Robotic process automation isn't dying — it's being rebuilt as the execution layer underneath a new generation of AI agents. That shift was on full display this week as two of the industry's most consequential moves landed almost simultaneously: HCLTech's bid to buy a Croatian RPA startup, and UiPath's blitz of product launches and partnership news out of its FUSION 2026 event.

HCLSoftware bets €9 million on 'the agentic last mile'

On September 29, HCLSoftware confirmed it intends to acquire Robotiq.ai, a Zagreb, Croatia-based provider of an enterprise Robotic Process Automation platform for roughly nine million euros. The logic behind the deal is less about buying growth and more about buying a missing capability: HCLSoftware said the acquisition comes amid growing enterprise demand for AI systems that can reason and reliably execute tasks, with Robotiq.ai's RPA capabilities enabling AI-driven workflows to automate tasks within applications where APIs are unavailable or insufficient. In other words, HCL wants its agentic orchestration platform to be able to actually click buttons and fill forms in the stubborn legacy systems that still run much of enterprise IT — extending HCL UnO Agentic's reach from decision-making to execution. Analysis of the regulatory filing notes the deal is still pending, with completion likely by the end of November 2026 and no related-party or regulatory approval hurdles standing in the way.

UiPath leans into 'the map of work'

Meanwhile, UiPath used its FUSION conference to reposition itself as an orchestration company rather than a pure bot vendor. Its headline new product, Cartographer, is designed to solve a problem agentic AI alone can't: capturing the undocumented exceptions and judgment calls that have kept enterprises from transforming and automating their messiest processes. The company paired that launch with a raft of governance and connectivity upgrades — adding Coding Agents, Delegate, stronger AI agent governance, and a Linux on-prem suite — and closed the week by expanding its partnership with Snowflake to give joint customers the full power of both platforms without having to move data or switch tools.

Not everyone is convinced the strategy is paying off yet. Wall Street responded to FUSION with skepticism: analysts flagged pushback on AI pricing from customers and partners as a key factor behind a ratings downgrade, even as the company separately expanded a notable services partnership, with UiPath expanding its relationship with BDO USA to build agentic AI accelerators for internal audit, risk, and compliance. UiPath CEO Daniel Dines also used the moment to warn that automation is reshaping entry-level hiring, since AI agents can now absorb the routine tasks once used to train junior staff.

The bigger picture: hybrid, not replacement

Both stories reflect a broader consensus forming across the automation industry this year: RPA and agentic AI are converging rather than one displacing the other, with deterministic bots handling structured execution while AI agents take on reasoning, exceptions, and unstructured data. Market researchers continue to project outsized growth for the category as that convergence plays out, with one widely cited estimate putting the global RPA market on track to grow from roughly $8.1 billion in 2026 to $28.6 billion by 2031.

Sources

AI AcquisitionsAgentic AIDaily RPA UpdateEnterprise AutomationRPAUiPath