Automatic
automatica is the world's leading biennial trade fair for smart automation and robotics, organized by Messe München GmbH in Munich, serving approximately 800 exhibitors and 49,300 visitors from 90+ countries each cycle across industrial robotics, machine vision, and AI.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Automatic does
automatica is the world's leading biennial trade fair for smart automation and robotics, organized by Messe München GmbH and held at the Messe München exhibition grounds in Munich, Germany. The event positions itself as a meeting point for industrial, research, and political representatives, showcasing the full automation value chain including assembly and handling, industrial robotics, service robotics, machine vision, and software/cloud computing. The 2025 edition (June 24–27, 2025) drew approximately 49,300 visitors from more than 90 countries, around 800 exhibitors from 40 countries, and 1,120 robots exhibited across six halls, making it the most attended automatica on record.
The underlying technology is a trade fair and exhibition platform rather than a software product. Proprietary components include the munich_i high-tech platform (jointly operated with the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence at TUM), which houses the Hightech Summit, AI.Society special show, and the Robothon developer challenge, and the automatica mobile app, which provides exhibitor search, interactive hall maps, conference scheduling, and digital ticket management. Distribution is multi-channel: a primary Munich trade fair, international editions (automatica Shanghai from March 2027), and co-located parallel events (Laser World of Photonics, World of Quantum) accessible via a single ticket.
Revenue is generated through three streams: exhibitor fees (transaction-based, paid by approximately 800 companies per cycle), visitor ticket sales (one-time purchase with an optional PLUS TICKET sustainability surcharge of 5 euros), and international event licensing (automatica Shanghai). Customer segmentation spans enterprise industrial robotics companies (FANUC, KUKA, HAHN Automation), enterprise software vendors (MVTec Software), growth-stage robotics firms (Neura Robotics), SMEs (Bender + Wirth), research and academia (via MIRMI/TUM), and health tech exhibitors. Messe München GmbH is a privately held, state-of-Bavaria-owned limited liability company led by Co-CEOs Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer and Stefan Rummel, with Hubert Aiwanger (Bavarian State Minister) as Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
Automatic firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Automatic
- Legal name
- Messe München GmbH
- Website
- https://automatica-munich.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- automatica is the world's leading biennial trade fair for smart automation and robotics, organized by Messe München GmbH in Munich, serving approximately 800 exhibitors and 49,300 visitors from 90+ countries each cycle across industrial robotics, machine vision, and AI.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Automatic industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Trade Fair and Exhibition Services
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Manufacturing, Industrial Equipment & Automation Shows Organizers (THAHABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Factory Automation Cells & Integrated Systems (Assembly, Welding, Painting Lines) (IMAHAHAL), Industrial Automation Software (SCADA, HMI, MES, Historian) (IMAHAHAJ), Electrical Controls, PLC & Industrial Automation (EDAOABAE)
Keywords
Where Automatic is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Automatic business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Exhibitor Fees: Revenue from companies paying to exhibit at the trade fair. Approximately 800 exhibitors from 40 countries participated in automatica 2025.
- Visitor Ticket Sales: Revenue from visitor admissions with optional PLUS TICKET sustainability surcharge (+5 euros). Ticket shop opens annually before the event.
- International Event Licensing: Revenue from international editions such as automatica Shanghai, organized by Messe München Shanghai in cooperation with VDMA China
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Visitor Ticket |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | PLUS TICKET |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Automatic product offering
Product offeringCore offering
automatica organizes the world's leading trade fair for smart automation and robotics, held biennially in Munich. The exhibition brings together approximately 800 exhibitors and 49,000+ visitors from across the globe to showcase industrial robots, assembly and handling systems, machine vision, service robotics, and software/cloud computing for industrial automation. The portfolio is extended through the munich_i high-tech platform, the automatica Shanghai international edition, and co-located events Laser World of Photonics and World of Quantum.
Product overview
automatica is a trade fair/exhibition platform organized by Messe München GmbH, featuring the main automatica trade fair as its core product, supplemented by the munich_i high-tech platform for AI and robotics. The portfolio includes international editions (automatica Shanghai) and parallel co-located events (Laser World of Photonics, World of Quantum). The company also offers a mobile app for attendee navigation. The company functions as an exhibition organizer rather than a technology product company.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- munich_i: High-tech platform for AI and robotics, featuring Hightech Summit, AI.Society, and Robothon developer challenge, run jointly with Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) at TUM.
- PLUS TICKET
Products and services
- automatica Munich Trade Fair The world's leading biennial trade fair for smart automation and robotics, held at Messe München. Brings together approximately 800 exhibitors and 49,000+ visitors to showcase industrial robots, assembly and handling systems, machine vision, service robotics, and automation software. Co-located with Laser World of Photonics and World of Quantum.
- munich_i High-tech Platform High-tech platform within automatica serving as a stage for ideas from leading AI and robotics pioneers. Includes the Hightech Summit, AI.Society special show, and Robothon developer challenge, jointly curated with the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) at TUM. Features speakers from Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and Nvidia.
- automatica Shanghai The first international edition of the automatica trade fair, bringing together leading companies, technologies, and experts in robotics and intelligent automation to the Chinese market. Organized by Messe München Shanghai in cooperation with VDMA China.
- Laser World of Photonics World's leading trade fair for photonics components, systems and applications, co-located with automatica at Messe München. A single ticket grants access to both events, providing cross-industry synergies in laser applications for welding, cutting, marking, and robotic vision systems.
- World of Quantum World's leading trade fair for quantum technologies, co-located with automatica and Laser World of Photonics. Combines companies, start-ups, forums, poster sessions, and networking, with quantum technology building significantly on photonics.
- automatica Mobile App Smartphone application for automatica trade fair attendees offering exhibitor search, interactive hall plans, conference program with scheduling features, favorites management, and pre-event planning tools.
Quantifiable outcome
- 49,300 visitors from more than 90 nations attended automatica 2025
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Automatic
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Automatic technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Automatic partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- VDMA Robotics + AutomationcorePatrick Schwarzkopf, Managing Director of VDMA Robotics + Automation, serves as a key voice for the industry at automatica. The VDMA represents the robotics and automation sector, and the partnership positions automatica as the key venue for showcasing real-world AI solutions and networked production.
- MIRMI (Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence) at TUMcoreMIRMI curates the munich_i high-tech platform including Hightech Summit, AI.Society, and Robothon developer challenge. Prof. Lorenzo Masia, Executive Director of MIRMI, coordinates the platform. Joint project between automatica, Messe München, and Technical University of Munich.
- VDMA ChinacoreCo-organizer of automatica Shanghai with Messe München Shanghai, bringing global automation innovations to the Chinese market.
- Laser World of PhotonicsflagshipParallel co-located trade fair for photonics components, systems and applications. Shares exhibition grounds and opening hours with automatica. Single ticket grants access to both events. Intersection in laser applications for welding, cutting, marking, and robotic vision systems.
- World of QuantumflagshipWorld's leading trade fair for quantum technologies, co-located with automatica and Laser World of Photonics. Combines companies, start-ups, forums, poster sessions, and networking. Quantum technology builds significantly on photonics.
- International Federation of Robotics (IFR)coreTakayuki Ito, President of IFR and former Vice President at Fanuc, participates as key industry voice. IFR represents global robotics industry leadership.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Automatic competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show): Biennial manufacturing technology trade fair held in Chicago, USA, covering automation, robotics, and machine tools. Comparable biennial cadence and exhibitor base focused on industrial automation end users.
- FABTECH: North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, and welding event, with a growing automation and robotics component. It overlaps with automatica's automation value chain and competes for industrial automation exhibitor budgets.
- SPS (Smart Production Solutions): Europe's leading trade fair for industrial automation, held annually in Stuttgart (formerly Nürnberg). It directly competes with automatica for exhibitors in PLCs, drive systems, and smart manufacturing, with strong overlap in target audience.
- Hannover Messe: The world's leading industrial trade fair held annually in Hannover, Germany. It is the most direct competitor to automatica, covering industrial automation, robotics, and digital factory technologies with a similar exhibitor and visitor base.
- Automate Show: North America's largest automation trade fair held in Detroit/Houston, covering robotics, vision, motion control, and AI. It is a direct peer serving the same robotics and automation exhibitor market in the Americas.
Broad incumbents
- Messe Düsseldorf: Major German trade fair organizer operating events such as interpack, K, and drupa, with global portfolio. Comparable as a broad incumbent competitor for trade fair infrastructure and organizer services in DACH.
- Messe Frankfurt: One of the world's largest trade fair organizers, operating across multiple industries including automation-adjacent events. Comparable as a broad incumbent German trade fair operator with global venue and event-management capabilities.
Emerging players
- Industrial Transformation ASIA-PACIFIC (ITAP): Regional Industry 4.0 event held in Singapore focused on robotics, automation, and smart manufacturing in Southeast Asia. Comparable as a regional automation event targeting exhibitors and visitors in Asia-Pacific markets.
Regional players
- IREX (International Robot Exhibition): Japan's flagship biennial robot exhibition held in Tokyo, organized by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. It is the leading regional automation event in Asia and competes for international exhibitor visibility, though focused on the Japanese market.
- CIIF (China International Industry Fair): Major industrial trade fair held annually in Shanghai covering industrial automation, robotics, and CNC machine tools. It is the dominant Chinese industrial fair and a direct competitor for exhibitor attention in the China market where automatica Shanghai will launch.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Automatic social profiles
Digital presenceAutomatic financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Automatic leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Automatic subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Automatic funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Automatic M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Automatic
What does Automatic do?
automatica organizes the world's leading trade fair for smart automation and robotics, held biennially in Munich. The exhibition brings together approximately 800 exhibitors and 49,000+ visitors from across the globe to showcase industrial robots, assembly and handling systems, machine vision, service robotics, and software/cloud computing for industrial automation. The portfolio is extended through the munich_i high-tech platform, the automatica Shanghai international edition, and co-located events Laser World of Photonics and World of Quantum.
Is Automatic a public or private company?
Automatic is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Automatic founded?
Automatic was founded in -1. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Automatic based?
Automatic is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Automatic make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Exhibitor Fees are the primary driver. The others are visitor Ticket Sales and international Event Licensing.
Who are Automatic's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show), FABTECH, SPS (Smart Production Solutions), Hannover Messe and Automate Show. Broad incumbents are Messe Düsseldorf and Messe Frankfurt. Industrial Transformation ASIA-PACIFIC (ITAP) is listed as an emerging player. Regional players are IREX (International Robot Exhibition) and CIIF (China International Industry Fair).
Does Automatic have an API?
No public API is recorded for Automatic.
What industry is Automatic in?
Automatic's product category is Trade Fair and Exhibition Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHABAF, Manufacturing, Industrial Equipment & Automation Shows Organizers, with a secondary code of IMAHAHAL, Factory Automation Cells & Integrated Systems (Assembly, Welding, Painting Lines). Its NAICS code is 56192.