A ROBOTICS company founded by a former University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) student and two others has secured a £5.8million investment.

Reach Robotics was created in 2013 by Silas Adekunle, Chris Beck and John Rees to develop the next generation of robotics and gaming.

The trio used their combined knowledge of robotics engineering and augmented reality to create Mekamon – an intelligent gaming robot that can be controlled by a mobile phone.

It is hoped that the multi-million pound investment will help make MekaMon a household name, with 500 robots already shipped to pre-registered customers around the world.

Former UWE Bristol robotics student Silas, the company’s chief executive officer, said: “This financing round will help us move to the next exciting chapter of our company and execute our go-to-market strategy, strengthen our team and capitalise on some of the amazing partnerships that are developing around the globe.”

Soo Boon Koh, Founder and Managing Partner of iGlobe, who have invested into the product, added: “Reach Robotics is an exciting investment for iGlobe. 

“MekaMon is a sensational product. We are confident that this round of new capital injection can propel Reach Robotics towards making MekaMon a global household brand.”

Reach Robotics was formed as part of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory incubator programme.

The business is currently based at Future Space, a workspace for innovators located at the University of the West of England.