Singapore-Based Galatek Raises $30M to Scale AI Automation for High-Precision Industries

Singapore startup targets life sciences labs and advanced chip packaging as enterprises seek scalable, compliant automation

Galatek, a Singapore-based automation and artificial intelligence startup, has raised around US$30 million in Series A funding to support its next stage of growth. The company said the capital will go toward product development, supply chain expansion, and team growth across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.

The round comes at a time when investment interest is shifting from consumer-facing AI applications toward industrial and enterprise automation, particularly in sectors where efficiency gains are tied directly to cost control, compliance, and reliability. Life sciences and semiconductor manufacturing—Galatek’s two core focus areas—fall squarely into that category.

Operational pressures drive automation demand

Both life sciences research and semiconductor production are becoming more complex. Laboratories are dealing with larger data volumes, tighter regulatory standards, and higher expectations for reproducibility. Semiconductor manufacturers, meanwhile, face shrinking tolerances, rising defect costs, and growing demand for advanced chip packaging.

Galatek’s strategy reflects this environment. Rather than pursuing broad automation tools, the company is targeting specific bottlenecks where manual processes, disconnected systems, or limited visibility slow down operations and increase risk.

Laboratory workflows remain fragmented

In life sciences, Galatek is building AI-enabled systems aimed at modernising laboratory workflows across areas such as diagnostics, next-generation sequencing, drug development, and advanced cell and organoid research. These are fields where experiments are costly, timelines are long, and errors can be difficult to detect early.

A central component of this effort is the company’s Abio software platform, which brings together laboratory notebooks, data management systems, and automation controls into a single environment. By linking data capture with robotic execution and analytics, Galatek is positioning its platform as infrastructure rather than a standalone tool.

This approach reflects a broader shift in lab automation: moving away from isolated instruments toward integrated, software-driven labs that can scale more predictably and support collaboration across teams and locations.

Ties to research institutions as a validation path

Galatek has been working with pharmaceutical firms and research organisations to deploy its systems in operational settings. Among these collaborations is a partnership with the National University of Singapore, where the company has participated in developing next-generation smart laboratories.

For startups in regulated environments like life sciences, partnerships with established institutions often serve as early validation. They also help refine products under real-world constraints, something that purely commercial pilots may not fully capture.

Tackling precision challenges in chip packaging

Beyond laboratories, Galatek is applying AI-driven automation to advanced semiconductor packaging, an area that has become increasingly important as chipmakers push performance improvements beyond traditional scaling.

The company’s systems combine vision-based AI with motion control software to support tasks such as inspection, measurement, and high-precision wafer handling. According to Galatek, its offerings span both front-end and back-end processes, including automated overlay measurement, deep learning–based optical inspection, and precision wafer dicing.

These capabilities place the company in a competitive segment where equipment reliability and accuracy directly affect production yields and long-term customer relationships.

A global supply chain with local execution

Operationally, Galatek runs what it describes as a global supply chain paired with local service delivery. It maintains delivery centres in Malaysia and the United States, supported by customer-facing teams across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.

This structure reflects a practical reality of industrial automation: customers often require local support, particularly during installation, validation, and compliance processes, even when core technology is developed elsewhere. The Series A funding is expected to help Galatek scale this model as demand increases.

Global operations balanced with local delivery

Galatek’s funding round fits into a broader pattern in venture capital, where investors are backing applied AI that delivers measurable gains in productivity, quality, or compliance. Unlike consumer AI products, industrial automation systems typically have longer sales cycles but deeper customer integration once deployed.

For Asia-based startups, Singapore continues to play a role as a base for building and exporting such technologies, particularly into regulated and capital-intensive industries across the region.

Execution will matter more than ambition

Galatek’s Series A does not signal overnight expansion, but it does highlight where momentum is building in the AI startup landscape. As laboratories and chipmakers modernise operations, demand is shifting toward reliable automation platforms that can operate at scale and meet strict standards.

If Galatek can continue moving from pilot projects to long-term deployments, its focus on life sciences and semiconductor manufacturing may position it well in sectors where technology adoption is driven less by experimentation and more by necessity.

Quick Takeaways

• Galatek, a Singapore-based automation and AI startup, has raised about US$30 million in a Series A round to support its next growth phase.
  
• The company focuses on AI-powered automation for life sciences laboratories and advanced semiconductor manufacturing, two sectors facing rising operational complexity.
  
• Funding will be used to expand product development, supply chain capacity, and teams across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.
  
• In life sciences, Galatek is targeting lab workflow integration and data management, areas where manual processes remain common.
  
• In semiconductors, the startup is developing AI-driven inspection and packaging systems that require high precision and reliability.
  
• Galatek operates a global supply chain with local service delivery, including centres in Malaysia and the United States.
  
• The funding reflects broader investor interest in applied industrial AI, rather than consumer-facing AI applications.