SWARM Biotactics Raised €13M to Advance Bio-Robotics From Lab to Field

KASSEL, Germany & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 24, 2025--

SWARM Biotactics, developer of bio-robotic systems based on fully controllable living insects for mission-critical operations, has secured €10 million in seed funding, bringing its total raised to €13 million, including a €3 million pre-seed. The round was backed by a consortium of international investors from Europe, the United States, and Australia, including Vertex Ventures US, Possible Ventures, and Capnamic, who was the first investor in the pre-seed round. Several early backers also increased their stakes in the oversubscribed round.

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UNMATCHED ACCESS FOR CRITICAL MISSIONS

SWARM Biotactics is creating a new category of robotics: living, intelligent systems designed for environments where machines can’t go—cluttered, denied, and high-risk terrain. Bio-robotic swarms consist of cockroaches equipped with a custom-built backpack for control, sensing, and secure communication—enabling precise navigation and real-time data collection in the most inaccessible places. SWARM delivers highly scalable bio-robotic systems for defense, security, and disaster response.

“We’re entering a decade where access, autonomy, and resilience define geopolitical advantage,” said Stefan Wilhelm, CEO of SWARM Biotactics. “Conventional systems fail where control is needed most—denied zones, collapsed infrastructure, politically complex terrain.

SWARM is the first company building an entirely new category of robotics: biologically integrated,AI-enabled, and mass-deployable systems for persistent intelligence in places no drone or ground robot can reach. This funding moves us from deep tech to deployment—delivering the infrastructure democracies need to operate more smartly, more safely, and with total tactical awareness.”

FROM DEEP TECH R&D TO OPERATIONAL READINESS

SWARM will use the new funding to transition from advanced research to field deployment. Priorities include:

“Our mission is to build a scalable, dual-use intelligence platform that adapts to any terrain, threat, or mission,” said Moritz Strube, CTO and co-founder. “This funding round validates the vision—and brings in the right global partners to help us scale.”

ABOUT SWARM BIOTACTICS

Founded in 2024, SWARM Biotactics develops fully controllable bio-robotic systems for defense, national security, disaster response, and industrial inspection. By combining biology with edge AI, swarm intelligence, and secure communications, SWARM delivers real-time data from the world’s most inaccessible places. The company is headquartered in Kassel, Germany, with a U.S. subsidiary in San Francisco, California.

A SWARM Biotactics bio-robotic unit equipped with a custom sensor backpack for intelligence gathering in inaccessible terrain. (Photo: SWARM Biotactics)

PHOENIX (AP) — UConn coach Geno Auriemma has apologized for his actions during a heated exchange with Dawn Staley at the end of the Huskies' loss to South Carolina in the women's Final Four.

A visibly upset Auriemma went over to Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina’s 62-48 victory on Friday night and appeared to chastise her. Coaches from both teams had to separate them. When the game finally ended, Auriemma walked off the court to the locker room without going back to shake hands with anyone from South Carolina.

“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut,” the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement on Saturday. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”

After the loss, Auriemma said the exchange was about the lack of a traditional pregame handshake between the coaches. Staley said she was confused.

“I have no idea,” the South Carolina coach said when asked what happened. “But I’m going to let you know this: I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand.

“I don’t know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”

South Carolina advanced to play UCLA in the title game on Sunday. The Gamecocks are looking for their third championship in five seasons.

UConn and South Carolina are set to play each other the next two years with the first game in Connecticut.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, right, yells at UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, left, after a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, left, and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma argue after a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)