Transportation Investment
Aerial robotics pioneer True Position Robotics has raised £1 million in its first major equity deal from the British Business Bank’s Midlands Engine Investment Fund II.
TPR is a Nottingham-based company whose industrial robots have the potential to revolutionise aircraft production and significantly reduce the cost of new aircraft.
The company was founded by Roger Holden in 2018 to pioneer a way to automate the aircraft assembly process using low-cost, off-the-shelf industrial robots with its own software and hardware.
The company has already partnered with industry giants including BAE, which is adopting the technology as part of its ‘Factory of the Future’ program.
The deal was brokered by East South East Midlands fund manager Mercia Ventures.
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“Unlike car assembly, where the process is repeatable, aviation requires lightweight parts and high precision, so no job is ever done the same twice,” says Roger Holden, CEO of True Position Robotics.
“This has made automation too difficult or too costly until now. Our robot guidance system overcomes these challenges.
“The investment from Midland Engine Investment Fund II will enable us to strengthen our position and begin development of our next generation products to maintain our position as a thought leader in the industry.”
The £400 million Midland Engine Investment Fund II will cover the whole of the Midlands region and provide debt funding of between £25,000 and £2 million and equity investment of up to £5 million to support small and medium sized businesses.
“Midland Engine Investment Fund II’s investment in True Position Robotics is an excellent example of the fund’s ability to provide transformative capital to companies at the forefront of pioneering technology development,” said Hannah Tapsell Chapman, Investment Manager at Marcia Ventures.
“This investment marks an important first milestone for the fund, which is designed to support a wide range of innovative local companies, and we’re delighted that the funding will help Roger and his team realise their ambitious growth plans for the business.”
“After moving nearly 20 times, I decided to take action.”
