How to use this checklist
This checklist suits robotics and autonomous systems businesses in logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services.
Work through each list before you contact investors. Anything you cannot tick is either a task to finish or a risk to explain openly in your pitch.
1. Company and legal basics
These apply to every company raising money, but gaps here slow rounds more than almost anything else.
- Up-to-date cap table showing every shareholder, option and convertible.
- Signed IP assignments from all founders, staff and contractors.
- Articles of association and any shareholder agreement to hand.
- SEIS or EIS advance assurance applied for, if you are raising from UK angels.
- Company filings at Companies House up to date.
2. Robotics proof points
The evidence investors in this sector look for first.
- Paid pilots in real customer environments.
- Uptime, intervention and task-rate logs.
- Customer-reported labour or cost savings.
- Improvement in performance from deployment data.
3. Numbers and financial model
Your model should show how the money you raise gets you to the next milestone.
- Unit cost today and projected at volume.
- Development costs by hardware stage.
- Fleet financing plan for service models.
- Component deposits and working capital.
4. Data room documents
Have these organised in one shared folder before the first meeting.
- Safety standards assessment and certification plan.
- Insurance arrangements.
- Supplier contracts and single-source parts list.
- Pilot agreements and results.
5. Pitch and investor readiness
Readiness is also about how you run the process.
- A short deck that states the problem, customer, traction and ask in the first few slides.
- A clear amount to raise and a list of what it pays for.
- A target list of investors who back your sector and stage.
- A one-paragraph answer to 'why now?'.
Red flags to fix before you pitch
Investors often stop at these issues:
- Lab demos only.
- Unknown unit cost at volume.
- Critical parts from one supplier with no backup.
- Robots-as-a-service with no fleet funding plan.
Robotics readiness: ready versus common gap
| Area | Ready when | Common gap |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Uptime and interventions logged | Demo videos only |
| Cost | Unit cost known now and at volume | Estimates only |
| Safety | Certification path defined | Not yet considered |
| Fleet funding | Equity and finance plan | All from equity |
Questions to prepare before you pitch
- What uptime do our robots achieve in pilots?
- What does each unit cost to build?
- Which safety standards apply?
- How will we fund the fleet?
How KJ Enterprises evaluates robotics businesses
KJ Enterprises considers robotics businesses with evidenced pilot performance and a realistic plan for hardware costs and fleet finance.
If that describes your company, you can apply for investment. Related reading: the complete funding guide and the step-by-step how-to and costs and terms and the climate tech checklist.