What Wandelbots does

Wandelbots is a Dresden, Germany-based Physical AI software company founded in 2017 as a spin-out from TU Dresden. The company builds Wandelbots NOVA, a robot-agnostic software platform for industrial robot automation comprising NOVA OS (a modular, microservices-based robot operating system with proprietary OEM adapters for ABB, KUKA, FANUC, Yaskawa, and Universal Robots), NOVA Portal (a developer toolkit with Python and TypeScript SDKs, CLI, VS Code extension, and pre-built React UI components), and NOVA Cloud (a centralized fleet management layer currently in beta). Differentiated technical components include the proprietary Wandelscript programming language that abstracts brand-specific robot controllers, MAGMA (Multi-Axis GPU Accelerated Motion Algorithm), and a deep integration with NVIDIA Omniverse and Isaac Sim that supports 1:1 digital-twin-to-physical-cell transfer. AI features span computer-vision-guided pick-and-place (via Vathos), LLM-based natural-language robot control (ChatGPT 4.0 in PipetBot), Ghost Teaching for in-simulation path programming, and reinforcement-learning approaches to skill acquisition.

The company executes a multi-channel go-to-market: direct enterprise field sales into large manufacturers (Volkswagen, BMW, Schaeffler, 3M, Microsoft, Fraunhofer), channel sales through system integrators (Coboworx for RaaS palletizing, SHL AG for surface treatment), technology and consulting partners (NVIDIA, Vathos, Grid Dynamics, EY, EDAG, SoftServe, SCHUNK), and developer self-service via the NOVA Portal. Revenue is generated primarily through subscription / SaaS licensing of the NOVA platform with quote-based enterprise pricing tied to deployment scope, robot count, and cloud usage. In 2023 Wandelbots pivoted from hardware (TracePen, SmartJacket) to a software-only model and launched NOVA in 2024; today it operates from Dresden and Chicago, with stated expansion plans into North America and Asia, and is a founding ecosystem partner of the T-Systems / NVIDIA Industrial AI Cloud for Germany.

Name

Wandelbots

Legal name

Wandelbots GmbH

Website

https://wandelbots.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Wandelbots is a Dresden-based Physical AI software company that provides the robot-agnostic NOVA platform for programming, simulating, and deploying industrial robots across brands such as ABB, KUKA, FANUC, Yaskawa, and Universal Robots, serving large manufacturers (VW, BMW, Schaeffler, 3M) and SMEs via system-integrator partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Robot Software Platform

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins) (HDAAAIAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Motion & Machine Control (CNC, Robotics Controllers, Servo/Motion Controllers) (IMAGABAG)

Keywords

• Industrial robot software
• Robot-agnostic platform
• Digital twin simulation
• Robot fleet management
• Physical AI automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Dresden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing: NOVA platform software licenses sold to companies for controlling and standardizing industrial robot automation cells. Licenses are required to use Wandelbots NOVA, with accounts created via GitHub or NOVA Portal.
2. SaaS / Cloud Services: NOVA Cloud functionalities including cloud-hosted deployment services, consumption-based features, fleet management, and role-based access. Cloud deployment options include managed shared-tenant, managed dedicated-tenant, or customer-managed environments.
3. Developer Tools and SDKs: Revenue from developer-facing offerings including NOVA Portal access, Python/TypeScript SDKs, VS Code extensions, and pre-built React UI components for companies building custom automation solutions on the NOVA platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Wandelbots sells Wandelbots NOVA, a unified, robot-agnostic software platform for industrial robot automation. The platform comprises NOVA OS (a modular robot operating system), NOVA Portal (developer toolkit with Python/TypeScript SDKs), and NOVA Cloud (centralized fleet management). It enables programming, simulation, and deployment of industrial robots from ABB, KUKA, FANUC, Yaskawa, and Universal Robots through a single unified code layer (Wandelscript), with native integration to NVIDIA Omniverse/Isaac Sim for digital twin simulation.

Product overview

Wandelbots is a Physical AI company offering Wandelbots NOVA, a unified software platform for industrial robot automation. The platform consists of NOVA Operating System (the robot-agnostic OS controlling and standardizing automation cells), NOVA Portal (developer toolkit with Python/TypeScript SDKs, CLI, and VS Code extension), and NOVA Cloud (centralized fleet management and cloud deployment). NOVA enables planning, building, and operating automation solutions using AI and digital twins, supporting robot arms from ABB, KUKA, FANUC, Yaskawa, and Universal Robots. The platform integrates with NVIDIA Isaac Sim and Omniverse for physics-based simulation, includes proprietary Wandelscript robot-agnostic programming language, and offers MAGMA for multi-axis trajectory optimization. The company pivoted from hardware (TracePen) to software-only in 2023, with Wandelbots NOVA officially launched in 2024.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NOVA Platform: Unified software platform for industrial robot automation, including NOVA OS, NOVA Portal, and NOVA Cloud.
• NOVA OS
• NOVA Portal
• NOVA Cloud
• Wandelscript
• MAGMA
• PipetBot

Products and services

• Wandelbots NOVA Unified software platform for industrial robot automation that provides hardware-agnostic control, digital twin simulation, and AI-powered orchestration across robot fleets and manufacturing sites. Targets enterprise manufacturers, SMEs (via partners), and developers.
• Wandelbots NOVA Operating System (NOVA OS) Modular, microservices-based robot operating system providing robot-agnostic control for ABB, KUKA, FANUC, Yaskawa, and Universal Robots through proprietary OEM interfaces. Includes motion planning, collision world, real-time data collection, and PROFINET/Modbus support. Targets manufacturing automation engineers and integrators.
• Wandelbots NOVA Cloud Centralized cloud management layer for scalable operation of NOVA OS deployments on the shopfloor. Provides fleet management, roles and permissions, and cloud deployment options (managed shared-tenant, managed dedicated-tenant, customer-managed) with consumption-based features. Targets enterprise manufacturers operating multi-site robot fleets.
• Wandelbots NOVA Portal Developer toolkit and self-service portal for building applications on the NOVA platform. Provides Python and TypeScript SDKs, Command Line Interface (CLI), Visual Studio Code extension, example projects, pre-built React UI components, and 3D robot models for simulation and visualization. Targets software developers and robotics engineers.
• PipetBot Application Robot application built on Wandelbots NOVA for laboratory automation. Provides web-based control over hardware including pipette tool, camera, and robotic arm (UR5e) through written or voice commands integrated with ChatGPT 4.0. Targets life sciences research institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Robotic development time reduced from hundreds of hours to half a day
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

AI capability13 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship / core and flagship.

• SupplyOncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2026SupplyOn and T-Systems partnered to connect SupplyOn's industrial supply chain management platform (serving ~140,000 companies across 100+ countries) to the T-Systems Industrial AI Cloud. Wandelbots is part of the broader ecosystem of partners including SAP, Siemens, ServiceNow, EDAG, Agile Robots, PhysicsX, Noxtua, SOOFI, and Quantum Systems developing various industrial AI solutions. This enables AI-powered automation of procurement, logistics, and supplier management.
• NVIDIAflagship / coreTechnology or Integration · 20 April 2026Deep technology partnership between Wandelbots and NVIDIA centered on the NOVA platform's integration with NVIDIA Omniverse and Isaac Sim. Wandelbots has developed an official NOVA extension for Isaac Sim, enabling digital twin creation, physics-accurate simulation, Ghost Teaching, and seamless transfer of robot programs from simulation to physical deployment. The partnership was showcased at Hannover Messe 2026 and NVIDIA GTC Paris. Wandelbots is also a founding member of the Industrial AI Cloud backed by NVIDIA and Deutsche Telekom. Schaeffler and Volkswagen use the combined Wandelbots-NVIDIA stack for digital twin-based robot development.
• SCHUNKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026Wandelbots, SCHUNK, and EY announced a collaboration to accelerate industrial-scale adoption of Physical AI across Europe's Mittelstand using NVIDIA technology. The partnership combines standardized automation hardware (SCHUNK), software-defined robot control (Wandelbots NOVA), industrial-grade simulation, and a repeatable operating model to unlock Physical AI for SMEs.
• VathoscoreTechnology or Integration · 30 March 2026Wandelbots and Vathos announced a strategic technology partnership integrating AI-based 3D object and pose detection into Wandelbots NOVA. The integration enables vision-guided robotics for flexible pick & place and advanced assembly applications. Vathos' AI-based perception capabilities combine with NOVA's robot-agnostic platform to reduce implementation complexity and project timelines, enabling faster scaling of automation solutions.
• Grid DynamicscoreTechnology or Integration · 13 February 2026Grid Dynamics developed a robotic inspection solution (TPGen) at Automatica 2025 using Wandelbots NOVA platform. The solution automates robotic inspection workflows by generating tool-paths from CAD models, reducing programming time from weeks to minutes. Grid Dynamics also used Wandelbots NOVA to create SmartRay's AI-powered weld inspection platform, integrating AI-assisted workpiece feasibility analysis and tool path generation.
• Schaeffler GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2026Schaeffler Group partnered with NVIDIA and Wandelbots to build a digital twin platform using NVIDIA Omniverse technologies. The platform addresses manufacturing challenges including labor shortages, production complexity, and supply chain volatility. It reduced robotic development time from hundreds of hours to half a day, accelerated facility layout planning, and enabled simulation-based training for autonomous mobile robots and humanoid robots. Schaeffler plans to integrate the platform into more than half of its global manufacturing sites by 2030, with pilots in China and Germany.
• SmartRaycoreTechnology or Integration · 25 January 2026SmartRay developed a fully automated JOSY AI-powered weld inspection system in partnership with Wandelbots and Grid Dynamics. The system offers 100% accuracy in fault detection, eliminates manual errors, and reduces scrap for automotive manufacturers. The integration includes Tool Path Generation software enabling automated, AI-generated inspection paths from CAD models. Demonstrated at the European Industrial AI Innovation Hub in Stuttgart.
• T-Systems (Deutsche Telekom)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2025Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA partnered to build the world's first Industrial AI Cloud for Germany, combining DT's physical infrastructure with NVIDIA GPUs (10,000 Blackwell GPUs, 0.5 exaflops) and SAP's business software. Wandelbots is a founding ecosystem partner (~10 companies including Siemens, SAP, Agile Robots, Quantum Systems, PhysicsX, Perplexity). The platform enables AI-powered automation of procurement, logistics, and supplier management with European data sovereignty. Wandelbots contributes its Physical AI platform for industrial robotics on this sovereign cloud infrastructure.
• SoftServecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 24 June 2025SoftServe partnered with Wandelbots to accelerate software-defined robotics with Physical AI. SoftServe brings enterprise-grade capacity to deploy and scale Wandelbots NOVA for global manufacturers, combining expertise in NVIDIA Omniverse technologies with Wandelbots' robot-agnostic platform. The partnership enables simulation-first development, real-time digital twins, and scalable operations for industrial customers.
• EYcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 11 June 2025EY partnered with Wandelbots and EDAG on a scalable automation platform for the Industrial Metaverse, showcased at NVIDIA GTC Paris at VivaTech 2025. EY brings consulting and implementation expertise to help enterprises deploy Physical AI solutions. EY also published thought leadership on scaling Physical AI for Europe's Mittelstand using NVIDIA technology alongside Wandelbots and SCHUNK.
• EDAG GroupcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 11 June 2025EDAG Group partnered with Wandelbots and EY to showcase joint innovation for the Industrial Metaverse at NVIDIA GTC Paris at VivaTech 2025. EDAG contributes automotive engineering and system integration expertise to the partnership, helping deploy Wandelbots NOVA at scale for manufacturing customers.
• CoboworxcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2024Coboworx built its robotic palletizing application on Wandelbots NOVA, offering Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) solutions for SMEs. Using NOVA's API layer, Wandelscript, and 3D robot models, Coboworx created a self-service solution enabling customers without robotics expertise to create collision-free robot programs. The project directly influenced the choice of TypeScript, React, and core NOVA platform technologies.
• SHL AGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2024SHL AG developed a custom surface treatment application on Wandelbots NOVA, making robotic surface treatment accessible to SMEs with high-mix, low-volume manufacturing. The application uses automated path generation, Zivid 3D cameras, and MAGMA motion planning to enable process specialists to program KUKA, ABB, and FANUC robots without robotics expertise.
• TU Dresden (Physics of Life Excellence Cluster)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhysics of Life (PoL), the Excellence Cluster at TU Dresden, partnered with Wandelbots and Max Planck Institute to automate repetitive pipetting tasks, achieving 4x increase in process efficiency. The collaboration used a UR5e robot on Wandelbots NOVA with ChatGPT 4.0 integration, resulting in PipetBot — a web-accessible lab automation solution.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• KUKA: Industrial robot OEM with KUKA.Sim simulation and KUKA.iiQoT digital factory platform. Competes as a broad incumbent in industrial robot programming software and is one of the five OEMs Wandelbots abstracts through Wandelscript.
• Universal Robots: Collaborative robot OEM whose UR+ ecosystem and URScript programming environment overlap with Wandelbots' target use cases. Currently an OEM adapter partner, but could expand its own software value chain as an incumbent.
• Siemens (Xcelerator / Tecnomatix): Broad industrial-automation and PLM software suite whose Tecnomatix Process Simulate competes for enterprise manufacturing software budgets and includes robot simulation/validation. Also a partner in the same Industrial AI Cloud ecosystem, illustrating the incumbent-vs-software-layer tension.
• ABB Robotics (RobotStudio): Industrial robot OEM operating a large installed base with its own RobotStudio programming/simulation suite. A flagship broad incumbent whose captive software platform competes with Wandelbots at the OEM level, and whose cooperation Wandelbots depends on for the ABB OEM adapter.

Emerging players

• Rapid Robotics: Robotics-as-a-Service vendor offering pre-integrated cobot cells to manufacturers without robotics expertise. Competes for the same SME/cobot deployment dollars and shares a 'no robotics engineer required' value proposition.
• Formic: Robotics-as-a-Service provider that abstracts robot complexity behind a managed service for SMEs with no in-house robotics expertise. Pursues the same SME simplification pain points as Wandelbots' Coboworx and SHL AG partner channel.

Direct peers

• PickNik Robotics: Robotics motion-planning software (MoveIt Studio) targeting industrial and research users who need cross-vendor robot motion control. Shares the same unifying, abstraction-layer problem space as Wandelbots NOVA OS and Wandelscript.
• Visual Components: 3D manufacturing process simulation and digital-twin software used by manufacturers to design, validate, and commission robotic cells. Overlaps directly with Wandelbots' NOVA simulation and Omniverse/Isaac Sim digital-twin-first deployment story.
• Realtime Robotics: Industrial robot motion planning and real-time trajectory optimization software that accelerates robot programming and eliminates vendor lock-in. Closely comparable to Wandelbots' motion-planning stack and MAGMA optimization tooling.
• RoboDK: Cross-brand offline robot programming and simulation software targeting industrial manufacturers and integrators. Directly competes with Wandelbots NOVA in providing manufacturer-independent robot programming without proprietary hardware, addressing the same 'one program, multiple robot brands' problem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@wandelbots
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wandelbots
• Xx.com/wandelbots

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wandelbots