The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies KUKA AG: 3 models, 2 deployments across 2 regions. 16 sources back the record.
Appears inLogistics robots/Manufacturing robots
Overview
German industrial robot manufacturer and one of the global Big Four robot makers. Acquired by China's Midea group in 2016. Produces 6-axis articulated robots, quenching robots, and the KR QUANTEC series for automotive and industrial applications. The 1981 Kenji Urada fatality at a Kawasaki plant — Japan's first robot-related death — involved a Kawasaki industrial robot, underscoring these manufacturers' long safety history.
Reality check
Revenue (company-claimed)
EUR 3.9 billion in 2025.
Employees (company-claimed)
About 14,542 in 2025.
Divisions (company-claimed)
Robotics and Systems, Swisslog warehouse automation and Swisslog Healthcare.
LBR Med (company-claimed, Sep 2026)
Positioned as an established medical robot platform for MedTech firms moving from prototype to commercialization.
iiQKA.AI Vision (company-claimed, Oct 2026)
2D/3D vision software launched Oct 8 2026, running in the robot controller on an NVIDIA Jetson Orin module.
KMF 1500P-CB forklift (company-claimed, Sep 2026)
First KMF autonomous forklift: up to 1,500 kg to 3 m lift height; orderable worldwide from Sep 2026.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 2 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDAcquisitionAcquired by Midea Group
Key facts
Parent (reported, unconfirmed)
Automotive exposure (reported, unconfirmed)
Data & sources
Press releases
1
Patent documents
8
Web sources
7
16 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (3)
View all models →Current platform
KUKA KMF 1500P-CB
KUKA's first autonomous forklift, the lead model (CB = counterbalance) of the new KMF 1500P series, announced by KUKA on 10 September 2026. KUKA says it moves open and closed pallets and containers up to 1,500 kg to lifting heights of up to three meters, picks up at enclosed transfer points such as roller conveyors, runs on the KUKA.AMR software ecosystem, supports the VDA 5050 interface for third-party fleet management, and uses a 360-degree safety concept. KUKA says it is orderable worldwide from September 2026 with deliveries expected from December 2026; a KMF 1500P-PS pallet stacker variant is planned for Q1 2027. No customers are named.
Current platform
LBR Med
KUKA LBR Med is a collaborative medical robotic platform for MedTech device manufacturers. KUKA company Instagram (Sep 2026) framed LBR Med as an established robot platform that MedTech companies use when moving a medical device from prototype toward global commercialization, citing years of experience in real medical environments plus long-term availability, worldwide support, and international scale ([company-stated](https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd4Od67Fyr8/)).
Current platform
KUKA KR QUANTEC
6-axis industrial robot family with 120 kg payload and 2701 mm reach for material handling and palletizing.
Partnerships
Every company KUKA AG has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1Harmonic Drive SE1× joint
- 2Midea Group1× joint
- 3Swisslog1× joint2 total
Most recent
- with Midea Groupoperating
- KUKA acquires Swisslog2014-09-24with Swisslogoperating
- with Harmonic Drive SEoperating
KUKA AG on the deployment map
View the global map2 verified deployments across 2 regions, newest verified Jun 2024. Explore where KUKA AG's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full KUKA AG deployment record →
Relationships
Explainers
Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about KUKA AG, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.
What is the KUKA KR QUANTEC?
How much does the KUKA KR QUANTEC cost?
Current leadership (2)
- Bernd Liepert Former CTO, KUKA Roboticssecondary-verified
- Christoph Schell CEO, KUKA AGsince 2025-07-01IR-verified
Former / Previously (2)
- Dr. Patrick Pfaff Global Development Lead: Mobile Robotics, Cobot Control, Programming Tools and IoTsecondary-verified
- Peter Mohnen CEO, KUKA AG2018 to 2025IR-verified
Media (1)
Company-anchored media. Official assets the company has published at the company level, distinct from model-anchored media that lives on individual product pages.
Safety record
No incidents on record for KUKA AG.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- KUKA AG2 deployments
Recent coverage
KUKA AG in third-party press
Peers
75 peers across 1 segment. Every KUKA AG competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
industrial robot(75)
33 companies in this segment · moderately_concentrated (HHI 2051.61304640928) · leader Mind Robotics at 3415%
- ABB Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- AMP Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- BD Rowadirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Comaudirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Diakontdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- EFORT Intelligent Equipmentdirect competitor(inferred)strong
Mentioned on (25)
Registry pages whose text names KUKA AG.
Companies (6)
EFORT Intelligent Equipment, Skyline Robotics, LYRO Robotics, Swisslog, RoboTwin, Midea Group
Robots and products (6)
Pickle Truck Unloader, LBR Med, mBos TKA System, RoboTeach, Ozmo, KR AGILUS
Supplies to (3)
Mechanical / contract manufacturing
- Formic Cobot RaaSby FormicKUKA collaborative and industrial robot arms -- Formic Core OS runs across KUKA robot systems deployed in customer facilities; Formic owns/operates hardware under RaaS modelsupplies
- Karakuri DK-Oneby KarakuriKUKA KR AGILUS six-axis robot (up to 900mm reach)suppliesended
- Makr Shakr Toniby Makr ShakrKUKA KR AGILUS six-axis arms (KR 10 R1100 mixing + KR 6 R900-2 pour), KR C4 controllersupplies
Outbound supply edges from this company. Each relationship appears here when verified with at least two strong sources (maker-official / IR / regulatory / standards-body / verified tier-2). Sources are append-only; corrections add new sources rather than rewrite history.
Supplied by (1)
Compute / semiconductor
- NVIDIAvia KUKA KR QUANTECNVIDIA AI compute -- KUKA.AI visual quality inspection and manufacturing intelligencesupplies
Inbound supply edges feeding this company directly or via the models it owns. Same source bar as the outbound view (verified against at least two strong sources).
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- aggregator_estimate
- Lifecycle stage
- mature
- Counterparty risk class
- low
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
3 total · 3 operating · 1 ended
Every company KUKA AG has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- with Midea Groupoperating
- KUKA acquires Swisslog2014-09-24with Swisslogoperating
- with Harmonic Drive SEoperating
Most-frequent partners
- 1Harmonic Drive SE1× joint
- 2Midea Group1× joint
- 3Swisslog1× joint2 total
All 3 partnerships
open in the atlas →- Midea Group x KUKA (Acquisition/Ownership)withMidea Groupinvestment2017-01-01operating
- Harmonic Drive SE x KUKA (Industrial Robot Joint Reducers)withHarmonic Drive SEmanufacturing2010-01-01operating
- investment2014-09-24concludedoperating
Acquisitions (2)
- acquired by Midea Groupmajority stake2016-06-01
- acquired Swisslogfull acquisition2014-09-25
Patent estate (8)
- US8219245B2usptograntedgranted 2012-07-10assignee
- US20110126661A1usptopendingassignee
- EP2301727B2epograntedgranted 2015-06-03assignee
- US20200206924A1usptopendingassignee
- US20120118097A1usptopendingassignee
- USD444488S1usptograntedgranted 2001-10-09assignee
Timeline
Every recorded move in KUKA AG’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
New supplierNew supplier: Keyence
2026-08-23Supply: Keyence vision for KUKA from Keyence
New supplierNew supplier: SICK AG
2026-08-23Supply: SICK safety scanners for KUKA from SICK AG
New supplierNew supplier: Sumitomo Drive Technologies
2026-08-23Supply: Sumitomo cyclo drives for KUKA from Sumitomo Drive Technologies
New supplierNew supplier: TDK InvenSense
2026-08-23Supply: IMU sensors for robot positioning from TDK InvenSense
New supplierNew supplier: Murata Manufacturing
2026-08-23Supply: IMU sensors from Murata Manufacturing
New supplierNew supplier: Qualcomm
2026-08-23Supply: Qualcomm 5G for KUKA from Qualcomm
New supplierNew supplier: Nabtesco
2026-08-23Supply: Nabtesco RV reducers for KUKA from Nabtesco
New supplierNew supplier: Qualcomm
2026-08-23Supply: Qualcomm 5G for KUKA from Qualcomm
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJul 23, 2026
KUKA AG logo
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 11, 2026
KUKA KR QUANTEC 2 PA food palletizing
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 7, 2026
KR AGILUS (English)
- Record createdJun 6, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 1, 2024
KUKA KR QUANTEC at Global
Sources (8)
- https://www.kuka.com/
- https://www.kuka.com/en-de/about-kuka/company/investor-relations
- https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd4Od67Fyr8/ · 2026-09-29
- https://www.kuka.com/en-gb/company/press/news/2026/09/iiqka-ai-vision-product-launch · 2026-10-08
- https://www.instagram.com/reel/DePAcrJkust/ · 2026-10-08
- https://www.kuka.com/en-us/company/press/news/2026/09/kuka-mobile-forklift-launch · 2026-09-10
- https://intralogisticsmag.com/news/114612-autonomous-counterbalance-forklift-kmf-1500p-cb-for-pallet-logistics
- https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeZMIqYDIH8/ · 2026-10-12
Common questions
What is KUKA AG?
What does KUKA AG make?
Is KUKA AG publicly traded?
Who competes with KUKA AG?
Who is the CEO of KUKA AG?
How can I invest in KUKA AG?
Who owns KUKA AG?
Where does KUKA AG operate robots?
How many robots has KUKA AG deployed?
Is KUKA AG a top robotics company?
When was KUKA AG founded?
Is KUKA AG safe?
Methodology: Verified · 8 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-12
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-12
Sources by quality tier
- 7
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for KUKA AG.Peer companies
- Dobot6 models
- Robotphoenix5 models
- Reeman4 models
- Savoye4 models
- ABB3 models
- DENSO Corporation3 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning KUKA AG from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/kuka.md
- RSS feed: /companies/kuka/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/61cbe72a-d71b-4656-a20e-432101456601
- Revision history: /companies/kuka/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Dobot6 models
- Robotphoenix5 models
- Reeman4 models
- Savoye4 models
- ABB3 models
- DENSO Corporation3 models
Video
Last year, Timo Boll challenged the KUKA KR AGILUS in his area of expertise: table tennis. Now, it is up to Timo to prove his qualities in a completely different kind of duel. The revenge is on. Man and machine are read
KUKA offers a wide range of autonomous mobile robotics (AMR) that covers the entire value chain and perfectly meets the requirements of intralogistics and produ
Hello today @Future Robotics I thought it's time to create our first program using KUKA. I'll talk about basics of programming and difference between SELECT an
There is an error which I noticed reviewing the video I am calling the movement enabling button wrong, it's called deadman's switch not handbrake. I apologize f
Bionic designs, complex structures and small batch sizes - to meet the challenges of modern manufacturing in the metal industry, @hsautomationgmbh has teamed u
KUKA showcased their AMR ranges in public at Modex 2024 alongside other industrial robots. Don't forget to subscribe to our channel! +Check our @stiqltd #FR
KUKA automates manufacturing processes and presents as a global technology company with more than 5,700 employees business and accelerate the expansion into inn
More reach, more flexibility. See how our linear track system unleashes the full potential of KUKA industrial robots, enabling smooth, extended travel across lo
#Job to #Robot: KUKA AG : Robot Musicians and the Future of Robotics in the Human World 🤖🎶. #Robots looking for #jobs @jobtorob KUKA's #robots rock the s
Heat Index
Serious56/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
KUKA AG draws attention at the 97th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among forklift robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 2 verified deployments. Broad public reach with 15.0M video views. Limited public funding data for capital position assessment.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 20, 2026