Mostafa ElSayed

CEO and Co-Founder Automata

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Mostafa ElSayed is chief executive and co-founder of Automata, the London company that builds integrated lab automation platforms, combining robotics, orchestration software and data infrastructure, for pharmaceutical, biotech and research laboratories. He is an architect by training. He founded Automata in 2015 with a colleague from Zaha Hadid Architects’ computational design group, and the company moved from making affordable robotic arms into life science automation. In January 2026 it closed a $45 million Series C led by Dimension, which included a strategic investment partnership with Danaher. It says five top pharmaceutical companies are among its customers.

Career Highlights

• Co-founder and CEO of Automata. He has been a director of Automata Technologies Limited since its incorporation on 12 January 2015.
• Announced a $45 million Series C on 29 January 2026, led by Dimension with participation from Danaher Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, Octopus Ventures and Entrepreneurs First.
• Former Lead Designer in the Computation and Design Group at Zaha Hadid Architects.
• Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
• Course tutor in the Design Research Lab at the Architectural Association.

Professional Journey

ElSayed studied architecture at the American University of Sharjah and then completed a master’s in architecture and urbanism in 2014. He joined Zaha Hadid Architects and worked in its Computation and Design Group, where he became Lead Designer.

Automata grew out of that group. ElSayed and his ZHA colleague Suryansh Chandra had started exploring robotics for architectural engineering, and, according to the company, concluded that modern automation was needlessly complex and was holding back innovation in many industries. Automata Technologies Limited was incorporated in London on 12 January 2015 with both men as directors. Its first business was affordable robotic arms. It then narrowed its focus to the life sciences. There it built what it calls the world’s first fully automated lab bench: first a product named Eva, which was used in an NHS testing lab, and then LINQ, a lab automation platform of benches and software. Chandra left the board in December 2021.

As CEO, ElSayed has positioned Automata as infrastructure for AI-driven biology. “AI-first biology requires fundamentally different infrastructure,” he said when the company announced its $45 million Series C in January 2026. “We’re building the operating layer between AI models and the physical lab—enabling labs to run autonomously rather than as bespoke workshops.” Dimension led the round, and it came with a strategic partnership with Danaher Corporation, under which Danaher companies including Molecular Devices and Beckman Coulter Life Sciences will integrate Automata’s software. Murali Venkatesan, Global Head of Danaher Ventures, joined Automata’s board. The company has offices in London, the Boston area and Germany.

Alongside running the company, ElSayed remains a course tutor in the Design Research Lab of the Architectural Association in London, and he is a Fellow of the RSA.

Education

American University of Sharjah

Degree in Architecture

He also holds a master’s in architecture and urbanism, completed in 2014. The company biography does not name the institution that awarded it.