Top 10 Robotics Companies in the UK 2026

Britain is seeing more robots at work every day. They’re picking groceries in Hertfordshire, driving passengers around London and harvesting strawberries in Cambridgeshire.

The money has followed. UK robotics startups raised $258m (£189.3m) across 12 rounds in 2026 up to late August, according to Tracxn data reported by UKTN. That has already passed the $150m raised in the whole of 2025.

And this is not just a venture story. Wayve started running supervised robotaxis in London with Uber in September 2026. CMR Surgical took its Versius robot into the US. And Humanoid is now Europe’s first humanoid robot unicorn.

If you’re buying, investing or job hunting, there are a lot of robotics companies in the UK to weigh up, and the field moves fast. Some make the full robot. Others build the software that makes robots useful. A few do both.

This guide looks at the top 10 robotics companies in the UK for 2026, with verified facts on where each one is based, what it builds and what it has achieved this year.

Why Businesses Are Turning to Robotics Companies in the UK

Labor shortages are pushing automation

Farms, warehouses and factories across the UK still struggle to fill repetitive roles. Robots that pick fruit, scan pallets or move boxes let businesses keep output steady without relying on hard-to-find seasonal labor.

AI has made robots more flexible

The latest generation of UK robots is built on machine learning rather than fixed scripts. One platform can handle many tasks and learn new ones, which lowers the cost of each new use case.

Strong research roots

Universities in Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow and London have produced many of the country’s leading robotics firms. Buyers get access to deep research talent through these spinouts, often at an earlier stage than in other markets.

Investor and government backing

UK robotics companies are funded by venture investors along with organizations such as the National Wealth Fund, Scottish Enterprise and Innovate UK. That gives them the runway to scale and makes long-term partnerships less risky for customers.

Top 10 Robotics Companies in the UK at a Glance

Rank	Name	Core segment	Key 2026 figure
1	Ocado Technology	Warehouse and grocery automation	£609.2m Technology Solutions revenue in 1H26
2	Wayve	Embodied AI for autonomous driving	$1.2bn raised at an $8.6bn valuation
3	CMR Surgical	Surgical robotics	Over 45,000 patients treated with Versius
4	Oxa	Industrial autonomous vehicles	$103m Series D first close
5	Humanoid	Humanoid robots	$152m Series A at a $1.35bn valuation
6	Dexory	Warehouse scanning robots	New robot scans up to 60 feet high
7	Automata	Lab automation	$45m Series C
8	Shadow Robot Company	Dexterous robot hands	DEX-EE Chiral added to its range
9	Dogtooth Technologies	Agricultural harvesting robots	Over £14m in growth capital
10	Chemify	Robotic chemistry	£22m in government grants for Glasgow expansion

Top 10 Robotics Companies in the UK (2026)

Here is our ranked list, based on scale, technology, 2026 traction and UK presence.

1. Ocado Technology

Ocado Technology is the technology arm of Ocado Group, the online grocery pioneer founded in 2000 and headquartered in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its Ocado Smart Platform combines grid-based robots, robotic picking arms and software to run automated customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) for grocers around the world. Ocado had 23 CFCs live worldwide at its 2026 half-year results.

It has had some ups and downs this year but remains the biggest name among robotics companies in the UK by revenue. Technology Solutions revenue reached £609.2m in the first half of 2026, helped by a one-off $350m payment from Kroger after the US grocer closed three of its robotic sites. Ocado added Asda as a UK partner in May 2026 and, in July, signed a deal to build a large robotic warehouse for an unnamed European retailer using its 600 Series robots and On-Grid Robotic Pick.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Ocado Smart Platform for grocery fulfilment
✔ 600 Series grid robots
✔ On-Grid Robotic Pick arms
✔ Automated freezer technology

Best for: Grocers and retailers that want end-to-end automated online fulfilment.

2. Wayve

Founded in Cambridge in 2017 by Alex Kendall and Amar Shah, Wayve is now headquartered in London, with its main R&D office in King’s Cross. It has developed an end-to-end, camera-based “AI Driver” that learns to drive from data rather than hand-coded rules, so it can run across different vehicle types and chip platforms.

2026 has been a big year for Wayve. In February it raised $1.2bn at an $8.6bn valuation, taking total funding to $2.5bn, with investors including Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Nissan, Nvidia, Microsoft and Uber. On September 3, 2026, Uber and Wayve launched London’s first supervised robotaxi rides, using Ford Mustang Mach-E cars with a licensed safety driver on board. Nissan plans to bring Wayve’s software to its ProPilot system in fiscal year 2027.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Wayve AI Driver software
✔ Robotaxi deployments with Uber
✔ Driver-assistance integration for automakers
✔ Multi-vehicle, multi-chip autonomy platform

Best for: Automakers and mobility operators building autonomous or assisted driving.

3. CMR Surgical

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cambridge, CMR Surgical makes Versius, a modular surgical robot. Its separate arms can be positioned around the patient and moved between operating rooms. The company’s goal is to make robotic minimally invasive surgery more affordable and easier to adopt.

In March 2026, CMR said more than 45,000 patients had been treated with Versius in over 30 countries, making it the second most widely used robotic surgery platform in the world by its own count. Versius Plus received FDA 510(k) clearance in December 2025 for gallbladder removal, and CMR introduced it to US surgeons at SAGES 2026. A $400m deal gives Stryker US rights to sell Versius Plus and an option to acquire CMR.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Versius Plus surgical robot
✔ Modular, portable robotic arms
✔ General, colorectal, urology, gynecology and thoracic procedures
✔ Training and support for first-time robotic programs

Best for: Hospitals and surgery centers starting or expanding robotic surgery.

4. Oxa

Oxa, formerly Oxbotica, was spun out of the University of Oxford in 2014 and is headquartered in Oxford. Unlike Wayve, it doesn’t focus on passenger robotaxis. Instead, it builds software that lets industrial vehicles drive themselves, through Oxa Driver, a configurable autonomous driving system, and Oxa Foundry, a set of tools for building and deploying autonomy.

In March 2026, Oxa announced a $103m (£77m) first close of its Series D. The UK National Wealth Fund committed $50m, its first investment under its Advanced Manufacturing mandate, alongside NVentures, IP Group, Hostplus and bp Ventures. Oxa’s software moves goods at ports, airports and factories and patrols solar farms, with DHL, Vantec and bp named as customers.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Oxa Driver autonomous driving software
✔ Oxa Foundry development tools
✔ Industrial logistics automation
✔ Autonomous site monitoring

Best for: Logistics, energy and industrial operators automating repetitive vehicle work.

5. Humanoid

Based in London and founded in 2024 by Artem Sokolov, Humanoid builds HMND 01 Alpha, a general-purpose humanoid robot offered in wheeled and bipedal versions, along with KinetIQ, its fleet software. The company focuses on industrial work in manufacturing, logistics and retail.

In July 2026, Humanoid closed a $152m Series A led by Prime Movers Lab at a $1.35bn post-money valuation, becoming Europe’s first pure-play humanoid robotics unicorn. In May, Bosch agreed to act as its European contract manufacturer, after a proof of concept at a Bosch logistics site in Germany. Schaeffler has also signed an agreement for a planned deployment of thousands of robots, and beta units are due at customer sites from Q4 2026.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ HMND 01 Alpha wheeled humanoid
✔ HMND 01 bipedal humanoid
✔ KinetIQ fleet software
✔ Industrial pilots in logistics and manufacturing

Best for: Manufacturers and logistics firms exploring humanoid robots for material handling.

6. Dexory

Dexory was founded in London in 2015 by Andrei Danescu, Adrian Negoita and Oana Jinga and is now based in South Oxfordshire. It builds tall autonomous robots that scan warehouse racking as they move. That data feeds DexoryView, a digital twin that shows what stock is stored and the condition it is in, in real time.

The company raised a $165m package in October 2025, including a $100m Series C equity round. In February 2026, it launched a next-generation robot that scans up to 60 feet high, up from 40 feet, plus a Storage Health feature that flags safety, hygiene and stock risks. Dexory reports an 80% reduction in audit time for customers, which include GXO, Maersk, DHL, Stellantis and GE Appliances. It has also opened a US headquarters in Nashville.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Autonomous warehouse scanning robots
✔ DexoryView digital twin
✔ Storage Health risk detection
✔ Inventory accuracy analytics

Best for: 3PLs and large warehouses that need accurate, frequent inventory data.

7. Automata

Automata is a London lab automation company founded in 2015 by CEO Mostafa Elsayed and backed by Entrepreneurs First. It offers a combination of modular robotics, orchestration software and data infrastructure in one platform that helps life science labs automate experiments and produce AI-ready data.

In January 2026, Automata closed a $45m Series C led by Dimension, with Danaher Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, Octopus Ventures and Entrepreneurs First joining in. The deal comes with a strategic partnership with Danaher, whose companies Molecular Devices and Beckman Coulter Life Sciences will integrate Automata’s software. Automata says five top pharma companies are customers and that it is growing through repeat deployments.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Modular lab robotics
✔ Lab orchestration software
✔ Unified lab data infrastructure
✔ Closed-loop experimentation tools

Best for: Pharma and biotech labs scaling automated, data-driven experiments.

8. Shadow Robot Company

Shadow Robot Company is a London specialist that grew out of a robotics group started by Richard Greenhill in 1987 and was registered as a company in 1997. It is best known for the Shadow Hand, a research platform that closely mimics the dexterity of a human hand, as well as for teleoperation systems and tactile sensors.

Its DEX-EE hand was developed with input from the Google DeepMind robotics team for robot-learning research that needs hardware both dexterous and durable. In July 2026, Shadow announced the DEX-EE Chiral and said it is widening access through more competitive pricing, rental models and shorter lead times. Past clients include NASA, ESA, OpenAI and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Shadow Dexterous Hand
✔ DEX-EE and DEX-EE Chiral hands
✔ Teleoperation systems
✔ Tactile sensors and robots for hire

Best for: Research labs and AI teams working on robotic manipulation.

9. Dogtooth Technologies

Founded in 2014, Dogtooth Technologies is a robotics company based in Cambridge and led by CEO Duncan Robertson. It builds AI-powered robots that pick delicate soft fruit and grade it for quality, pairing computer vision with precise robotic arms. Its robots are already picking on commercial farms, with Dyson Farming named as a customer.

In July 2026, Dogtooth raised more than £14m in growth capital from 24Haymarket, EMV Capital and ACF Investors, alongside Innovate UK grants and a venture leasing facility from Kineo Finance. It plans to use the money to take its robots beyond the UK. For growers facing seasonal labor gaps, it is one of the most proven harvesting options built in Britain.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Autonomous soft fruit harvesting robots
✔ In-field quality grading
✔ Computer vision for crop detection
✔ Commercial farm deployments

Best for: Soft fruit growers dealing with seasonal labor shortages.

10. Chemify

Chemify was founded in Glasgow in 2019 and offers “chemputation,” a platform that uses robotic labs and AI to design and make new molecules automatically. Its first Chemifarm facility has been running in Glasgow since 2025, and the company employs about 152 people in Scotland.

In September 2026, Chemify secured £22m in grants, £16m from Scottish Enterprise and £6m from the UK Government, toward an £89.9m expansion. It also extended its Series B to £51.9m, co-led by Wing Venture Capital and Insight Partners, bringing total funding to more than £110m. Its next-generation Chemifarm is due later in 2026, and the expansion could create up to 300 jobs.

Key Robotics Solutions
✔ Chemputation platform
✔ Robotic Chemifarm facilities
✔ AI-driven molecule design
✔ Automated synthesis for drug discovery and materials

Best for: Pharma and materials companies that need faster molecule discovery.

How to Choose the Right Robotics Partner

Start with the task, not the robot

What job do you want to automate? Define it exactly, from picking fruit to scanning racks. Among robotics companies in the UK, the right one is the one that already solves that job, not the one with the most impressive demo.

Check live deployments

Ask how many live sites a supplier has and who runs its robots in production today. Named customers such as DHL, GXO or Dyson Farming are a stronger signal than pilot announcements.

Look at software as much as hardware

Many companies now sell data and AI as much as machines. Make sure the software works with your current systems, and check who owns the data it produces.

Assess financial runway

Robotics is capital-intensive. Has the company recently raised money? What revenue does it make? Strong backers suggest it will be around to support your robots for years.

Plan for support and scale

Ask about training, maintenance and spare parts in the UK. Then ask how pricing changes when you go from one site to ten.

Frequently Asked Questions About Robotics Companies in the UK

Which is the biggest robotics company in the UK?

By revenue, Ocado leads among UK-headquartered firms, with £609.2m in Technology Solutions revenue in the first half of 2026. By private valuation, Wayve is highest at $8.6bn.

Where are most UK robotics companies based?

London has the most companies, but Cambridge has seen the most money invested. Tracxn data reported by UKTN shows Cambridge robotics firms have raised $1.3bn, more than London and Bristol combined. Oxford and Glasgow are also strong hubs.

Are UK robotics companies only startups?

No. This list mixes publicly traded groups such as Ocado, long-running specialists such as Shadow Robot Company and newer venture-backed firms such as Humanoid. Each suits a different kind of buyer.

Which UK robotics company is best?

There is no single best for everyone. A hospital, a farm and a warehouse need very different robots, so match the company to your use case, budget and timeline.

Conclusion

The robotics companies in the UK are moving from research to real revenue. Robotaxis are driving around London, surgical robots are entering the US and warehouse robots are scanning stock across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

Whether you are buying, investing or hiring, the ten firms above show where British robotics is strongest in 2026. Start with your own problem, check live deployments and choose the partner that has already proven it can deliver.