NATO funds German startup to meet its autonomous war robots need

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has awarded a German startup to develop ground robots for the alliance. Called ARX Robotics, NATO has committed to providing them with €9 million in seed funding through its Innovation Fund (NIF).

NIF has allocated €1bn to support startups developing deep tech for defense and security applications, marking its second public investment since its launch last year. The first announcement, made last week, was for iCOMAT, a UK startup that develops ultralight composites for the aerospace, automotive, and defense sectors.

ARX Robotics was founded in 2022 by Marc Wietfeld and other German army veterans. To date, they have developed four main war robots resembling small tanks.

The robots are unarmed and designed to support military ground forces in various roles. These include fetching and carrying, medical evacuation, drone transportation, and target practice. Each robot moves on treads and can be fitted with a toolbox of gear, including radar, mine-sweeping devices, etc.

New toys for NATO

The largest of its models called the GEREON unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) series, can carry a maximum payload of 1,102 pounds (500 kg). All of ARX Robotic’s robots are modular and built with off-the-shelf components.

According to ARX Robotics, the robots can also be readily configured on the battlefield within minutes. They can communicate through software and artificial intelligence (AI) and operate autonomously.

They can also be controlled remotely if required. The company has developed 12 robots so far, and they have undergone testing by the armed forces of Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary.

“The armies of Western democracies are not prepared for robotic warfare,” said Marc Wietfeld, CEO and co-founder of ARX.

“To significantly enhance the capabilities of our armed forces and serve as a force multiplier, an interconnected critical mass of autonomous unmanned ground systems is required,” he added.

These systems need to be easily manufactured in a decentralized manner and deployable in significant numbers.

“ARX is committed to contributing to European technological sovereignty by scaling up the production of these systems, generating software-defined systems, and developing adaptive hardware to meet the demand for robust and autonomous unmanned systems”, Wietfeld added.

ARX’s robots are relatively affordable for defense technology, with prices ranging from €30,000 to €150,000 apiece.

ARX Robotics’ robots show promise

“We are honored to support ARX and to help them scale production across
Europe. As the need to prepare for a future of unmanned warfare continues,
ground autonomy remains a difficult problem to solve. Informed by insights
from serving in the armed forces,” said NIF’s Chris O’Connor.  

O’Connor further mentioned that the ARX team has developed a cost-effective modular ground system that is easily scalable for mass production and deployment, applicable in defense, humanitarian crises, and other scenarios.

Uwe Horstmann of Project A Ventures said, “We believed in ARX’s potential early on, when we supported their ideation process in our Studio and subsequently led their pre-seed round. Autonomous robots will be a game changer in terms of increasing safety, efficiency, and capabilities.”

“The team has demonstrated a remarkable ability to address robust and modular ground robotics at scale in dual-use scenarios for both government and civil customers,” he added.