Romanian startup .lumen has reached a significant milestone by obtaining an €11 million grant awarded by the European Union (EU). This massive influx of capital will help to establish autonomous delivery robots. The grant was provided within the framework of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, defined as a flagship initiative by the EU specifically designed to assist with commercially bringing into existence high-impact, deep-tech innovations. This huge financing points to the investment that the EU has placed on the improvement of the most sophisticated technology and innovation that has evolved within the region. 

Utilization of fresh funds and expansion

The financing is a hybrid deal, which is both a grant and equity, amounting to €11 million. Significantly, .lumen gained this grant because the EIC Accelerator is extremely competitive. The award makes the Romanian startup part of the group of the best deep-tech startups receiving the maximum financial support of the EU to implement the ground-breaking projects. The aspect of the funded project of the development of autonomous delivery robots is a landmark step in the fast-growing logistics and last-mile delivery industry, a market that is in the process of rapid evolution.

The expansion of .lumen to the autonomous delivery line of business will be directly financed by the newly earned EU funds. The project associated with the startup is the design of robotic units that can move autonomously and deliver goods effectively and safely. This diversification shift into logistics is a major diversification of the company as it fits to meet the increasing demand for automated and scalable delivery services in the world.

These autonomous robots are deep-tech, complicated to develop, and the company will utilize its current experience. The new grant becomes crucial because it will allow the required research, development, and subsequent commercialization of the robotic delivery platform. This shift emphasizes a shift of consumer-oriented assistive technology to B2B (Business-to-Business) logistics solution, which opens up a large new market to the Romanian company in the European environment and potentially beyond.

Benefits from the core technical knowledge

Although the new grant is limited to autonomous delivery robots, it is not the first time that .lumen has been involved in deep-tech innovation. The company was first recognized because it created a high-tech assistive device for individuals with visual impairments. This current product employs Artificial Intelligence (AI), computer vision, and sophisticated robotics to enable users to have an eye on their surroundings, supplying them with vital information and directional support.

This core technical knowledge will be directly applied to the new project of delivery robots. The computer vision, sensor fusion, and navigation software that is designed to serve the assistive device is transferable to autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance that is required of the delivery robots working in dense urban areas. The capital enables .lumen to utilize the already established, developed intellectual property and technical expertise to a new, exponentially growing commercial application, demonstrating the startup’s capacity to re-use and extend its underlying deep-tech assets.

Conclusion

The €11 million European Innovation Council Accelerator grant is a milestone in the life of Romanian startup .lumen, as it marks the ambitious phase of entering the market of autonomous delivery robots. It will also allow the company to develop and commercialize a robotic platform to support last-mile logistics because of this funding, which is a testament to the deep-tech capabilities of the company. .lumen can now take a leading role in the autonomous mobility industry by strategically tapping into its original expertise in computer vision and AI, which was initially developed to power its celebrated visual assistance device, and with one of the largest innovation programs in the EU in its support.