Automata
Automata sells AI-powered lab automation software to streamline scientific research, with 167 employees and $145M in total funding. The company's Series C round in mid-2026 suggests continued investor confidence in its modular platform approach.
The growth story
Automata grew from 48 to 167 employees between 2020 and 2026, raising $145M along the way, most recently a Series C in June 2026.
About
Automata develops software that helps scientists automate laboratory workflows without needing robotics expertise. Its configurable platform aims to replace fragmented legacy systems in research settings.
The company has raised $145M, most recently in a 2026 Series C, and draws engineering talent from lab automation specialists like Biosero and Tecan. Its workforce shows high turnover with a median tenure of just one year.
Founders and leadership
Engineering makes up a quarter of Automata's 167-person staff. The company's leadership includes veterans from industrial automation and life sciences given its investor base includes Danaher and ABB Ventures.
The Automata org chart
Mostafa ElSayed (Co Founder & CEO) leads 52 mapped leaders with 4 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 48 (-33% YoY), Operations 28 (0% YoY), Information Technology 16 (-11% YoY), Customer Success and Support 14 (-12% YoY), Sales 9 (0% YoY), Research 8 (-11% YoY).
Talent flow
Automata recruits heavily from lab equipment firms (Biosero, Tecan) and British universities, particularly Imperial College London. Alumni frequently move to other lab tech startups like HighRes and Lab Donkey.
Most common previous employers of Automata staff: Biosero (7), Tecan (6), Imperial College London (5), Synthace (4), Opentrons Labworks (4), Ocado (3). Former Automata employees most often moved to HighRes (5), Lab Donkey (3), Xorq Labs (2), Cartesian (2), ABB (2), Glean (2).
Alumni worth knowing
The Automata mafia
Automata alumni have founded 13 companies including clinical research firm CenExel (950 staff) and agricultural robotics startup 4AG Robotics (67 staff).
13Sy Pretorius, was Advisory Board Member until 2025Nick Pattinson, was VP of Product & Strategy until 2025Sven Poppelmann, was VP Engineering until 2023Daniel Kurylo, was Full Stack Engineer until 2023Doug Rich, was Head of Revenue until 2022Christopher Veale, was VP, US Customer Success until 2024
Suryansh Chandra, was Co Founder/Co-CEO until 2020
Steven Rich, was Project Engineer until 2021
Mario Bott, was Strategic Account Director DACH until 2023
Ajay B., was Principal Solution Architect until 2024
Chirag Upadhyay, was Employer Brand Manager until 2022
Zach Yamaoka, was Product Intern until 2019
Charles Cochrane, was Engineering Manager until 2020Hiring now
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 0% direct, 0% search, 0% social, 0% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Automata: Microsoft Office (49), Python (Programming Language) (49), Project Management (47), Leadership (42), Communication (40), Microsoft Excel (37), Problem Solving (35), JavaScript (34).
Where the team actually sits
Automata people are concentrated in England, United Kingdom (50), United Kingdom (16), Massachusetts, United States (14), London Area, United Kingdom (7).
Search footprint
Automata attracts about 1,855 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $3K a month if bought through ads. It gained 147 ranking keywords and lost 104 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 4.00 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 3.00 / 5
- Senior management
- 2.30 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 3.10 / 5
Frequently asked
Automata has 167 employees as of September 2026.
Automata has raised $145M in total, most recently a Series C round in June 2026.
Automata was founded in 2015 by Mostafa ElSayed.
Mostafa ElSayed (Co Founder & CEO) sits at the top of Automata's reporting structure, with 4 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Automata staff are Biosero (7 people), Tecan (6 people), Imperial College London (5 people).
Former Automata employees most often move to HighRes (5), Lab Donkey (3), Xorq Labs (2).
At least 13 companies have a founder who previously worked at Automata, including CenExel, 4AG Robotics, regeno..
Automata attracts about 1,855 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $3K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Automata staff are Microsoft Office, Python (Programming Language), Project Management, Leadership, Communication.
Automata staff are concentrated in England, United Kingdom (50), United Kingdom (16), Massachusetts, United States (14).
Automata has about 48 people in Engineering, down 33% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Automata has about 28 people in Operations, up 0% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 111 current and 255 former Automata profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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