Swiss startup miros secures €1.1M in funding for reservable workpods.

      The Lausanne-based startup, which originated from EPFL's robotics lab, has installed 15 pods throughout Switzerland and has made its first foray into international markets with a unit in Toulouse. The founder's vision for the long term is to make commercial real estate modular and available on demand.

      Miros addresses a common issue found in busy train stations, airports, or hospitals: the lack of suitable spaces for individuals who need to make private calls, concentrate on work, or hold video meetings.

      The company develops bookable, connected workpods—acoustic spaces that users can find, reserve, and unlock via a mobile app—and positions them in public and semi-public locations where such facilities have traditionally been absent.

      The Lausanne startup has secured €1.1 million (CHF 1 million) in a pre-seed funding round from business angels to grow its network. Miros was established in 2023 by Dr. Fabio Zuliani, who earned his PhD at EPFL’s Reconfigurable Robotics Lab. As a spinout from the EPFL ecosystem, the company is rooted in robotics and adaptive-space research, though its current offering is intentionally simple: a well-designed, acoustically private pod that can be deployed where needed without construction or extensive installation.

      The pods are designed in partnership with Lakabi, a furniture brand based in Lausanne, and are entirely manufactured in Switzerland. The Canton of Vaud has also backed the development of a version made from Swiss wood (Bois Suisse).

      Since its launch, Miros has deployed 15 workpods and collaborated with partners such as the SwissTech Convention Centre, Beaulieu, and Hôpital Riviera-Chablais. The company validated its value proposition at Geneva Airport’s GVA Runway Lab open-innovation programme, confirming product-market fit in real-world conditions.

      In October, it executed its first international deployment by placing a pod at Village by Crédit Agricole in Toulouse, France. Cumulatively, total usage across all deployments is nearing 350 hours. The manufacturing partnership with Ducommun Menuisiers was established through the SyNNergy grant from Innovaud, the Vaud cantonal agency for innovation.

      The immediate plan for utilizing the pre-seed funding is clear: to deploy additional pods throughout Switzerland, aiming for over 100 units by the end of 2026. However, Zuliani has indicated that the workpod is just the beginning.

      “We start with pods, but our ambitions extend much further,” he stated. “We are exploring how commercial real estate can evolve to be flexible, modular, and on-demand. The pod is merely the first building block.”

      The company intends to announce several new partnerships in the months ahead as it broadens its presence in Switzerland.