Automata nets £32.6m series C to automate drug‑discovery experiments with robotics
This article covers Automata, an AI startup, which has closed a £32.6m ($45m) series C funding round led by Dimension and entered a strategic investment partnership with Danaher Corporation. The funding aims to accelerate development of Automata's software-driven operating system for AI-ready labs, supporting laboratory automation and more reproducible, faster drug discovery workflows for pharmaceutical and biotech research.
Automata, an AI startup, has closed a £32.6m ($45m) series C funding round led by Dimension, with participation from Danaher Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, Octopus Ventures, Entrepreneurs First and others. The capital and a strategic investment partnership with Danaher Corporation aim to accelerate Automata’s work on a software-driven “operating system” for AI-ready labs, addressing a persistent gap between computational models and physical experimentation in drug discovery.
Why it matters
Laboratories remain a bottleneck for AI-led biology. While models and compute have advanced rapidly, the physical steps of experiment setup, execution and data capture are still often manual and fragmented. Automata positions itself as the bridge: a platform that combines robotics, orchestration software and a unified data layer to make wet labs more programmable and repeatable. For drug discovery and advanced research, that could mean faster iteration, more reproducible results and lower per-experiment cost — outcomes that matter to pharma and biotech alike.
Automata already reports deployments with five top pharmaceutical companies and says growth is driven by repeat purchases and large automation projects. If those deployments deliver consistent throughput and reproducibility gains at scale, they would help validate the commercial case for lab automation beyond pilot projects.
Inside the product
Automata’s offering pairs modular laboratory robotics with orchestration and data infrastructure intended to support closed-loop experimentation. The company describes the stack as an “operating layer” that connects AI models to the lab bench so experiments can be run autonomously rather than as bespoke workflows. Key product goals announced alongside the round include a next-generation data platform and software to enable self-serve, AI-driven discovery.
On the customer side, the value propositions cited are higher throughput, improved reproducibility and more efficient use of reagents and instrumentation. Integrations with existing lab hardware and instruments will be important to reduce friction for adopters; Automata has flagged tighter integration work as a priority following the funding.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by Dimension, with participation from Danaher Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, Octopus Ventures, Entrepreneurs First and unspecified other investors. The deal also establishes a strategic investment partnership with Danaher Corporation, which intends to integrate technologies from its Molecular Devices and Beckman Coulter Life Sciences businesses with Automata’s software. As part of that partnership, Murali Venkatesan Ph.D., Global Head of Danaher Ventures and Vice President of Science Technology and Innovation, will join Automata’s board.
In the announcement, Nan Li, Founder and Managing Partner of Dimension, said:
Scalable, software-defined lab operations are foundational to the AI wave in life science. Automata is building the technology stack to power modern labs and has emerged as a leader in this exciting new chapter for lab automation.
In the announcement, Murali Venkatesan Ph.D., Global Head of Danaher Ventures and Vice President of Science Technology and Innovation, said:
Advancements in robotics and automation, AI, compute, and instrumentation are powering the next wave of biological insights. We are proud to partner with Automata to accelerate customer workflows across drug discovery and development, foundational model development for biological systems, and automate advanced diagnostics.
Octopus Ventures and Entrepreneurs First bring early-stage investor and founder-focused experience respectively; Danaher contributes deep market access into laboratories through its instruments and reagents business, which could speed integration and commercial deployment.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of AI venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of AI angel investors in the UK
Founder perspective
In the announcement, Mostafa Elsayed, CEO of Automata, said:
AI-first biology requires fundamentally different infrastructure. We're building the operating layer between AI models and the physical lab - enabling labs to run autonomously rather than as bespoke workshops. This funding allows us to scale that vision with customers who are already redefining what's possible in experimental science.
Automata says it will use the proceeds to expand customer deployments, develop its data and closed-loop experimentation software, and grow engineering, product and customer success teams to support broader global adoption.
The bigger picture
Automata’s raise highlights a wider trend: investors and corporates are increasingly funding infrastructure that lets AI move from in silico hypothesis to physical experimentation. The Danaher partnership is one example of an established instruments and reagents group working directly with a startup to deliver end-to-end lab automation solutions. The deal also reflects growing interest from UK AI investors in infrastructure for experimental biology.
For the UK and European ecosystems, the combination of VC capital, corporate partnerships and visible pilot customers is an important test of whether lab automation can scale commercially. If Automata and similar companies can turn deployments into reproducible, cost-effective operations, it will lower the barrier for labs to adopt AI-driven workflows and could accelerate R&D timelines across pharmaceuticals and academic research.
They've invested in Automata
Get to know these AI investors
| Investor | Sector | Stage | Activity | Team | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dimension | 2 investments investments | 5 contacts contacts | |||
 Danaher Ventures | 1 investment investment | more info | |||
 Tru Arrow Partners | 1 investment investment | more info | |||
 Octopus Ventures | 49 investments investments | 14 contacts contacts | |||
 Entrepreneur First (Entrepreneurs First) | 15 investments investments | 10 contacts contacts |
Click here for a full list of 7,526+ startup investors in the UK