Bystronic, the Swiss maker of laser cutting machines and press brakes listed on the SIX exchange, said on 27 August 2026 that it had agreed to acquire Isochronic, a startup based near Lausanne that builds high-speed robots and software for sorting parts after sheet metal is cut.
Bystronic did not disclose the price, the size of the stake or when it expects the deal to close. As part of the transaction it acquires the rights to Isochronic's proprietary software and technology, so it can develop the technology further and build it into its own automation range.
Isochronic will keep operating under its own name. Bystronic said the two companies already had a long-standing relationship before the deal.
What Isochronic built
Isochronic was founded in 2020 by a group of EPFL alumni and is based in Denges, near Lausanne, according to the EPFL alumni association. It builds what it calls simultaneous pick-and-place robots. Instead of a single arm moving one part at a time, its design uses a central linear beam with several sliders carrying pick heads that work in parallel, controlled by its own software and algorithms.
The machines are aimed at a specific bottleneck. After a laser cuts a sheet of metal into many parts, sorting and stacking those parts can take longer than the cutting itself. Isochronic's systems are designed to move heavy parts quickly across a range of sheet formats. By early 2024 the company had completed its first industrial pilot system for laser automation, which the EPFL alumni association said handled sheet metal parts at record speed in a footprint of about 18 by 9 metres.
Melvin Haas presented the company as its chief executive in 2024; Bystronic's announcement names Armin Haller as chief executive. It has not reported its headcount.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Isochronic, and their innovative technology perfectly complements our automation portfolio.”
Why Bystronic is buying
Bystronic sells laser cutting systems, press brakes, automation and software to sheet metal shops and says it serves customers in more than 30 countries through its own subsidiaries and a network of dealers. It has development and production sites in Germany, Spain, Italy, China and the United States.
The company said Isochronic's robots expand its automated sorting across many sheet sizes and add modern software design and robotics skills. Bystronic plans to use its industrial experience and global reach to develop Isochronic's technology further and sell it to more customers, as part of a strategy to offer integrated manufacturing systems that raise customers' productivity and flexibility.
Bystronic chief executive Domenico Iacovelli said Isochronic's skills in fast robotic sorting and software would help Bystronic deliver integrated manufacturing systems. Haller said the deal would let Isochronic develop its technology faster and reach a wider customer base.
Beyond cutting and bending, Bystronic also offers laser processes for marking, micro-processing and welding, and is headquartered in Switzerland. Isochronic's robots sit at the step between those machines and the next stage of production, where cut parts have to be separated and stacked.
The founders and the funding
Isochronic closed a seed round of CHF 2 million (about $2 million) in May 2022, led by Serpentine Ventures with Zürcher Kantonalbank, the Venture Kick foundation and private investors, according to Venture Kick. The money went into product development and the first industrial installations.
In June 2023 the company received a CHF 400,000 (about $440,000) FIT Tech Growth loan, one of three such loans that EPFL reported that month, to strengthen research and development and explore new sales channels. In early 2024 the EPFL alumni association said Isochronic was preparing a Series A round for 2025. The sources reviewed for this article do not report one.
What happens next
Bystronic said the combination would speed up work on its next generation of automation products for customers who want highly automated production.
The announcement described a signed agreement rather than a completed deal, and Bystronic gave no timetable for closing.
