Franka Emika

What Franka Emika does

Franka Robotics GmbH, originally founded in 2016 in Munich as Franka Emika and now operating as a subsidiary of Agile Robots SE following a late-2023 acquisition, designs and manufactures force-sensitive collaborative robotic arms with seven degrees of freedom and integrated torque sensors at every joint. Its technical centerpiece is the Franka Control Interface (FCI), which provides 1 kHz real-time bidirectional control of joint torque, position, velocity, and Cartesian pose, alongside open-source tooling (libfranka, LABS, Franka GELLO) and integrations with ROS 2, MATLAB & Simulink, MuJoCo, Gazebo, and the NVIDIA Isaac/GR00T/Cosmos stack. The Franka Research 3 system is positioned as a reference platform for AI and robotics research as well as for Physical AI and humanoid applications, complemented by accessories (Franka Hand gripper, Schmalz Cobot Pump), Diana 7 integration from Agile Robots, and growing prototype products (FR3 Duo, Mobile FR3 Duo, Tactile Mobile Robot).

The company generates revenue primarily through one-time hardware sales of robot systems and accessories via a request-a-quote direct channel and a network of authorized sales partners across Europe, Asia, USA/Canada, and the Middle East. Third-party sources indicate pricing around $37,000 for the Franka Research 3. The customer base is concentrated in academic and corporate research (MIT, Stanford, Imperial College London, Tsinghua University, University of Toronto, TU Delft, Toyota Research Institute, Meta) with selective industrial deployments (e.g., Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen), and the marketing motion leans on community-building, open-source contributions, conference participation (CES, HANNOVER MESSE, IROS, ROSCon), and a digital content footprint rather than traditional enterprise sales.

Name

Franka Emika

Legal name

Franka Robotics GmbH

Website

https://franka.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Franka Robotics (formerly Franka Emika) designs force-sensitive 7-DOF collaborative robot arms with low-level real-time control, serving AI and robotics researchers, corporate R&D labs, and selective industrial automation customers globally, and operates as a subsidiary of Agile Robots SE.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collaborative Robotics

NAICS

Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (33324), Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (3332), Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment, Nec (3569), Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

Collaborative Robots (Cobots) (IMAHAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial Robots (Articulated, SCARA, Delta, Cartesian) (IMAHAHAA), Robot Hardware, Actuators & Components (sensors, grippers, motors) (HDAAAIAL), Motion Control Controllers & CNC/Robot Drives (Motion Controllers, Multi-axis) (IMAGACAH)

Keywords

• Collaborative robotics
• Force-sensitive robots
• Robotics research platform
• Physical AI hardware
• Robot manipulator arms

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Robot Systems Sales: Direct sales of Franka Research 3 robot systems and product prototypes (FR3 Duo, Mobile FR3 Duo, Tactile Mobile Robot, Franka GELLO). Revenue is generated through one-time hardware purchases via quote requests.
2. Accessories and End-Effectors: Sales of accessories including Franka Hand (2-finger parallel gripper), Cobot Pump (vacuum gripper), third-party compatible accessories (SensonONE, rc_visard, etc.).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Franka Robotics designs and manufactures the Franka Research 3, a force-sensitive 7-DOF collaborative robot arm with integrated joint torque sensors and a real-time 1 kHz control interface (FCI). The company sells complete robot systems, gripper accessories, and complementary open-source software (Desk, libfranka, LABS) targeting robotics and AI research labs as well as industrial automation customers. Revenue is generated through one-time hardware purchases distributed via a global authorized partner network and direct quote-based sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Franka Research 3 World-class force-sensitive 7-DOF robot system tailored for AI and robotics research, offering integrated torque sensors at every joint, 1 kHz real-time control via the Franka Control Interface (FCI), ±0.1 mm position repeatability, 855 mm reach, 3 kg payload, 94.5% workspace efficiency, and compatibility with ROS 2, MATLAB/Simulink, and open-source frameworks.
• Diana 7 by Agile Robots 7-DOF robot from parent company Agile Robots now supporting the Franka Control Interface (FCI), offering greater reach and payload capacity for research and academic applications within the Franka ecosystem.
• Franka Hand

Quantifiable outcome

• Position repeatability of <±0.1 mm
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or Integration · 5 January 2026Franka Robotics is a global industry partner debuting AI-driven robots built on NVIDIA's robotics stack at CES 2026. NVIDIA announced integration of Isaac and GR00T technologies into Hugging Face's LeRobot framework, positioning Franka as a reference platform for Physical AI development. NVIDIA partnership enables Franka robots to leverage Cosmos and GR00T foundation models for robotics.
• Agile RobotscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFranka Emika was acquired by Agile Robots SE in late 2023. Agile Robots is a Munich-based AI robotics company and both are spin-offs of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Franka Robotics now integrates Agile Robots' Diana 7 into its ecosystem, and both companies co-sponsored the RIG Heroes Awards Night.
• SchmalzmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchmalz Cobot Pump is an end effector developed in collaboration with Schmalz and fully integrated with Franka Robotics robots. Also collaborated on ECBPMi MATCH for Ecosystem MATCH and Zimmer Group partnership.
• Zimmer GroupmajorTechnology or IntegrationZimmer Group collaborated with Schmalz on MATCH - a multi-functional end-of-arm platform compatible with Franka robots. LWR50L-03 lightweight electric parallel gripper designed for Ecosystem MATCH, perfectly compatible with Franka Emika robots.
• VentionmajorTechnology or IntegrationVention's MachineBuilder browser-based 3D design platform enables seamless integration of Franka robots into modular environments. With over 25,000 machines deployed globally, Vention now includes solutions powered by Franka Robotics.
• Hugging FacecoreTechnology or IntegrationNVIDIA partnered with Hugging Face to integrate Isaac and GR00T technologies into the LeRobot open-source framework. Franka Robotics participates through LABS which exports datasets to LeRobot v2.1 format.
• MathWorksmajorTechnology or IntegrationMathWorks partnership with Franka Robotics enables intuitive real-time control of the Franka robot through Simulink. The partnership allows algorithms to be efficiently tested in simulations and on the real robot.
• Agile RobotscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAt HANNOVER MESSE 2026, Agile Robots demonstrated its Humanoid Agile ONE alongside Franka Robotics technology in collaboration with NVIDIA. Both companies are spin-offs of DLR.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Universal Robots: Universal Robots is the global market leader in collaborative robots (e- Series), serving industrial customers with a broad portfolio. It competes with Franka in the cobot category but focuses on industrial automation rather than research-grade force-sensitive platforms.
• Yaskawa (Motoman): Yaskawa's Motoman division is a major industrial robotics player offering collaborative models (e.g., HC series) alongside traditional industrial arms. It competes with Franka in industrial manipulation but is not focused on research-grade torque-controlled platforms.
• ABB Robotics (YuMi / GoFa): ABB offers collaborative robots (YuMi, GoFa, Swifti) as part of its broad industrial robotics portfolio. While not specialized for research, ABB's cobot family competes with Franka in industrial assembly and manipulation applications.

Direct peers

• Techman Robot: Techman Robot is a Taiwan-based collaborative robot maker with integrated vision, targeting both industrial and research users. It overlaps with Franka in offering cobots with built-in sensing and is increasingly competing in the AI-robotics research space.
• Doosan Robotics: Doosan Robotics is a Korean collaborative robot manufacturer offering a range of articulated cobot arms. It serves similar industrial and research customers and has been expanding into AI-enabled manipulation, overlapping with Franka's target segments.
• KUKA (LBR iiwa / LBR Med): KUKA's LBR iiwa is a 7-DOF force-sensitive collaborative robot widely used in research and medical applications — the closest technical comparator to Franka Research 3. Both target academic and industrial research labs requiring torque-controlled arms with low-level real-time interfaces.

Emerging players

• Figure AI: Figure AI is developing humanoid general-purpose robots with backing from major AI and tech investors. It overlaps with Franka in the broader Physical AI / foundation-model-robotics space and competes for attention from NVIDIA, OpenAI, and similar ecosystem partners.
• 1X Technologies: 1X Technologies (formerly Halodi Robotics) builds humanoid robots backed by OpenAI and targeting home and commercial service applications. It is part of the same NVIDIA-backed Physical AI ecosystem as Franka and a potential competitor for Physical AI data-collection and teleoperation reference platforms.
• NEURA Robotics: NEURA Robotics is a German AI-robotics startup building cognitive robots with integrated sensors and AI capabilities. It shares the German DLR-rooted research heritage and competes for European robotics talent and customer mindshare, though focused on humanoid platforms.
• Agility Robotics: Agility Robotics builds the Digit humanoid robot for logistics and warehouse applications. While focused on humanoids rather than single-arm cobots, it competes for the same Physical AI development budgets and NVIDIA partnership ecosystem as Franka.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FRANKAEMIKA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjvmirH4BRbWoQwYO4EmXFQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/frankaemika
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/franka-by-kbee-ag
• Instagraminstagram.com/frankarobotics

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Franka Emika