well-sourced from institutional publications. Market comparables and scaling scenarios are extrapolated from the company's stated focus areas and adjacent public markets.

Sources

1. [ETH Zurich, Dec 2025] From focus project to company - visiting the D-MAVT spin-off RoBoa | https://mavt.ethz.ch/news-and-events/d-mavt-news/2025/12/vom-fokusprojekt-zum-start-up-zu-besuch-beim-d-mavt-spin-off-roboa.html
2. [Forbes, 2026] RoBoa | https://www.forbes.com/profile/roboa/
3. [36kr] What RoBoa does - product, buyers, wedge | https://eu.36kr.com/en/p/3590518391079428
4. [Venture Kick] RoBoa secures CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick to rethink industrial inspections and rescue with new robotics | https://www.venturekick.ch/RoBoa-secures-CHF-150000-from-Venture-Kick-to-rethink-industrial-inspections-and-rescue-with-new-robotics
5. [Venturelab] RoBoa | https://www.venturelab.swiss/roboa
6. [Startup-seeker] RoBoa | https://startup-seeker.com/company/roboa~ch
7. [startupticker.ch] RoBoa secures CHF 150,000 to rethink industrial inspections and rescue with new robotics | https://www.startupticker.ch/en/news/roboa-secures-chf-150-000-to-rethink-industrial-inspections-and-rescue-with-new-robotics
8. [13, 2024] RoBoa | https://www.roboa.ch/
9. [RoBoa] RoBoa | https://www.roboa.ch/
10. [LinkedIn] RoBoa | https://www.linkedin.com/company/roboa/
11. [Crunchbase] RoBoa - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/roboa/
12. [Grand View Research, 2024] Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Equipment Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/non-destructive-testing-ndt-equipment-market
13. [U.S. DHS, 2024] Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2024 | https://www.dhs.gov/publication/fy-2024-budget