Seed23 February 2022

Touchlab secures £3.5m Seed investment led by Octopus Ventures

Octopus Ventures leads a £3.5m seed round in Touchlab to advance robotic electronic skin technology.

£3.5MSeed

Touchlab develops low-profile electronic skin for robots, providing them with a human-like sense of touch. Based in Edinburgh, the deep tech firm creates retrofittable tactile sensors capable of withstanding extreme environments.

Edinburgh-based deep tech company Touchlab has secured £3.5m in seed funding to expand its commercial and technical operations. The investment was led by Octopus Ventures, with additional participation from existing backers Creator Fund and Techstart Ventures.

The capital will be deployed to meet increasing demand for large-scale deployments of its electronic skin technology in grasping and automation applications. Founded by Dr Zaki Hussein, the firm has developed thin, durable tactile sensors that can be retrofitted onto robots without restricting their movement, allowing machines to handle delicate objects and operate in hazardous environments such as nuclear facilities.

The fresh funding arrives as Touchlab advances its commercial partnerships and prepares for upcoming medical pilots, including a deployment in Finland designed to reduce healthcare-acquired infections through telerobotics.

From the founder

"Touch is the final frontier for robot interaction and entry into physical environments – enabling true dexterity and safety. We have taken on this challenge by developing a ‘full-stack’ solution; retrofittable e-skin that gathers the data, software to make sense of it, and integration to ensure it works in demanding applications – from grocery grasping to telerobotics in extreme environments. Octopus’ expertise propel us to achieve e-skin’s full potential and create a step-change in robotics."

Zaki Hussein

Founder and CEO at Touchlab

Investor perspective

"Touchlab has made truly pioneering advances with its technology in tactile sensing. Electronic skin will open a world of new opportunities and applications in robotics, making it an extremely exciting time for the industry. Zaki and the Touchlab team have a huge vision for the business, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be supporting them on this journey"

Mason Sinclair

Investor, Octopus Ventures