Jaipur Robotics Raises €4.3M Seed Round for Waste Plant AI

Swiss deeptech startup Jaipur Robotics has raised €4.3 million (approximately ₹48 crore) in a seed funding round. The investment was co-led by EquityPitcher Ventures and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with participation from existing investors.

This latest round brings the company's total funding to nearly $6 million. Jaipur Robotics previously secured $1 million in a pre-seed round led by TiVentures, with participation from Techstars, in 2025.

Founder and CEO Ermes Zamboni told Inc42 the capital will be used to scale the product and grow the team. The startup plans to accelerate product development, expand its international sales, and develop new features for waste-to-energy plants. Crane automation is emerging as a key focus.

"We have a very clear roadmap for product features and a clear goal for what we want Jaipur Robotics to become for our clients," Zamboni said.

The Core Technology

Founded in 2024 by Ermes Zamboni and Nikhil Prakash, Jaipur Robotics develops AI-powered computer vision systems for waste-to-energy facilities. The technology uses industrial cameras and sensors to monitor waste piles stored in large bunkers.

It identifies hazardous or oversized objects like concrete blocks, metal parts, and gas cylinders. The system pinpoints their location and alerts crane operators before such material can reach a furnace, where it could cause equipment damage, blockages, and costly shutdowns.

The system also analyses the composition and calorific value of the waste. This helps operators decide which sections of a pile to feed into the furnace to maintain stable combustion. Zamboni described the offering as "an intelligence layer for these plants."

Building the Intelligence Layer

Creating this layer requires analysing waste in complex conditions. Inside bunkers, waste is piled, crushed, buried, and often partially obscured. The company claims its AI models have been trained on more than 50 million labelled waste images and are customised for conditions at individual plants.

Jaipur Robotics is now extending its technology from pure detection to crane automation. Its system can map waste piles, estimate the location and volume of different materials, and determine what should be removed or fed into a furnace.

"We want to move from an object-detection company to a full-stack OS-type company for these facilities," Zamboni explained. The approach involves developing a software layer that integrates with a plant's existing crane infrastructure, rather than replacing it.

The startup believes automation can help address a shortage of trained crane operators by enabling them to supervise automated systems instead of manually controlling cranes.

Commercial Deployment and Accuracy

While crane-automation capabilities are under development, the core waste-detection technology is already deployed commercially. Jaipur Robotics claims its system can detect hazardous material with up to 99% accuracy.

The startup's systems are currently analysing more than 5 million tonnes of waste annually. They are deployed across more than 35 waste facilities in Europe. The company was also featured in the August 2026 edition of Inc42's '30 Startups To Watch' list.

Expansion into India

Europe remains the primary market, but Jaipur Robotics is eyeing expansion in India. The startup already has an engineering team in Bengaluru and plans to establish an Indian legal entity by the end of 2026. It is in discussions with potential customers in the country.

The company aims to tap India's waste-to-energy plants, where waste handling and crane operations remain heavily manual. Jaipur Robotics believes its computer vision and automation technology can help improve operational efficiency and safety at these facilities.

According to a report from IMARC Group cited by the source, India's waste-to-energy market was valued at $1.56 billion in 2025. It is projected to reach $1.97 billion by 2034.