{"id":"86677bf0-81ac-455c-b63d-3e4ef347f3b9","name":"Inspection Robotics","slug":"inspection-robotics","description":"Swiss industrial inspection robotics company and a spin-off from the ETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab, founded in 2006 as a joint venture with ALSTOM Power Service. Now operating as Waygate Technologies Robotics, a unit of [Baker Hughes](/companies/baker-hughes), it builds magnetic-wheeled climbing robots such as the BIKE platform for inspecting power plants, oil and gas facilities, and other large-scale industrial assets. Baker Hughes announced the sale of Waygate Technologies to Hexagon for approximately $1.45 billion in April 2026.","status":"active","founded":2006,"hq":"Zurich, Switzerland","hqLat":47.3744489,"hqLng":8.5410422,"hqGeocodedAt":"2026-08-05T14:34:20.602Z","hqAddress":null,"hqPrecision":null,"website":"https://www.inspection-robotics.com","fundingTotal":null,"type":"both","roles":["robot_maker","robot_operator"],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","heatIndex":52,"lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.inspection-robotics.com/","title":"Inspection Robotics","date_accessed":"2026-06-07"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"HQ","value":"Zurich, Switzerland"},{"label":"Focus","value":"Automated inspection for wind turbines, blades, and towers"},{"label":"Robot","value":"Climbing and aerial inspection robots"},{"label":"Founder","value":"Alexander Schlaepfer"},{"label":"Parent","value":"Baker Hughes (Waygate Technologies)"},{"label":"Former names","value":"ALSTOM Inspection Robotics (2006-2015), GE Inspection Robotics (2015-2020)"},{"label":"Key product","value":"BIKE (magnetic-wheeled climbing inspection robot)"},{"label":"Key technology","value":"3D LOC (spatial awareness and digital twin integration)"},{"label":"Origin","value":"ETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab spin-off"},{"label":"2026 divestiture","value":"Baker Hughes announced sale of Waygate Technologies to Hexagon for ~$1.45B (April 2026)"}],"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"tickerSymbol":null,"stockExchange":null,"secCik":null,"revenueUsd":null,"revenueBasis":null,"revenueAsOf":null,"employeeCount":null,"employeeCountBasis":null,"employeeCountAsOf":null,"marketCapUsd":null,"marketCapAsOf":null,"marketCapSource":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-08T04:13:54.808Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-21T22:29:19.901Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/inspection-robotics","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/inspection-robotics","name":"Inspection Robotics","description":"Swiss industrial inspection robotics company and a spin-off from the ETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab, founded in 2006 as a joint venture with ALSTOM Power Service. Now operating as Waygate Technologies Robotics, a unit of [Baker Hughes](/companies/baker-hughes), it builds magnetic-wheeled climbing robots such as the BIKE platform for inspecting power plants, oil and gas facilities, and other large-scale industrial assets. Baker Hughes announced the sale of Waygate Technologies to Hexagon for approximately $1.45 billion in April 2026.","identifier":"86677bf0-81ac-455c-b63d-3e4ef347f3b9","foundingDate":"2006","address":"Zurich, Switzerland","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":1,"primary_source_types":[]}}}