Ascento is opening an office in New York. The ETH Zurich start-up develops and sells autonomous security robots. According to Startupticker.ch, the United States has become its fastest-growing market. To launch its activities there, the company has hired a first person to lead the US market. It is also its first subsidiary abroad.
An office, a first employee, a subsidiary
Facts need to be separated from ambitions. In concrete terms, Ascento is creating a US subsidiary, opening a base in New York and recruiting a first employee on the ground. The company currently has around 25 people and says it is looking for further profiles for its US operations. This is neither a funding round nor an announced partnership: it is a commercial expansion. The source does not name any American customer.
Growth figures reported by the company
The opening comes after a period of strong commercial activity, according to data reported by Startupticker.ch. In September 2026, Ascento recorded month-on-month growth of 22%. It was its biggest month of deployments to date. The company is ramping up production to exceed four Ascento Guard robots per week.
These robots are deployed in France, Denmark, Austria, the Benelux countries and Switzerland. In Germany, Ascento works with several partners and major airports, including those of Hamburg and Frankfurt. In Belgium, it collaborates with Liège Airport. These figures come from the company and have not been independently verified.
Ascento Guard: a robotic security guard for large sites
Ascento designs and manufactures the Ascento Guard itself. This autonomous robot monitors large private outdoor sites: factories, data centres, energy sites, logistics hubs, pharmaceutical facilities and other critical infrastructure. Designed to operate in all weather conditions, it carries out scheduled or on-demand patrols. It checks defined points of interest and detects security-relevant incidents.
The robot comes with a web application, the Ascento Web App, which analyses video and images using AI. It connects to existing video management systems. Security teams can use it to follow live video, consult the activity history and generate reports. Alerts are sent directly into the processes of security operations centres (SOC).
Robotics for rent
Ascento does not sell its robots: it offers them under a “robotics-as-a-service” model. The customer pays for a surveillance service rather than buying a machine.
On this point, Ascento states that its installed fleet runs for an average of three months between two human interventions. Tests of the next generation are said to have increased this interval more than fivefold. According to the source, this step should enable new use cases and better service for customers at scale. These are internal test results, not yet performance measured in the field.
How the company is financing its growth
According to Startupticker.ch, Ascento's growth relies on three sources: its revenue, funds provided by its investors in previous rounds and a credit line from UBS. No new funding round accompanies the New York opening, and the amount raised so far has not been disclosed.
What this expansion says
What follows is analysis. Ascento's path is typical of an ETH spin-off: the technology was born in Zurich and first validated at European sites, notably airports. The company is now moving into industrialisation, with a weekly production rate and reliability measured in months without intervention. With New York, it is setting out to test its model in a market that its team of 25 people already considers the most dynamic.
The challenge is well known. A subsidiary abroad, built up from a single employee, will have to recruit, deliver and provide service across a vast territory, with a parent team that is still small. The arrival of new American customers, the production rate and the field reliability of the next generation will show whether the bet pays off.
Sources
Startupticker.ch – “Ascento accelerates US expansion with New York office” (8 October 2026)
