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Secure the Bag: Manufacturing Tech Deals Sizzle
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Manufacturing Tech startups close funding events before the good times end. Big data and analytics applications cross cut all industry verticals.
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Mendaera Annources Expansion into Production Facility
Mendaera, an innovator in healthcare robotics, today announced its expansion into a production facility to support future growth and operations. The company has completed research and design of its collaborative robotic system, and is now focused on completing development and obtaining FDA clearance. The new Silicon Valley facility will enable rapid growth of the organization, as well as volume manufacturing for product launch.
The company has raised $24 million in Series A funding led by Lux Capital, with participation from Founders Fund, Operator Partners, and Allen & Company, LLC. Other investors include Intuitive Surgical and Auris Health founder Dr. Fred Moll and former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey.
Comptek Solutions secures €8M Series A funding for semiconductor tech expansion
Finnish semiconductor firm Comptek Solutions has raised €8 million in a Series A funding round which includes participation from the EIC Fund and LIFTT S.p.A. The company is a spin-out of University of Turku, it was founded in June 2017 by CTO Jouko Lång and CEO Vicente Calvo Alonso. The fresh funding will see the company grow as it expands its team and extends its technology portfolio. Comptek Solutions says that its Kontrox technology ‘will be adding further growth opportunities to the market in enabling more reliable, power-efficient, and affordable devices through its integrated passivation solutions on a global scale’.
Mercanis Raises $10M Series Seed Investment in Mission to Boost Further Savings for Procurement Teams
Mercanis, a Berlin-based start-up announces the completion of its latest seed funding of $10M. The round was led by institutional funds such as Singals.VC, DI Technology, and Speedinvest. Successful entrepreneurs and well known angels such as Dr. Ulrich Piepel, Dr. Marcell Vollmer, Mirko Novakovic (Instana), Victor Jacobsson (Klarna) also played a significant role. Mercanis sets itself apart from competitors with its easy-to-use sourcing and supplier management tools. These tools leverage networking benefits and automated processes to save more than 40% of the costs.
P6 Technologies Completes $3.25M Seed Round, Accelerating the Ability of Transportation Fuel and Petrochemical Companies to Measure and Reduce Product Carbon Intensity
P6 Technologies, Inc., an emerging leader in enterprise software for transportation fuel and petrochemical companies to perform Product Life Cycle Assessments that measure product-level carbon intensity and GHG emissions, today announced it has secured $3.25M in seed funding, led by Goose Capital and supported by Tupper Lake Partners, Veritec Ventures, and Artemis Energy Partners. This marks the first external funding P6 Technologies has accepted, positioning the company for accelerated growth.
P6 plans to use the investment proceeds to accelerate the development and go to market of its revolutionary Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) enterprise software platform. Designed to address the evolving challenges faced by fossil fuel-based companies to decarbonize their products, the solution simplifies the complexity of measuring product-level carbon intensity and dealing with regulatory compliance across a variety of global regulatory agencies.
Helm.ai Announces $55 Million Series C Funding for its AI Software
Helm.ai, a provider of next-generation AI software for autonomous driving and automation of robotics, today announced it raised $55 million in its Series C financing. The round was led by Freeman Group and also includes investments from venture capital firms ACVC Partners and Amplo as well as strategic investments from Honda Motor, Goodyear Ventures, and Sungwoo Hitech. This financing brings the total amount raised by Helm.ai to $102M. Helm.ai will use the funds for R&D, productization of its self-driving technologies, and to further execute on commercial engagements with customers and partners in the automotive and robotics sectors.
Rondo Energy Secures $60 Million from Global Giants and Leading Climate Investors to Speed Industrial Decarbonization
Rondo Energy, a leading provider of zero-carbon industrial heat and power, has raised $60 million in a new financing planned to speed the rollout of Rondo Heat Batteries (RHBs) worldwide and to transform the global energy storage market. Rio Tinto, Aramco Ventures, SABIC, SCG, TITAN, and SEEIT have joined Rondo’s Strategic Investor Advisory Board (SIAB).
South 8 Technologies Secures Strategic Investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures
South 8 Technologies, Inc., the San Diego cleantech company innovating safer and higher performance electrolytes for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries, has closed a strategic investment with Lockheed Martin Ventures, the venture arm of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), a global leader in defense and aerospace technology, with participation from current South 8 investors LG Technology Ventures, Foothill Ventures and Anzu Partners.
South 8 is the first company to develop a novel liquefied gas electrolyte technology as a safer, higher performance alternative to standard liquid electrolytes. Known as LiGas®, the liquefied gas electrolyte is simple to incorporate into existing cell production processes, utilizes materials which are all currently manufactured globally at scale and offers simple recyclability at the end of life. LiGas improves safety, increases energy density, achieves all-weather performance, enables fast-charge capability and reduces costs while also being compatible with existing lithium-ion cell production or Gigafactory manufacturing processes and supply chains.
Sapphire Technologies Secures $10 Million Series B Funding to Accelerate Clean Energy Solutions
Sapphire Technologies, developer and manufacturer of energy recovery systems for hydrogen and natural gas applications, announced that it closed its Series B funding round. The $10 million investment — led by Energy Capital Ventures and joined by Marathon Petroleum, Chevron Technology Ventures, Equinor Ventures and Cooper and Company — will go toward accelerating the commercialization of Sapphire Technologies’ FreeSpin® In-line Turboexpander. Powered by this funding, targeted projections show the turboexpander increasing production by 400% by the end of the year. Moreover, the $10 million will bolster resources and expertise to support Sapphire Technologies’ mission to significantly reduce global carbon emissions.
ElectroTempo Raises $4M in Seed Funding
ElectroTempo, a pioneer in planning and intelligence software for electric charging networks, announced today that it raised $4 million in seed funding. The round was led by Buoyant Ventures, a women-owned, Chicago-based venture capital firm focusing on technology start-ups looking to combat climate change. The company’s lead pre-seed investor, Schematic Ventures, returned to participate in the round, and a venture fund associated with a key customer, Zebox Ventures, also joined the coalition. ZEBOX is a network of accelerators initiated by the Chairman of CMA CGM, Rodolphe Saadé. The customer, CEVA Logistics, is a subsidiary of CMA CGM Group (the Group). The funds will be used to expand the geographic coverage of ElectroTempo’s solutions across the U.S., and round out product features to serve industrial site hosts in deploying and operating infrastructure to accelerate truck electrification.
Phospholutions Raises $10.15M to Accelerate Commercialization of Higher Efficiency Fertilizers
Phospholutions Inc., a pioneer in sustainable fertilizer technology, has announced an additional $10.15M investment from leading global fertilizer companies and investors to accelerate the commercialization of RhizoSorb® in the US row crop market. The financing was led by Advantage Capital and includes continued investment from Conti Ventures (a division of Continental Grain Company), Tekfen Ventures, Maumee Ventures, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Keytrade, a global fertilizer trader, also joins as a new investor.
RhizoSorb® is the only patented technology incorporated upstream into the production process for conventional phosphates that reliably reduces phosphorus applications by up to 50%, maintaining yield and improving retail margins while providing a cost savings benefit to the farmer. RhizoSorb® is proven to deliver the same amount of phosphorus to the plant with half the amount of applied fertilizer. The company launched RhizoSorb® 8-39-0 in the U.S. row crop market this past spring and has added 3 new Regional Managers and a Director of Agronomy to support sales to ag retailers in North America.
Trinity Capital Inc. Provides $20 Million Growth Capital to MacroFab
Trinity Capital Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIN) a leading provider of diversified financial solutions to growth-stage companies, announced the commitment of $20 million in growth capital to MacroFab, the comprehensive manufacturing platform for building electronics from prototype to high-scale production.
Sensera Systems Closes on Strategic Venture Capital Growth Investment
Sensera Systems, Inc., the market leader in affordable, easy-to-deploy solar/cellular cameras and real-time jobsite intelligence software, today announced it closed on a Series A equity investment. The capital raised will support Sensera’s commitment to enhancing project execution and outcomes for its more than 1800 construction contractor and owner clients. The round was led by Egis Capital Partners and MUUS Asset Management. The capital will support Sensera’s rapid growth in remote jobsite intelligence with expanded capabilities, more system integrations, and deeper market penetration. Egis Capital Partners and MUUS bring a combination of security and construction technology experience to support Sensera’s ongoing success as a leading provider of construction technology solutions.
TechMet closes $200m equity raise to further develop critical minerals operations
TechMet, the leading global critical minerals investment company, has closed its latest $200 million equity fundraising round. The latest $200 million funding is being deployed across TechMet’s existing portfolio of ten assets which are expanding extraction, processing, recycling and manufacturing capacity.
Caelux Announces $12M to Fund Next-Generation Solar Innovation with Perovskite Technology
Caelux, a pioneer in utilizing perovskites to make solar energy more powerful and cost-effective, enabling the next generation of solar innovation, today announced the closure of a $12M Series A3 funding round led by Temasek, a global investment company, with participation from Reliance New Energy Limited, Khosla Ventures, Mitsui Fudosan, and Fine Structure Ventures.
This round brings the company’s total amount raised for the Series A to $24 million. The funding will be allocated primarily to support the company’s factory ramp, research and development, and product launch, allowing Caelux to bring its more powerful, efficient, and affordable solar solution to market at a critical time of pressing environmental challenges. The investment follows Caelux’s advancements in perovskite technology, creating a more near-term solution than previously thought possible and allowing for imminent deployment at scale. To bring this innovation to market, the company is building a manufacturing facility in Baldwin Park, California, and ramping up to reach 100MW of perovskite-coated glass.
WINT announces $35 million Series C funding round
WINT Water Intelligence, the leader in cutting-edge water management and leak-prevention solutions for construction, commercial, residential and industrial applications, has completed a $35 million Series C funding round to drive continued growth and innovation in AI- and IoT-based solutions for managing water and mitigating water damage throughout a building’s lifecycle.
The round was co-led by Inven Capital, a leading European climate tech fund, and global software investor Insight Partners, which also led WINT’s B round. The round was joined by Taronga Ventures, one of the world’s leading real asset technology investors, and other prop-tech and construction-tech investors, providing WINT strategic access to new markets.
Nature Coatings Secures $2.45 Million in Funding Led by Regeneration.VC and The 22 Fund
Nature Coatings, a leading biochemicals company transforming waste materials into bio-based, safe, and renewable solutions, is proud to announce the successful completion of an oversubscribed $2.45 million Seed funding round. The investment round was led by Regeneration.VC and The 22 Fund, with participation from actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, Safer Made, and Portfolia.
This significant investment follows the highly successful launch of Nature Coatings’ flagship product, BioBlack TX, their carbon-negative and high-performing alternative to polluting and toxic petroleum-derived carbon black. This groundbreaking dispersion is entirely bio-based, boasting a unique black pigment sourced from FSC certified wood waste. It has garnered worldwide acclaim and has been embraced by renowned fashion brands like the Kering Group, Levi’s, Bestseller’s Jack & Jones and Selected HOMME, as well as Vollebak.
Regeneration.VC and The 22 Fund, leading investment firms in the field, spearheaded the financing of Nature Coatings. Regeneration.VC specializes in supporting forward-thinking businesses that offer innovative alternatives to reduce environmental impact, while The 22 Fund focuses on investing in high-potential women and BIPOC-owned cleantech-based manufacturing and exporting companies.
Virtualitics, a Leader in Artificial Intelligence and Data Exploration, Closes $37 Million Series C Funding Round
Virtualitics, Inc., an artificial intelligence and data exploration company, today announced that it has raised $37 million in a Series C financing round led by Smith Point Capital, LLC with participation from Citi and advisory clients of The Hillman Company, among other investors.
The new investment comes at a time of rapid growth and accelerating momentum for Virtualitics, including significant growth in both its public sector and key commercial segments. Bolstering their momentum over the last 12 months, Virtualitics has successfully acquired seven new customers across the Department of Defense and increased customer acquisition in the Financial Services and CPG markets.
With this funding round, Virtualitics will continue to invest in growth and innovation to drive even greater expansion, including direct and ecosystem investments and investments to enhance its AI platform leadership by adding more machine learning and data analytics capabilities as well as self-serve prescriptive workflows to make it easy for customers to analyze and understand complex data and transform their business.
Germany's Kraftblock raises €20M Series B for sustainable thermal storage technology
German climate tech firm Kraftbock has raised a Series B funding round of €20 million in a round which includes Shell Ventures, Finindus, Moore Strategic Ventures, A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund, TechEnergy Ventures and Future Industry Ventures.
Kraftblock, founded in 2014 by chemist Dr. Martin Schichtel and economist Dr. Susanne König provides sustainable thermal storage technology to many industries - enabling the decarbonisation of processes in the energy sector and ‘any industries from food to chemicals, paper, ceramic and steel’.
This latest bout of funding will fuel the company’s ‘visibility around the globe’. “We specifically chose investors who have their roots in industries such as food, steel and energy and who will help us to consolidate our leading market position,” says CEO Schichtel.
Matter Accelerates Growth with $10 Million Series A Funding
Matter, a microplastic technology and innovation company pioneering solutions for capturing, harvesting and recycling microplastics, today announced that it has raised a $10 million Series A. This funding round will enable the company to scale its microplastic filtration technology and accelerate its roadmap of solutions for commercial and industrial applications.
The round was led by S2G Ventures, the direct investment team for Builders Vision, and SOUNDWaves, the sustainability-focused investment vehicle backed by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary. Kate Danaher of S2G Ventures and Katherine Keating of SOUNDWaves will both join Matter’s expanded Board of Directors. Additional investment came from Leonardo Dicaprio backed Consumer ClimateTech fund Regeneration.VC, and Katapult Ocean, which has made a significant follow-on investment via its new Deep Blue Fund since co-leading the Seed investment round, along with a small number of strategic investors.
Nuclearn.ai Announces $2.5M Series Seed; Round Led by Arizona Focused Venture Fund, AZ-VC
Nuclearn.ai, a leading provider of AI process automation solutions for the nuclear industry, announced today at the Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2023) a Seed investment of $2.5M, led by AZ-VC with participation from Nucleation Capital. The round empowers Nuclearn.ai to grow its market leadership in nuclear facilities, scaling access to its AI and machine learning tools that improve how common, time-intensive tasks are managed across a broader array of energy facilities.
The funds will be primarily used for hiring relationship-based sales teams focused on the North American nuclear power market and the general utility market. Nuclearn.ai also plans to continue the development of AtomAssist, its Nuclear Language Model (LLM), and other utility-focused product use cases.
Bactolife Raises EUR 30 million in Series A Financing
Bactolife A/S (“Bactolife”), a bioindustrial company developing proprietary Binding ProteinsTM, which strengthen the gut microbiome of humans and animals with the aim of reducing the burden of gastrointestinal infections and anti-microbial resistance, today announced that it has successfully raised EUR >30 million since its April 2021 seed round.
The financing round is led by ATHOS with participation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and existing investors, incl. Novo Holdings. Proceeds from the financing will enable Bactolife to advance its most mature projects towards commercial launch and strengthen the technology platform and upscaling capabilities. By doing so, the company aims at retaining its first mover advantage to transform human and animal health with target specific Binding Proteins™.
Membrion Series B round closes at $12.5M
Electro-desalination membrane manufacturer, Membrion today announced the completion of their Series B funding round, raising a round total of 12.5 million dollars. The second close of 5.5 million dollars is anchored by Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and Lam Capital. They are joined by Indico Capital Partners, Harvard Business School New York Alumni Angel Group, New York Angels, and GiantLeap Capital.
RFA secures €30m investment from KKR
Launch service provider Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) today announced that it has raised a €30 million investment from KKR, a leading global investment firm. The fresh funding is a vote of confidence for RFA as global demand for access to space continues to grow. The investment will facilitate RFA’s upcoming integrated first stage test and complete the company’s launch pad at SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, to eventually bring the RFA ONE microlauncher to the launchpad. The first flight is scheduled for Q2 2024. With its €30 million convertible bond investment, KKR will become a leading investor in RFA alongside the existing strategic investor OHB.
bp invests £4m in fleet optimization software provider Dynamon and announces commercial agreement
bp ventures has made a £4 million investment in Dynamon, a UK-based software company that specializes in developing advanced data analytics and simulation tools for commercial transport and logistics companies. The funding forms part of Dynamon’s Series A round, being raised to fully commercialize and scale up its platform and expand its operations in Europe and into North America.
In a Dynamon 4,000-vehicle last mile trial, a customer using ZERO software identified a potential £22 million annual energy cost saving (£0.28/mile diesel vs £0.125/mile electric), and 8,700 tonnes annual CO2 saving (609.86 g CO2e/litre diesel) after the tool analysed the best solution for fleet electrification.
Tenstorrent Raises a $100M Strategic Up-round Co-led by Hyundai Motor Group and the Samsung Catalyst Fund
Tenstorrent is pleased to announce that it closed a $100M strategic financing up-round led by Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Catalyst Fund, with participation from Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital, Maverick Capital, and more.
Tenstorrent sells AI processors and licenses AI and RISC-V IP to customers that want to own and customize their silicon. Both Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung have a strong history of product leadership and enjoy massive success in their respective markets.
Airbus Ventures Announces New Investment in Impulse Space
Airbus Ventures proudly announces its investment in Impulse Space, Inc. – a leader in the development of in-space transportation services for the inner solar system – which has raised $45 million in its oversubscribed Series A funding round. The round is led by RTX Ventures, with participation from Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Airbus Ventures, Space Capital, and others.
Impulse Space will advance its work in upcoming missions, such as LEO Express-1, a GEO refueling mission and upcoming mission to Mars. This funding will support several development efforts with a focus on Helios – Impulse’s largest vehicle yet. The Helios kick stage enables direct-to Geostationary Equatorial Orbit missions, bypassing the need for a Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
Rapid Applications Group raises significant growth equity financing to help heavy equipment construction subcontractors run their operations
Rapid Applications Group (Rapid Apps), the leading ERP software solution for heavy equipment construction subcontractors, announced its significant growth equity financing led by Boston-based growth equity firm Wavecrest Growth Partners and MassMutual Ventures. The funds will be used to accelerate product development and customer growth.
Rapid Apps’ suite of software products enables heavy equipment construction subcontractors to optimize the utilization of their fleets with scheduling and job dispatching, telematics GPS tracking, mobile workforce labor tracking and payroll, plus customer ordering, billing, and payments, all in one connected solution. Many of the largest heavy equipment subcontractors in the concrete, hydrovac, and crane space, including Brundage-Bone, Concrete Pump Partners, and Kinetic Industry, trust Rapid Apps every day to manage their operations and provide insight into performance and productivity.
German firm Bind-X secures €10M funding for sustainable industrial solutions
German firm Bind-X takes the dust out of, well, dust, using its sustainable biological binding of materials. The industrial biotechnology Munich-based start-up has just raised over €10 million in a Series B round. Funds will be put to use creating products for alternative weed management in agriculture, for ecological dust suppression in the mining industry and for bitumen reduction in road construction as the company seeks to expand its team. The funding round includes investment from HG Ventures, K&K 1, Saxovent, and Greeneering Invest.
LightForce Orthodontics Secures $80 Million Series D Funding Led By Ally Bridge Group, Opens Second Digital Factory
LightForce Orthodontics, makers of the world’s first fully personalized 3D printed braces system, today announced it raised an $80 million Series D round led by Ally Bridge Group. Transformation Capital, and CareCapital. Omega Venture Partners, Matter Venture Partners, and the American Association of Orthodontics also participated in the round, as did existing LightForce investors, including Kleiner Perkins, Tyche Partners, and Matrix Partners. With the funding, LightForce will advance its mission to empower orthodontists to deliver personalized care with custom 3D printed brackets by scaling production with a new facility, advancing the use of AI in its workflows, and investing in education.
LightForce, the world’s largest manufacturer of directly 3D printed functional medical devices by volume, provides orthodontists with a comprehensive braces solution that improves treatment efficiency and outcomes for patients. LightForce’s 3D printed hardware is custom-made according to a personalized, digital treatment plan. From Intraoral and CBCT support to final prescription, the LightForce software incorporates powerful AI for generating accurate digital representations of patient anatomy, and optimal teeth positions for clinical efficiency and aesthetics. With the new funding, LightForce will continue to grow its world-leading team of engineers and scientists to further develop its software and hardware to improve patient experience with shorter treatment times and better clinical outcomes. The Series D round will also prepare the company to grow and scale production capabilities, with a new, 36,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Massachusetts.
IMA Group Announces Strategic Investment from BDT & MSD Partners
IMA Group (“IMA” or “the Company”), a world leader in the design and manufacture of automatic packaging machines, today announced that BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank built to serve the distinct needs of business owners and strategic, long-term investors, has entered into a definitive agreement to make a minority investment in the Company through its affiliated funds. BDT & MSD Partners will acquire its position from BC Partners, a leading international investment firm, among other investors. The Vacchi family remains the majority owner of IMA.
Ecopol Announces Partnership with SK Capital to Drive Next Phase of Growth
Ecopol S.p.A. (“Ecopol” or the “Company”), a leading developer and producer of innovative biodegradable films, announced today the signing of a strategic investment from affiliates of SK Capital Partners, LP (“SK Capital”), a leading private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, ingredients, and life sciences sectors. SK Capital is acquiring a majority interest in the Company with Mauro Carbone, Ecopol’s CEO and controlling shareholder, retaining a significant stake and remaining as both the CEO and largest individual shareholder. Existing minority investor Tikehau Capital, a global alternative asset manager, will also retain a minority stake.
Headquartered in Chiesina Uzzanese, Italy, with state-of-the-art production facilities in Italy and the United States, Ecopol is a leading global provider of water-soluble and biodegradable films and delivery systems, primarily serving the fast-growing unit dose household detergent market for both automatic dishwashing and laundry applications, as well as specialty engineered stone and construction markets.
Ampcontrol Raises $10M Series A for AI-powered EV Fleet Charging Software
Ampcontrol, a leading AI-powered software solution for fleet operators, today announced $10M in Series A financing to enable its next stage of growth. The round was led by The Westly Group with participation from existing investors AngelPad and Lorimer Ventures.
Ampcontrol works with some of the largest fleet operators in the world. Customers include WattEV, First Bus, Revel, and one of the largest global commercial truck manufacturers. Customers like Revel are using Ampcontrol’s AI-powered software to save 45%+ on their monthly energy costs.
Partful Receives £2.4M to Transform the Manufacturing Industry's Aftermarket
Aftermarket technology specialists, Partful, has received £2.4M in funding to accelerate the development of its ‘exploding’ 3D parts SaaS platform – which is transforming the industry’s approach to a global aftermarket worth $400BN. Led by Par Equity, with participation from US-based Blumberg Capital, it takes the total investment from Par Equity and Blumberg Capital to £6.2M in the last 18 months.
This latest investment will enable an expansion of the engineering team developing Partful’s innovative platform, which is supporting the manufacturing industry’s transition to the circular economy. The funding will also enable faster growth in the European and U.S. markets and accelerate Partful’s adoption. The platform is helping global OEMs, such as Lotus, Norton and BAE Systems, to create user friendly after sales experiences that are helping to eradicate costly order errors, protect manufacturer revenues and limit product downtime, by enabling faster part fulfilment and repair.
RockCreek Invests in Raven SR, Producer of Renewable Transportation Fuels
RockCreek, a leading global multi-asset firm investing in the energy transition, announced the closing of an investment in Raven SR, Inc. (Raven SR), a company that produces high-value renewable transportation fuels from a variety of feedstocks, including waste streams, using a proprietary non-combustion process.
Raven SR will use RockCreek’s investment to further commercialize low-to-negative carbon intensity hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This investment comes on the heels of last month’s announcement that Raven SR’s Richmond, Calif. project is the first ever biomass-to-renewable hydrogen project permitted in the state of California.
IMPULSE SPACE SECURES $45M IN SERIES A FUNDING ROUND
Impulse Space, Inc. – a leader in the development of in-space transportation services for the inner solar system – today announced it has secured $45 million in its Series A funding round. The round is led by RTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of RTX (NYSE: RTX).
With an oversubscribed funding round, Impulse Space will be continuing its progress with its work in upcoming missions, such as LEO Express-1, a GEO refueling mission and the upcoming mission to Mars. Specifically, this funding will support the development of Impulse’s largest vehicle yet, called Helios. The Helios kick stage enables direct to Geostationary Equatorial Orbit missions, thus bypassing the need for a Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
Nuqleous® Secures $26M Strategic Growth Investment from Blue Ladder Capital, Accelerating Growth and Product Innovation
Nuqleous®, the leading provider of automated retail space-planning and performance analytics software, has secured a significant $26M strategic growth investment from Blue Ladder Capital, an investment and operating firm specializing in partnering with verticalized market-leading B2B software companies.
“We raised capital to accelerate product innovation and double-down on our customer-led growth strategy,” stated Paul Sims, Co-Founder and CEO of Nuqleous. “We are dedicated to enhancing our customers’ lives through automation and empowering data-driven decision making, so we’ve partnered with Blue Ladder Capital for their expertise in scaling mission-critical software businesses.”
Nitrofix raises $3.1 million Seed to produce ammonia from water and air
Nitrofix, which produces zero-emission ammonia through a novel electrochemical process, announced on Thursday $3.1 million in Seed financing. The Israeli startup plans to accelerate the production of green ammonia from just water and air for the agriculture, hydrogen, and maritime fuel markets. The round was led by Clean Energy Ventures, with participation from SOSV, Zero Carbon Capital, UM6P Ventures, and High House Investments.
By using water as a source of protons instead of fossil fuels, the technology reduces the activation energy needed to combine nitrogen with hydrogen – using half as much electricity as peers in the sector – enables decentralized production of ammonia and has the advantage of scaling to a distributed model. With ammonia demand expected to increase threefold by 2050, Nitrofix aims to create a more sustainable use of ammonia for industries, such as fertilizers for food, coolants in air conditioning, and maritime fuel for the transport of essential goods.
Existing Investors Double Down on o9 Solutions’ Growth With Incremental Investment at $3.7 Billion Valuation
o9 Solutions, a leading enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming planning and decision-making for global enterprises, today announced that its existing investors, led by General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero, the inaugural companion fund for the growth equity firm’s climate investing efforts, have invested an additional $116 million in the Company. Existing investors KKR and Generation Investment Management also participated in the round. The investment values o9 at $3.7 billion, up from $2.7 billion since the Company’s last investment round in January 2022.
General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero and Generation Investment Management join KKR as investors in o9, valuing the company at $2.7 billion. This marks an increase from the $1 billion valuation in April 2020 at the time of the company’s first-ever external investment led by KKR, which is also participating in this funding round. This capital raise follows a record year during which the company reported a greater than threefold increase year-over-year in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from new customers.
SAP invests directly in three AI startups: Cohere, Anthropic and Aleph Alpha
German enterprise software giant SAP is putting skin into the AI game. The company today announced it has directly invested in three AI startups: Cohere, Anthropic (maker of the Claude 2 LLM service) and Aleph Alpha.
As for why SAP chose these three gen AI startups to invest in over any others: “All three companies — Aleph Alpha (Germany), Anthropic (U.S.) and Cohere (Canada) are each recognized for industry leadership, innovation, and a unique vision for advancing AI and the potential to transform industries. And with our overarching approach to foster an open ecosystem of Business AI, we believe that SAP should give customers choice and are proud to invest in each of them.”
ProShop ERP Receives $32 Million Growth Investment from Mainsail Partners
ProShop ERP, a leading software solution for precision manufacturing companies, announced an investment from Mainsail Partners, a growth equity firm that invests in fast-growing, founder-led, vertical enterprise resource planning (ERP) software companies. The company intends to utilize the capital to expedite product development and to continue to build upon the market-leading services and support provided to its customers.
Advantage Capital Invests $3.35 Million in Vibrant Corporation to Facilitate Expansion, Increase Production
Advantage Capital, a leading impact investing firm, today announced a $3.35 million investment in Vibrant Corporation, a non-destructive testing (NDT) technology company. Advantage Capital led the round, with several pre-existing Vibrant shareholders also participating. The company will leverage this funding to expand its workforce and increase production.
Founded in 2006 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Vibrant is a leader in the NDT space, developing the most commercially viable approach for Process Compensated Resonance Testing (PCRT) – a method of vibrating objects to test their integrity, which was initially developed at Los Alamos Laboratory.
Parsec Receives Strategic Investment from BVP Forge to Accelerate Manufacturing Operations Management for Enterprises
Parsec Automation Corp, a trailblazer in Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) software, announced a major recapitalization led by BVP Forge, designed to fuel future growth.
Its TrakSYS™ software platform demystifies manufacturing operations, providing users with heightened visibility, profound insights, and superior control. TrakSYS enjoys a trusted position in thousands of factories in more than 100 countries. It serves a variety of sectors, from automotive and chemical to food & beverage, life sciences, and packaged goods. Among Parsec’s globally-esteemed customers are industry heavyweights such as AB InBev, AkzoNobel, AstraZeneca, Beiersdorf, DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, and Eli Lilly.
Standard Investments, Home Depot Ventures, and Carl Bass Back Higharc’s Generative Design Solution to Help U.S. Homebuilders
Higharc, the intelligent homebuilding platform for design, sales, and construction, today announced a strategic investment to accelerate the adoption of its generative design technology and help transform the homebuilding process. The investment was made by Standard Investments, the investment arm of global industrial company Standard Industries; Home Depot Ventures™, the venture capital fund managed by the world’s largest home improvement retailer; and Carl Bass, former president and CEO of Autodesk, Inc., who joins Higharc as an advisor.
Higharc’s platform automatically produces everything needed to design, sell, and build homes at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional software. This also enables buyers to configure their new home using online 3D models and also dramatically speeds up the builder’s ability to get these homes to market.
HyAxiom, Inc. Announces Completion of $150 Million Private Placement
HyAxiom, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of fuel cell and electrolyzer solutions (“HyAxiom” or the “Company”), announced today the completion of a private placement of convertible preferred stock in an aggregate amount of approximately $150 million (the “Private Placement”), led by three Korean investment firms - Korea Investment Private Equity, KDB Investment–Hana Securities and KB Asset Management.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement for capital expenditure, research and development, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes, as HyAxiom focuses on expanding its U.S. and global business as well as developing and launching new products, including the expansion of production and continued research and development of its PEM electrolyzer (PEMEC) system, which was launched this year.
Leeds-based photonic chip company Optalysys raises £21 million to unlock its Fully Homomorphic Encryption process
Photonic chip maker Optalysys has raised a £21 million Series A funding which will see it ‘advance its Enable photonic computing technology to unlock a new form of secure processing known as Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE)’.
Backing the company is the Agnelli family through Lingotto which is owned by Exor – the Agnelli family holding company. The round was led by Lingotto, imec.xpand, and Northern Gritstone.
FHE, a form of quantum-secure cryptography, doesn’t require the data to be decrypted before it can be processed, allowing confidential or sensitive data to be sent along untrusted networks, or to be worked on by multiple parties without ever exposing the data itself.
ReCatalyst Announces Successful Closing of an Oversubscribed €1.7 M Seed Financing Round
ReCatalyst, a spin-out from renowned National Institute of Chemistry from Ljubljana, Slovenia has closed an oversubscribed €1.7 M seed investment round. The funding round was co-led by the Germany-based High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), xista science ventures from Austria and OCCIDENT from Germany. The syndicate completes RUJ Ventures from Slovenia and the strategic business angel Dr. Tine Tomažič.
ReCatalyst is developing a nano-tech platform for production of next-generation of intermetallic platinum-alloy PEM fuel cell catalysts with the core mission to enable an optimized usage of platinum group metals.
Oklo, an Advanced Fission Technology Company, to Go Public via Merger with AltC Acquisition Corp.
Oklo Inc., an advanced fission technology and nuclear fuel recycling company, and AltC Acquisition Corp. (“AltC”) (NYSE: ALCC), a special purpose acquisition company, announced today that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate as Oklo and is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “OKLO.”
Oklo intends to revolutionize the energy landscape by developing affordable, reliable, clean energy solutions at scale. Global demand for reliable, emission-free energy is growing rapidly with 38% of Fortune 500 companies publicly committing to decarbonization and an expected global $2 trillion annual spend on new power generation. Oklo is pursuing two complementary tracks to address this demand: providing reliable, commercial-scale energy to customers; and selling used nuclear fuel recycling services to the U.S. market.
Puloli Secures Investment from Artemis Energy Partners, Welcomes Bobby Tudor to the Board
Puloli, an IoT Solutions-as-a-Service provider, is pleased to announce an investment by Artemis Energy Partners. Bobby Tudor, the CEO and founder of Artemis Energy Partners has joined Puloli’s Board of Directors, offering invaluable insights, support, and thoughtful guidance.
With the launch of Paradigm M-Series™ IoT Solutions-as-a-Service (SaaS), a 24x7 continuous methane monitoring service for energy producers, Puloli is making a strong entry into energy verticals. Artemis Energy Partners’ investment will enable the company to expand research and development capabilities, strengthen operational capacities, and provide strategic industry insights and market knowledge.
CoJourney Secures $30M Financing and Expands U.S. Ops
CoJourney Inc., a global innovator in manufacturing and development of cell and gene therapies, has completed a $30 million Series A financing and expansion of its U.S. organization and commercial manufacturing capabilities.
Rocsys wants to automate EV charging, starting in ports and yards
Rocsys has created a robotic arm that can transform any electric vehicle charger into an autonomous charger. In yards and ports, where vehicle uptime is crucial and the margin for error is slim, being able to plug in a charger and remove it without manual intervention is not only attractive to logistics operators, but it has a use case today.
Aside from partnerships with companies like electric forklift company Hyster, industrial equipment supplier Taylor Machine Works and port operator SSA Marine, Rocsys claims to have a commercial partnership in the works with one of the largest Big Box retailers in North America.
Rocsys doesn’t intend to stop with heavy duty, industrial logistics. The startup closed a $36 million Series A made up of half equity and half debt. The funds will help the startup build out its North American division and support R&D into the automotive sector, which would include both mainstream consumer vehicles and self-driving robotaxi fleets.
Dutch deep-tech startup FononTech raises €2.3M to advance micro-electronic parts printing technology
Eindhoven-based deep-tech startup FononTech announced on Tuesday that it has secured €2.3M in a seed round of funding. The investment came as a convertible loan from TTT Smart Industries Fund, SHIFT Invest, Brabantse Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij (BOM), the Brabant Startup Fonds (BSF), and renowned investor Sake Bosch. Rabobank has also granted a loan.
The Dutch startup says it will use the funds to develop its printed micro-electronics technology further and prepare for the scale-up phase.
HZG Group Backs AIM3D’s Bound Metal 3D Printing Tech
AIM3D, a developer of a unique metal and ceramics 3D printing technology, has just secured further funding from 3D printing investor HZG Group and the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), who backed the Rockstock, Germany startup in 2021. AIM3D will use the money to support the launch of its ExAM 510 3D printer and develop software for the machine.
MAS Holdings invests in HeiQ AeoniQ™ a sustainable alternative to synthetics
HeiQ from Switzerland, leader in materials innovation, and MAS Holdings, a global apparel & textile manufacturing and tech conglomerate headquartered in Sri Lanka, and the largest apparel and textile manufacturer in South Asia with approximately USD2 billion in turnover, entered a partnership for MAS to secure a stake in HeiQ AeoniQ GmbH, a subsidiary of HeiQ Group that will produce HeiQ AeoniQ™, a climate-positive cellulosic yarn.
With this investment, MAS Holdings becomes the first manufacturer to partner with HeiQ AeoniQ™ in their efforts to provide a sustainable alternative to polyester and nylon. The investment to be made by MAS Holdings is part of the group’s strategy to drive a positive environmental impact. The MAS Plan for Change aims to generate 50% of the company’s revenue through sustainable products by 2025, revolutionizing the textile industry with a focus on innovation, sustainable sourcing, and pioneering circularity at scale.
Cavli Wireless secures $10M in Series-A to accelerate global expansion
We are incredibly excited to share that our Series A fundraise for $10 million has been successfully completed. The round was led by Chiratae Ventures, a prominent VC with Investmentssectors such as Consumer-Tech, SaaS, Fintech, and Healthtech along with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, the venture arm of Qualcomm Inc, a global semiconductor major. Another prominent US technology conglomerate also made a significant contribution to this funding round.
“This Series A will enable us to strengthen our position in the global IoT market by expanding our product portfolio, enhancing R&D capabilities, and growing our international presence. Cavli plans to invest in cutting-edge technologies, such as 5G with edge processing capabilities, to address the automotive and industrial sectors globally. With our IoT platform solution Cavli Hubble tightly integrated with our hardware portfolio, we are pretty confident that Silicon to Cloud integration in its true sense is now a reality” said John Mathew, CEO of Cavli Wireless.
RoboK raises $2.1m to boost industrial safety & efficiency
RoboK, a startup applying AI-powered computer vision to logistics & industrial workplaces, has announced $2.1 million in funding, making it $4 million to date, for accelerating commercial expansion.
The company is on a mission to deliver significant value to customers and unlock the often-overlooked potential of their existing industrial CCTV cameras. This is achieved with their proprietary computer vision solutions that are privacy-preserving and cost-effective, allowing the company to offer secure, always-on and proactive insights with deep sector operational knowledge.
The funding round was led by Cambridge Enterprise with participation from new and existing investors including the Bristol Port Company, U-blox AG, Amadeus Capital Partners, Martlet Capital, the University of Cambridge Enterprise Fund managed by Parkwalk Advisors, Deeptech Labs, and a number of angels. The company has also secured grants from funders incl. InnovateUK and the Department for Transport.
CoreTigo Receives Investment from Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund to Accelerate Industrial Connectivity
CoreTigo, an industrial wireless automation solution provider, announced today that Amazon has joined their Series B1 round of fundraising. Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund investment brings CoreTigo’s Series B1 round to a total of $18M and joins CoreTigo’s strategic investors, including, Emerson Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures LLC, and Verizon Ventures, among others.
Alvys Raises $6.3M to Provide an End-to-End Operating System for Logistics Companies
Alvys, an end-to-end operating system for middle mile logistics companies with a laser focus on carriers, today announced it has raised a $6.3M seed round led by Bonfire Ventures, with participation from RTP Global and strategic angel investors. This initial investment comes as the company’s customer base has more than doubled since January 2023 and revenue has grown 5x year over year, solidifying Alvys as a game-changer in the trucking industry. The funds will be used to strengthen Alvys’ product offerings and expand its talented team, enabling the company to further invest in key areas such as research and development, product enhancement, and customer support.
🛩️ Guardian Agriculture, the first and only eVTOL with FAA approval to operate commercially, announces $20 million in Series A funding
Guardian Agriculture, the leading developer of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) systems for commercial-scale sustainable farming – and the first and only eVTOL company with FAA approval to operate commercially nationwide – today announced a Series A fundraise of $20 million. Led by Fall Line Capital, this round will support expansion of commercial operations across farms nationwide and accelerate the ramp-up of large-scale manufacturing of its SC1 aircraft.
Fairmat signs long-term contract with Dassault Aviation
Fairmat, the French deeptech company founded in 2020 by Benjamin Saada, which is revolutionizing the recycling of carbon fiber composites, has announced today the signing of a new long-term contract with Dassault Aviation for the collection and recycling of carbon fiber composite production offcuts. This new long-term contract strengthens Fairmat’s position as a leader in composites recycling, and testifies to Dassault Aviation’s renewed confidence in the start-up. Fairmat has grown rapidly since its creation, and continues to attract the attention of key players in the composite materials, aeronautics and wind energy industries. The company is currently implementing an international expansion strategy to establish strategic partnerships with major players in the global market.
Innovative North Vancouver company receives more than $2 million to market welding robots internationally
In North Vancouver, Novarc Technologies Inc. is developing a unique automation solution to help solve the global manufacturing bottleneck. Novarc’s Spool Welding Robot (SWR) is the world’s first of its kind in pipe welding machines and applications giving traditional industries a route to automation.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for North Vancouver, on behalf of the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan), announced $2,065,000 in funding to this innovative company.
Sequoia makes first defense tech investment in Mach Industries
Defense startup Mach Industries has raised $5.7 million in a seed round led by Sequoia Capital, the first-ever defense tech investment in the venture capital giant’s history, the two companies said. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Mach said the funding will be used for product development, hiring talent, and expanding facilities.
Founded by MIT dropout and Thiel Fellow Ethan Thornton in 2022, Mach Industries focuses on building a hardware solution using field-sourced hydrogen creation and combustion techniques. It is working to develop a weapon system that uses the chemical reaction of oxygen and hydrogen to create a powerful explosion that could fuel unmanned aerial vehicles and aerial protection devices.
Eavor commences commercialization through major investment and landmark partnership with OMV
Eavor Technologies Inc. (“Eavor”), the leader in globally scalable geothermal closed-loop technology, has completed the first close of their Series B equity round. OMV AG (“OMV”) leads the round with a €34 million (C$50mm) investment and has entered into a commercial agreement with Eavor to pursue large-scale deployment of Eavor-Loop™ technology in Europe and beyond. Follow-on investments from Eavor’s existing partners include bp Ventures, Eversource Energy and Vickers Venture Partners. Concurrently with the raise, Chubu Electric Power has converted its debenture.
🚀 Venus Aerospace Adds Airbus Ventures to Investor Team
Venus Aerospace, a Houston-based hypersonic startup enabling cost-effective one-hour global transport, welcomes the new addition of Airbus Ventures to its team of investors.
In Spring 2022, the company raised its $20M Series A, led by Prime Movers Lab, to fund engine development and subscale initial flight testing for building its Mach 9 hypersonic drone and Mach 9 spacecraft, both capable of one-hour global travel.
Albert Invent Raises $7.5 Million Seed, Led by Index Ventures, to Bring New Products to Market Faster Than Ever Before
Albert Invent, the company empowering global organizations to accelerate innovation with its state-of-the-art R&D platform, today announced $7.5 million in seed funding. Index Ventures led the investment in Albert Invent, whose platform is already helping thousands of scientists worldwide dramatically expedite time to market. Homebrew, F-Prime Capital and prominent angel investors also participated in the round. With the additional financial resources, the company will onboard even more chemistry and materials science companies, helping one of the largest industries in the world develop the products that touch consumers’ everyday lives. Albert is already utilized by some of the largest and prominent companies, along with emerging startups, around the world, including Henkel, the world’s leading producer of adhesives, sealants and functional coatings; 3D Systems, one of the largest 3D printing technology companies; and Applied Molecules, fast growing manufacturer of formulated coatings and adhesives.
👖 Unspun Unveils New 3D Weaving Machine For The Sustainable Microfactory Of The Future
Unspun launched in 2015 with an initial mission to help reduce waste at the consumer end. The company leverages 3D scanning to precisely fit jeans for individual buyers, and manufactures them on demand. Between the custom fit and the high but relatively affordable price tag of $200 or so, presumably consumers would be motivated to keep their jeans practically forever.
The new round of funding will “support implementation of unspun’s innovative 3D weaving technology Vega™, which will help brands realize a zero-inventory, onshored, circular and automated supply-chain for woven products,” unspun reports. The 3D weaving machine is a robotics-enabled device inspired by additive manufacturing principles. It can weave a pair of pants to order in 10 minutes, from scratch. The 3D machine is fed directly with yarn. No fabric inputs are involved. According to unspun, just a few minutes’ worth of finishing steps are needed to complete the process.
“By producing in micro-factories powered by Vega™, multiple traditional manufacturing steps—which result in high order quantities, long lead times, increased transport emissions, and excess inventory waste—are eliminated,” unspun explains.
Slovakia’s Sensoneo raises €6.2M, sets sights on largest smart waste installation in Europe
Slovakia-based green tech scale-up Sensoneo announced on Thursday that it has secured €6.2M in a Series A round of funding led by Taiwania Capital. The round also has participation from existing investors Crowdberry, EIC Fund, and Venture to Future Fund.
MatrixSpace Secures $10M Series A Funding
MatrixSpace, a leader in AI collaborative sensing solutions, announces $10M raised in Series A funding. This brings the company’s total funding to $20M since its first year of operation in 2020 and will enable it to accelerate technology advancements, customer adoption and revenue growth. The round was led by the Raptor Group, a highly successful venture and private investment fund with a strong track record in technology, enterprise, and sports companies. Intel Capital also participated, as well as a prominent set of technology executives.
Shift5 Draws Investors, Raises $33M in Funding to Unlock Onboard Data in Commercial and Military Fleets and Weapon Systems
Shift5, the onboard data company, today announced it has raised $33 million in additional financing, bringing its Series B round to $83 million. Led by Moore Strategic Ventures, industry stalwarts across defense and commercial aerospace industries including Booz Allen Hamilton’s corporate venture capital arm, Booz Allen Ventures, and JetBlue Ventures, as well as Teamworthy Ventures, participated in the round, bringing the company’s total venture funding to $108 million. The fundraise comes amid significant business momentum; in the last year Shift5 more than doubled its annual recurring revenue (ARR), more than doubled its number of customers across Department of Defense (DoD) and commercial aerospace and rail sectors, and grew the rate of its platform deployments on commercial and DoD vehicles and weapon systems by 1,275%.
🫧 Accelerating Carbon Removal with our $100m Series B
Our new funding was led by General Catalyst. The firm is deeply committed to investing in ‘responsible innovation’ companies that can deliver outsized financial and societal returns. General Catalyst’s CEO and Managing Director Hemant Taneja will join our board alongside Ryan Panchadsaram from John Doerr’s office (also, authors of Speed and Scale). We’re proud that Lowercarbon, Exor Ventures, Kinnevik, Thrive Capital and Elad Gil also invested as part of the round.
We’ll be using the new funding to accelerate our carbon removal deliveries. After deploying increasingly advanced pilot processes in 2021 and 2022, we began ramping up in 2023. Our primary focus is expanding bio-oil production and transport capacity, and since the beginning of the year we’ve increased tons of carbon removal delivered per week 5x.
🔗 Sourcemap Raises $20M Series B to Launch Real-Time Supply Chain Mapping and Monitoring Software
Sourcemap, the leading global provider of supply chain mapping and monitoring software, today announced the close of a $20 million Series B investment led by Energize Ventures with participation from the E14 Fund. Sourcemap will leverage this latest funding to further expand its global footprint and add business-critical solutions to its supply chain mapping and monitoring software suite.
MARTECH3D Secures £500,000 Seed Round Investment from Blackfinch Ventures
MARTECH3D, the 3D marketing and sales platform for B2B manufacturers, has received £500,000 in seed round investment from Blackfinch Ventures to support their next stage of growth. The funding will enable them to immediately double the size of their team to increase customer capacity and fast-track major new feature releases.
🔋 Forge Nano Raises US $50M to Build Out Battery Production Line to Meet Growing Demand for Premium Batteries
Forge Nano, Inc., a global leader in precision nano-coating technology, today announced the closing of US $50+ million in funding led by key investments from Korea’s Hanwha Corporate Venture Capital with participation from OIC, Catalus Capital, Ascent Funds and existing investors. This funding brings the Company’s total amount of capital raised to-date to more than $95 million.
The financing will allow Forge Nano to capitalize on its already growing commercial-scale nanotechnology opportunities for battery material as well as develop a battery production line to satisfy full-scale, premium battery contracts. Plans are underway to launch construction of the pilot battery production line in Q2 2023 that will support applications including aerospace, consumer electronics, defense and more.
Norway’s Kongsberg Digital raises €84.1M to digitalise sustainable operations across industries
Kongsberg Digital, an industrial software company that claims to shape the future of work by changing how businesses design, operate and maintain their assets, announced on Thursday, June 1, that it has raised $90M (nearly €84.17M) in a fresh round of funding. The investment came from Shell Ventures and Idékapital. The new ownership structure will help Kongsberg Digital achieve its goal of enabling smarter, safer, and greener operations across industries and on a larger scale.
♻️ Carbios bags €54M grant to build the world’s first PET bio-recycling plant in France
France-based Carbios, a green chemistry company that focuses on discovering and developing enzymatic bioprocesses applied to plastic and textile polymers, announced on Thursday that it has received grants totalling €54M. Carbios’ project to finalise the industrialisation of their “unique” PET bio-recycling technology was chosen as part of the national call for projects on “Plastics Recycling” run by ADEME2.
Carbios says it will use the funds to continue its research into the optimisation and continuous improvement of Carbios’ enzymatic technologies.
Red 6 Raises $30M in Series A at a $130M Post Cap Valuation to Solve National Security Gap in Military Training
Red 6, a revolutionary Augmented Reality technology firm at the forefront of synthetic air combat training, is proud to announce it has closed a $30 Million Series A round at a $130M post cap valuation. The round was led with a $25M investment by Snowpoint ventures, an existing investor in Red 6. An additional $5M was raised from existing and new investors. “I am delighted to announce our Series A today. This funding will further support Red 6’s mission to deliver a new paradigm of military training across all the domains of air, sea and land. We are excited to have strengthened our existing relationship with Snowpoint Ventures, who share our commitment to solve training inefficiencies for our warfighters and enhance our military’s level of combat readiness and lethality,” said Daniel Robinson Founder and CEO of Red 6.
🖨️ Fortify Secures $12.5 Million in Funding From Investors, Including Lockheed Martin Ventures & RTX Ventures, to Accelerate Growth in Advanced Materials & Additive Manufacturing
Fortify, a leading full-stack materials science and additive manufacturing company, announced today that it has raised $12.5 million in a funding round from investors, including Lockheed Martin Ventures and RTX Ventures, the venture capital arms of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, respectively. This strategic investment will enable Fortify to expand its capabilities and accelerate the development of its groundbreaking Digital Composite Manufacturing (DCM) platform.
⛏️ Ceibo Raises $30 million to Scale Advanced Copper Extraction Technology
Ceibo, an advanced copper extraction technology company, today announced it has raised a $30 million Series B financing. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners, with participation from a syndicate of new mining-focused investors including CoTec Holdings, Audley, Orion Resources, Unearth and Pincus Green along with existing investors Khosla Ventures and Aurus Ventures. The funding round will enable Ceibo to accelerate the scale-up of its proprietary technology, drive several on-site trials and prove the technology’s value and versatility at scale.
🔐 Galvanick Announces $10 Million in Seed Funding for Its Industrial Cybersecurity Platform
Galvanick, the cybersecurity solution for protecting industrial infrastructure against cyber attacks, today announced its $10 million seed round. Major investors included MaC Venture Capital, Founders Fund, Village Global, Countdown Capital, Hanover Technology Investment Management, Shrug Capital, 8090 Industries, and over 25 angel investors specializing in cybersecurity, manufacturing, finance, and defense. Galvanick plans to use the capital to make additional core hires, and expand use of its initial product – an industrial-first Extended Detection & Response (XDR) platform – to additional advanced manufacturing and critical infrastructure facilities.
🔋 Our Next Era of Growth: Expanding Our Platform For the Industrial Supply Chain
We announced a $42 million Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from existing backers Initialized Capital, Brick & Mortar Ventures, Rainfall Ventures, and others. This is an exciting time as we continue revolutionizing last-mile logistics for construction and industrial supplies.
This investment will enable us to continue delivering operational efficiencies to our customers and achieve our vision of becoming the go-to platform for industrial supply chain management.
Squint Raises $6M in Funding from Sequoia Capital and Menlo Ventures to Expand AR-Powered Technology Platform
Squint, the technology platform that uses augmented reality (AR) to optimize factory procedures and empower operators, today announced $6 million in combined seed and pre-seed funding from Arc, Sequoia Capital’s pre-seed and seed-stage catalyst, and Menlo Ventures’ venture studio Menlo Labs, along with several angel investors.
Squint uses AR to power an intuitive mobile platform for factory operators who need dynamic, contextual help mapped to the world around them. The Squint platform brings the shop floor binder – full of instructions – to life, providing operators with an interactive experience that is both engaging and effective, while increasing learning speed and knowledge retention. With these capabilities, Squint enables organizations to digitize standard operating procedures using just a mobile phone, with no hassle — not even an IT team – making everyday tasks like training, operation, and maintenance faster and safer.
Squint’s roster of customers, including global brands like Siemens and The Volvo Group, speaks to the value of their solution. Early customers report an 86% decrease in training time for new operators. Rachel Wood, the Learning & Development Site Lead at Siemens Spartanburg, explains, “We see Squint completely transforming our training process on the factory floor. It enables our workforce to learn with immersive spatial guides that boost productivity and, most importantly, encourage safety.”
🖨️ Intrepid Automation Secures Series A Fundraise to Accelerate Deployment Support Initiatives
Intrepid Automation, provider of industrial additive manufacturing solutions, is thrilled to announce the successful completion of its Series A funding round. The funding will primarily be allocated towards scaling up the company’s planned deployment support capabilities and enhancing customer onboarding processes.
☢️ Proxima Fusion captures a stellar €7 million raise to fund the design of fusion power plants
Munich-based Proxima Fusion has raised €7 million in Pre-Seed funding to fuel the development of a high-performance stellarator in a step towards building a first-of-a-kind fusion power plant within the 2030s. The fundraising was led by Plural and UVC Partners, and includes High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and the Wilbe Group.
BenchSci Raises $95 Million Series D Funding to Enable Drug Discovery Innovation at Scale With its Groundbreaking AI Platform ASCEND
BenchSci, a world leader in AI solutions for preclinical life sciences research and development (R&D), today announced a $95 million (US $70 million) Series D funding round led by Generation Investment Management, with participation from existing investors iNovia Capital, TCV, Golden Ventures and F-Prime Capital. The most recent funding brings BenchSci’s total funds raised to $218 million (US $170 million).
The funds will be used to expand the company’s revolutionary AI drug discovery platform, ASCEND™ by BenchSci, which enables scientists to discover biological connections, dramatically reduce trial-and-error experimentation and uncover risks early. ASCEND users from BenchSci’s top 10 customers were able to uncover novel targets and disease indications in 22% of key projects and reduced unnecessary experimentation by 40%, contributing to a new era of more efficient, AI-driven drug discovery.
Volition raises $11M to scale the world's largest industrial parts marketplace
Volition today has announced an $11M seed round led by Newark Venture Partners and Quiet Capital, with major participation from Lachy Groom, Alan Rutledge, Julian Capital, and Humba (Susa) Ventures. Volition is the first and only online industrial parts marketplace designed specifically for the needs of the hardware development world. It aims to accelerate the pace of hardware innovation by serving as the hub that organizes all of the world’s components.
Australian Manufacturing growth funding tops $3 million
Recipients of the fourth Advanced Manufacturing Accelerating Growth Program round have been announced, with 11 Tasmanian advanced manufacturers sharing in almost $1 million in funding to help grow their businesses.
“The latest round of funding alone is expected to generate almost $2.7 million in total investment, a more than 3-to-1 return on our outlay. It is also anticipated to generate more than 33 FTE new manufacturing jobs locally.
Ayar Labs Adds $25 Million in Expansion of its $130 Million Series C
Ayar Labs, a leader in silicon photonics for chip-to-chip connectivity, announced it has raised an additional $25 million in Series C1 funding, bringing its total Series C raise to $155 million. The oversubscribed up round was led by new investor Capital TEN. VentureTech Alliance also entered the Series C expansion that included participation by previous investors Boardman Bay Capital Management, IAG Capital Partners, NVIDIA, and Tyche Partners. Existing strategic and financial investors include Applied Ventures, GlobalFoundries, Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, Intel Capital and Lockheed Martin Ventures.
🖨️ Oakland County Awards $15M for Phase 2 of World’s Largest 3-D Printing Network
Oakland County today announced it is designating $15 million in funding for Phase 2 of Project DIAMOnD, a program that was launched in 2020 to accelerate digital transformation by distributing 300 3-D printers to small and medium-size manufacturers at no cost.
Project DIAMOnD, which stands for Digital, Independent, Agile, Manufacturing on Demand, was founded to support regional manufacturers adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The result was the creation of the world’s largest 3-D printing network and what the county is calling “the most significant effort of its kind to take small and medium-sized manufacturers to the next level of manufacturing.
Automation Alley and Project DIAMOnD say they will continue to work with existing partners, Markforged Inc., Giggso, and 3YOURMIND, and are seeking additional partners, printer manufacturers, and funders to join the program.”
Infinite Uptime Raises $18.85 Million in Series B3 Funding Led by Tiger Global
Infinite Uptime, a provider of predictive maintenance solutions for industrial machinery has raised $18.85 million in its Series B3 funding round. The round was led by Tiger Global, a global investment firm, with participation from existing investors GSR Ventures, VenturEast, Mayfield, and THK. The company is also backed by Belgium-based innovative impact investor, KOIS.fund.
The company claims that its cutting-edge technology digitises assets and leverages vibration monitoring to diagnose faults and provide recommendations for large-scale industrial machinery remotely. It is currently serving more than 300 customers globally. Its clientele includes Vedanta Group, JSW Group, Tata Group, THK, Schlumberger, Marubeni Group, Ceat Tyres, Aditya Birla Group and Coca-Cola. The Series B3 funding will enable the company to further strengthen its global market share and multiply value delivery and service quality across industry segments.
🖨️ Senvol to lead U.S. Army program focused on consistency of 3D printing performance
Senvol has announced that it has received funding from the U.S. Army to lead a program focused on demonstrating that consistent part performance can be achieved on different additive manufacturing machines located at different sites.
The program is titled “Applying Machine Learning to Ensure Consistency and Verification of Additive Manufacturing Machine and Part Performance Across Multiple Sites”, and commenced in March 2023, running through March 2025.
Aaron LaLonde, PhD, Technical Specialist – Additive Manufacturing at the U.S. Navy said “For additive manufacturing to be successfully implemented into the Army’s supply chain, it is essential to be able to produce parts of consistent performance even if different machines are used at different locations. Today, that is much easier said than done. During this program, we are pleased to work with Senvol to demonstrate the use of its machine learning technology to aid in achieving what everyone in the additive manufacturing industry strives for, a truly flexible supply chain.”
⚗️ Industry consortium to develop modern chemical manufacturing methods
A major consortium led by Imperial and chemical company BASF is to help make chemical manufacturing more efficient, resilient, and sustainable. Imperial will receive £17.8 million from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and industry partners under the EPSRC Prosperity Partnership programme in a consortium of organisations from across the chemicals value chain.
“Flow chemistry is inherently more sustainable than batch processing because it makes better use of heat and materials,” said lead investigator Professor Mimi Hii from Imperial’s Department of Chemistry. “It can also provide a powerful tool for automating production and the research and development of more sustainable processes. However, there are technical bottlenecks that are holding back its full implementation. Through this new consortium we will be in a strong position to address these.”
Fabless Semiconductor Innovator Stathera Announces US $15M Series A Funding Round
Stathera Inc., a leading provider of MEMS (Micro-electromechanical Systems) timing solutions, announced today that the company has raised $15 Million in a Series A funding round. The round was co-led by BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund and Celesta Capital, with additional participation from strategic investors including MediaTek, Seiko Epson, and TXC.
“Technology scaling using conventional timing architectures has hit a wall when it comes to synchronizing next-generation electronics. Stathera’s technology introduces a new approach to integrating and manufacturing timing devices,” said George Xereas, Stathera’s CEO and Co-founder. “We are excited to be the only company with state-of-the-art DualModeTM frequency technology, which has the potential to re-architect the entire $9.4 Billion electronics timing industry. We are grateful to our investors for recognizing and investing in this potential, which will allow us to expand our world class team and drive commercialization.”
U. S. Steel Closes on $240 Million Financing to Support Big River 2
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE X) (“U. S. Steel” or the “Company”) today announced the closing of $240 million unsecured Arkansas Development Finance Authority environmental improvement revenue bonds, which carry a green bond designation (the “Green Bonds”). The Green Bonds, issued through Arkansas Development Finance Authority, have a coupon rate of 5.70% and carry a final maturity of 2053. Under the agreement with the Arkansas bond issuer, U. S. Steel will pay semiannual interest.
The Company will use the proceeds from the Green Bonds to partially fund work related to its new technologically advanced flat rolled steelmaking facility, Big River 2 (“BR2”), currently under construction near Osceola, Arkansas. The facility will recycle, refine, and process scrap steel into finished steel products.
Fabless Semiconductor Innovator Stathera Announces US $15M Series A Funding Round
Stathera Inc., a leading provider of MEMS (Micro-electromechanical Systems) timing solutions, announced today that the company has raised $15 Million in a Series A funding round. The round was co-led by BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund and Celesta Capital, with additional participation from strategic investors including MediaTek, Seiko Epson, and TXC.
Stathera intends to use the proceeds from the Series A funding to fully commercialize its DualModeTM GEN1 MEMS timing product line, increasing production capacity in the months ahead to meet anticipated customer demand. In parallel, Stathera plans to invest heavily in the advancement of its GEN2 high-performance technology, which brings an improvement of one order of magnitude over legacy MEMS timing solutions.
🚰 Gradiant Raises $225 Million to Accelerate Business Expansion
Gradiant, a global end-to-end solutions provider of advanced water and wastewater treatment, today announced it has raised $225 million in its first close of Series D financing. The round was led by BoltRock Holdings and Centaurus Capital, bringing Gradiant’s total funding to date to over $400 million and its valuation to $1 billion. Gradiant is one of the fastest-growing companies in the water industry achieving over 100% YOY top-line growth for four consecutive years. The company will use the new financing to continue its expansion into strategic markets to make Gradiant the preferred water partner of the world’s essential industries. The funding will also support growth into new geographies, such as the Middle East and Europe, and further fuel Gradiant’s R&D programs.
🖨️ Alloy Enterprises Raises $26M to Unlock Aluminum Fabrication at Scale
Alloy Enterprises, the world’s first Digital Aluminum Fab, announces the completion of a $26 million oversubscribed Series A round led by Piva Capital and joined by new investors Unless, Flybridge Capital, MassMutual Catalyst Fund, Robert Downey Jr.’s Footprint Coalition, and existing investors Congruent Ventures and Riot Ventures. The funding brings the total raised to $37 million.
Alloy Enterprises is filling the void with a fast, cost-effective manufacturing method that streamlines the production of aluminum parts at scale here in the U.S. Alloy supplies complex aluminum components to its customers. Its’ unique solution is the first process specially designed for aluminum that does not use aluminum powder. Using a combination of laser cutting and diffusion bonding, the team can produce production volumes through its machines cost-effectively while maintaining the advantages of 3D printing, such as reducing lead times, iterating designs quickly, avoiding expensive tooling, and digitizing inventory.
🏗️ SWAPP raises $11.5 million Series A to help architects with AI platform
SWAPP, which has developed automation software for architectural construction documents, announced on Wednesday the closing of an $11.5 million Series A funding round. With this funding, the company has raised a total of $18.5 million since it was founded.
VoxelSensors Raises €5M in Seed Funding for blending the physical and digital worlds through 3D perception
VoxelSensors announces an investment of €5M led by Belgian venture capital firms Capricorn Partners and Qbic, with participation from the investment firm finance&invest.brussels, existing investors and the team. VoxelSensors’ Switching Pixels® Active Event Sensor (SPAES) is a novel category of ultra-low power and ultra-low latency 3D perception sensors for Extended Reality (XR)1 to blend the physical and digital worlds. The funding will be used to further develop VoxelSensors’ roadmap, hire key employees, and strengthen business engagements with customers in the U.S. and Asia. Furthermore, VoxelSensors remains committed to raising funds in order to back its ambitious growth plans.
ANYbotics Secures $50M Series B Funding to Revolutionize Industrial Inspection with its Four-Legged Robotic Workforce
ANYbotics, a Swiss robotics pioneer, today announced a $50 million Series B funding round led by international deep tech investors Walden Catalyst and NGP Capital with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Aramco Ventures, Swisscom Ventures, Swisscanto Private Equity, and other existing investors. The funds will be used to scale deployments internationally, fuel the development of new capabilities, and solidify ANYbotics’ leading competitive position in robotic inspection solutions.
Noveon Magnetics Announces $75 Million Series B Funding
Noveon Magnetics, the only U.S.-based manufacturer of high-performance neodymium sustainable rare earth magnets, today announced it has closed a $75 million Series B funding round led by NGP and Aventurine Partners. J.P. Morgan acted as placement agent to Noveon on the transaction. The new funding will accelerate the expansion of Noveon’s manufacturing facilities and enhance its position as a leading provider of critical rare earth magnets to businesses that span the automotive, defense, energy production, medical, and consumer goods sectors, among others. Additionally, James Wallis, Partner at NGP, will join Noveon’s Board of Directors.
🖨️ Asahi Kasei invests in Israeli startup Castor Technologies
Asahi Kasei (TOKYO 3407) has decided to invest in Castor Technologies Ltd. (CASTOR), an Israeli startup specialized in the development of 3D printing software. In addition to utilizing CASTOR’s software and services, the investment will allow Asahi Kasei to pursue synergies between its CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) technical service for plastic products and CASTOR’s software.
Mitsubishi Electric Announces Strategic Investment in OTTO Motors to Accelerate Industrial Automation
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO 6503), a global leader in factory automation solutions, today announced a strategic investment in Clearpath Robotics, the parent company of autonomous mobile robot leader, OTTO Motors.
💻👀 Crosspoint Capital Partners Leads Investment in Everseen’s €65 Million Series A Funding Round
Everseen, a leading provider of AI-powered computer vision and hyper automation solutions, announced today that it has raised a €65 million Series A follow-on funding round led by Crosspoint Capital Partners (“Crosspoint”), a private equity firm focused on the cybersecurity, privacy and infrastructure software markets. The funding will be used to continue investment into Everseen’s computer vision AI technology and help the company scale.
🚃 Missouri start-up gets $200,000 grant to accelerate US autonomous railcar technology
Intramotev, a Missouri based technology startup working on developing autonomous, zero-emission rail solutions, has been awarded a $200,000 grant from Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification to support the deployment of three of its TugVolt self-propelled railcars at a mining site in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in late 2023.
The civic investment will catalyze the first deployment anywhere in the world of self-propelled, battery-electric railcars for commercial use in a freight rail operation, Intramotev said, adding that it will also begin to fulfill the company’s goal that initial applications of its technology will include captive routes between mines and processing facilities, as well as intra-plant and ports.
☢️ Helion announces world’s first fusion energy purchase agreement with Microsoft
Helion Energy (Helion) today announced an agreement to provide Microsoft electricity from its first fusion power plant. Constellation will serve as the power marketer and will manage transmission for the project. The plant is expected to be online by 2028 and will target power generation of 50 MW or greater after a 1-year ramp up period. The planned operational date for this first of its kind facility is significantly sooner than typical projections for deployment of commercial fusion power. The development of a commercial fusion power facility is a crucial step in the transition to a sustainable energy future and will not only help Microsoft to achieve its goal of being carbon negative by 2030, but will also support the development of a new clean energy source for the world.
🖨️ Lynxter expands with €4 million Series A funding round
Lynxter, a manufacturer of unique industrial 3D printers, has completed a new round of funding for the acceleration of the company’s international expansion and product offering. Lynxter closed the series A round of €4 million – with both longstanding investors (IRDI Soridec Gestion and Emeric d’Arcimoles) and new investors backing the project and its growth opportunities. GE Invest, NACO, PG-Dev, and HERRIKOA are the new trusted partners and form part of a regional strategy that focuses on deep tech and reindustrialization 4.0.
🚙 UVeye Series D Funding Round Tops $100 Million for Major Expansion in U.S.
UVeye, a pioneer in the development of automated vehicle-inspection systems for the auto industry, has secured $100 million in additional funding to support major new sales and manufacturing initiatives in North America. The company’s recently completed Series D investment round was led by Hanaco VC, a venture-capital firm based in New York and Tel Aviv with $1.5 billion in assets under management.
Series D funding will be used to start production of UVeye inspection systems in North America, support further sales growth in the U.S. and fuel new-market expansion efforts.
♻️ AMP Robotics Raises Additional Series C Investment From Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund
AMP Robotics Corp. (“AMP”), a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and infrastructure for the waste and recycling industry, has received financing from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. This latest investment brings AMP’s Series C round, led by Congruent Ventures and Wellington Management, to a total of more than $99 million.
♻️ Olyns Announces $4 Million Series A Funding Round
Olyns, a leader in innovative recycling technologies, today announced its Series A financing of $4 million, led by Vanedge Capital. The funding will accelerate Olyns’ development of AI-driven technology and expand its dual recycling and media network.
With its eye-catching container collection Cubes, Olyns innovates at the nexus of retail media and recycling. Rethinking the technology and business model for recycling, Olyns’ Cubes use sophisticated AI techniques and algorithms that can identify any container. The Cubes also introduce a new revenue paradigm for recycling by doubling as retail media displays and providing data-driven insights into consumer recycling behavior and brand-specific recycling rates.
Resilinc Receives Strategic Growth Investment from Vista Equity Partners
Resilinc, a leading supply chain mapping, disruption sensing, and resiliency analytics company, today announced a strategic growth investment from Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses. Resilinc will use the growth capital to accelerate product innovation, talent, and go-to-market functions to meet the growing demand for more resilient, sustainable, secure, and transparent supply chains.
Resilinc’s supply chain risk and resiliency solutions are used by hundreds of multinational organizations across the High-Tech, Life Sciences, Defense, Aerospace, Automotive, and Healthcare industries including Danaher, Keysight Technologies, and Stellantis. Resilinc has also established dozens of partnerships to drive supply chain resiliency with leading organizations and associations including Blue Yonder, Blume Global, Snowflake, Genpact, and SEMI.
Impact Nano, chip materials startup, wins funding from Intel, Goldman Sachs
Impact Nano, a Massachusetts-based startup that makes specialty chemicals for the semiconductor industry and others, said on Thursday it raised $32 million in funding from investors including Intel Capital and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Stephens said Impact Nano is inventing new ways to produce chemicals that chip makers use. Among the company’s focus areas, he said, are increasing the purity of the chemicals, finding raw materials that are more abundant and comply with ethical guidelines, and making the process more environmentally friendly.
Innovapptive Announces Series B Investment Led by Vista Equity Partners
Innovapptive Inc. (“Innovapptive”), a SaaS-based Connected Worker Platform, announced today it has raised a Series B investment led by Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses. Existing investor Tiger Global Management also participated in the round. Innovapptive will use the investment to accelerate product innovation and reach new regional markets while further establishing its leadership position in the emerging connected worker software category.
Redaptive Closes Next Phase of Series E Funding Round with Further Investment from Linse Capital
Redaptive, a leading provider of Energy-as-a-Service solutions, today announced an additional investment in its series E funding round from long-term investor Linse Capital. This funding represents another significant step towards expanding Redaptive’s offerings and supporting more customers.
This latest investment follows recent contributions to the round made by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Honeywell, CBRE, and others - bringing the total amount raised for this round to approximately $250 million. With this, Redaptive will continue to support enterprise customers with data-driven energy generation and efficiency programs including HVAC, LED lighting, solar, EV, as well as Data Solutions, and other utility upgrades that can be deployed at large sites or across distributed real estate portfolios.
Joby Aviation to get investment from Tesla shareholder Baillie Gifford
British investment management firm Baillie Gifford will invest $180 million in electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation (JOBY.N), they said on Wednesday. This comes days after Joby clinched a $55 million contract extension to deliver up to nine air taxis to the U.S. Air Force, marking the company’s first revenue-generating operations.
Unlike other electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) manufacturers, which plan to sell aircraft to customers such as airlines and logistics companies, Joby’s business model is similar to a rideshare app.
Pando raises $30 million amidst funding winter, to future-proof enterprise supply chains
Supply chain software leader, Pando, today announced its Series B funding of $30 million, bringing total capital raised so far, to $45 million. The round was led by marquee Silicon Valley investors Iron Pillar and Uncorrelated Ventures, with participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Chiratae Ventures and Next47. The fresh funds will be used to drive Pando’s growth across geographies and industries.
Figma co-founder backs Berlin-based engineering intelligence startup SPREAD in €14.5M funding round
Berlin-based SPREAD, an Engineering Intelligence startup for complex mechatronic products, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $16M (approximately €14.5M) in a Series A round of funding. The round was led by HV Capital with participation from existing investors Cavalry Ventures and angel investors Dylan Field – Figma Co-Founder & CEO, and the founders of logistics unicorn Sennder, among others.
SPREAD says it will use the capital to scale its early successes outside of automotive to new markets. The company will also grow the platform’s capabilities and expand the reach of the Engineering Intelligence Network.
WAVE Equity Partners Commits $30 Million to MayMaan Research, Inc. to Fuel Sustainable Energy Revolution
MayMaan Research, Inc. (MayMaan) is pleased to announce a commitment by WAVE Equity Partners LLC (WAVE) for a $30 million Series A Preferred investment. WAVE is a leading investor in essential industries, including clean air, water, food, advanced materials, and recycling that make a meaningful environmental impact. This investment recognizes the immense potential of MayMaan’s AquaStroke® technology, which uses a unique water-ethanol based fuel to create cleaner combustion engines and generators, while reducing emissions and costs. This not only cuts carbon emissions but also provides a cleaner energy alternative to traditional fossil fuels. With this funding, MayMaan is poised to accelerate the development and deployment of its state-of-the-art clean energy solutions, thereby paving the way for a more sustainable future.
Mitsubishi Corp. to launch $1bn decarbonization fund for startups
Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp., together with MUFG bank and others, will launch one of the largest decarbonization funds in Japan, Nikkei has learned. The fund will invest a total of $1 billion in startup companies with promising technologies in areas such as floating offshore wind turbines and sustainable aviation fuel.
BrainBox AI Announces US$20 Million Investment from Québec Government and ABB; and Enters into Agreement to Acquire ABB Multi-Site Retail Business
BrainBox AI, a leader in autonomous building technology, today announced a US$20 million fundraise to support the continued development of BrainBox AI’s cutting edge decarbonization technology and its global commercialization efforts. The company is pleased to name The Government of Québec as a lead investor for 10 million US dollars, alongside ABB, a returning lead investor and global partner to BrainBox AI.
AI and cloud enabled HVAC autonomous control, natively integrated with the leading on-premise EMS solution, will offer retailers an unparalleled ability to operate their stores and achieve their pressing decarbonization goals.
e2ip technologies Completes $120 Million Growth Funding Round
e2ip technologies, a global printed electronics and embedded system technologies innovation leader of the Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sectors, announced today the completion of its oversubscribed global growth funding round. The Series B financing is co-led by Export Development Canada (EDC) and McRock Capital with existing investor Investissement Québec, who more than doubles its position, and new investor DNA Fund. The round is also supported by National Bank of Canada (BNC). Founding investors W and Namakor remain.
The investment provides e2ip technologies with growth capital to productize decades of HMI and IIoT technology leadership from its high-performance engineered solutions business and to grow global revenue through the digital deployment of its productized and ready-to-use printed electronics, embedded systems, touchscreen and In-Mold-Electronics (IME) platforms.
DeepHow Raises $14M Series A Funding to Transform How Enterprises Capture and Transfer Technical Know-How
DeepHow, the AI company that turns technical know-how into smart, how-to training videos, has closed $14M in Series A funding. Owl Ventures, a specialist in education technology investing, led the round, with participation from another new investor LG Technology Ventures. Existing investors Sierra Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Osage Venture Partners, and Foothill Ventures also participated in this round.
DeepHow plans to invest in go-to-market initiatives to accelerate its business growth, and to ramp up its investments in product, engineering, and generative AI innovation. In response to customer demand, DeepHow has already fast-tracked development of powerful product enhancements that leverage the power of generative AI to accelerate SOP video creation, multimodal workflow generation, AI chat assistance, and strategic knowledge mapping.
Cyclic Materials Raises $27m Series A to Scale Advanced Critical Metals Recycling Technology
Cyclic Materials, an advanced metals recycling company focused on producing critical materials, today announced it has raised $27 million in an oversubscribed Series A financing. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and BMW i Ventures (BiV) and included participation from Fifth Wall, Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC), and existing Cyclic Materials investor Planetary Technologies. This funding round brings the company’s total capital raised to over $30 million and will contribute to the scale up of its technologies.
Ox Raises $12.6M to Pioneer Human Centered AI to Dramatically Improve Frontline Supply Chain Operations
Ox, an AI-powered technology platform for frontline operations, today announced the closing of a $12.6 million Series A round co-led by BBG Ventures and MaC Venture Capital. The round also includes participation from existing investors, Cortado Ventures, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Florida Funders, KCRise, Tech Square Labs, and Vuzix, and new investors, Atento Capital and Agya Ventures.
Ox’s leading innovation is a patented wearable device experience that features novel voice capabilities and visual-based workflows directed through artificial intelligence. The funding will be used to fuel customer expansion, scale additional use cases, and further pioneer the human centered automation category throughout frontline operations.
Good vibrations as Productive Machines raises £2.2 million for machine tool AI
Sheffield-based Productive Machines, an AI start-up has raised £2.2 million in Seed funding to expand the reach of its advanced machine tool process optimisation technology. A spin out of The University of Sheffield, Productive Machines is commercialising its The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) six-year research project to a fully-automated Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product.
The round was led by UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S)and includes NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, ACT Venture Partners and Fuel Ventures, alongside grant funding from Innovate UK.
HydRegen raises £2.6 million to clean up the chemical manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries
HydRegen, the Oxford-based biotechnology company enabling sustainable chemical manufacturing, has secured a £2.6 million investment as part of its latest fundraise, led by Clean Growth Fund, the UK clean-tech venture capital fund.
The new investment from Clean Growth Fund, alongside a group of existing investors, will support the commercial development and deployment of HydRegen’s technologies through the next 18 months. HydRegen plans to license its technology to companies manufacturing pharmaceutical and chemical products around the world. To do this, it also plans to expand its team over the next 12 months.
EquipmentShare Completes $290 Million Funding Round Led by BDT Capital Partners
EquipmentShare, an equipment and digital solutions provider serving the construction industry, announces the completion of a $290 million funding round led by funds affiliated with BDT Capital Partners. This round also included participation from existing investors such as RedBird Capital Partners, Tru Arrow Partners, and Sound Ventures, as well as several new investors including Brown Advisors.
“This successful and substantial equity raise is a testament to the strength of EquipmentShare and our robust growth profile,” said Trevor Schauenberg, CFO of EquipmentShare. “This capital will allow us to expand our US footprint, continue to invest in our T3 technology platform and further strengthen our balance sheet for future opportunities.”
3D Glass Solutions Closes $30 Million Series C Funding Round
3D Glass Solutions Inc. (3DGS), a leading innovator of glass-based three-dimensional integrated passive solutions for radio frequency (RF), photonic and datacenters today announced the closing of a $30 million Series C financing. The round was led by Walden Catalyst Ventures, with participation from existing investors, including Intel Capital and Lockheed Martin Ventures, as well as new investments from Applied Ventures, LLC, Cambium Capital, and Mesh Cooperative Ventures.
3DGS will use this funding to increase its US based manufacturing capacity for high-volume production of superior performance 3D integrated passives and substrate products. Lip-Bu Tan, chair of Walden International and founding managing partner of Walden Catalyst Ventures, will join 3DGS’ Board of Directors.
🔋🚙 E-magy has raised €20.5 million for the production of EV battery materials
Dutch firm E-magy has raised €20.5 million in fresh funds to get cracking on industrial scale production of a silicon material for EV batteries, one that the company claims can increase the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries, compared to today’s industry standards. The funding round features Hydro, Invest-NL and Rubio who join existing impact investors SHIFT Invest and PDENH.
Groundlight emerges from stealth with $10M seed round to help businesses use computer vision
Groundlight, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup based in Seattle, emerged from stealth today with the launch of its new computer vision platform and $10 million in seed round funding. The round was led by Madrona, with participation from Greycroft Partners, Founders Co-op, Flying Fish, AscendVC and EssenceVC.
The platform allows developers to interpret images programmatically using simple English language instructions and minimal code. It is meant to be integrated into applications such as video stream analysis, industrial automation, process monitoring, retail analytics and robotics.
🖨️ Wayland Additive raises £4.6 million to increase production of its electron beam 3D printing solution
Huddersfield-based Wayland Additive Limited, an electron beam 3D printing manufacturer has raised £4.6 million in funding to increase its in-house production capability, expand its team and hire a COO. Investing in the round are existing investors Longwall Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors and ACF Investors, along with new investor Metrea Discovery.
🖨️ Chamlion Closes 236M Yuan in Series B Funding
Chamlion, a Nanjing, China-based company focused on the digitalization of processes of dentistry, raised 236M Yuan in Series B funding. The round was led by 3H Health, followed by Vertex Ventures China, existing shareholder Zhencheng Capital, and Taihe Capital. The company intends to use the funds to further expand its domestic and overseas business, including the in-depth promotion and upgrade of their existing product line, to consolidate its position in the field of dental digitalization.
🔋 Nanoramic Laboratories and General Motors to Collaborate on Cost and Sustainability of Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles
Nanoramic Laboratories (“Nanoramic”) today announced that GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Motors Co. (NYSE GM), has made a strategic investment in a leading energy storage and advanced materials company, Nanoramic. The collaboration focuses on joint development and application of Nanoramic’s proprietary Neocarbonix® at the Core electrode technology for EV lithium-ion batteries, which targets improvements in EV battery cost, efficiency, and sustainability.
Optimus Technologies Closes $17.8M Series A Led by Mitsui & Co. to Decarbonize the Transportation Industry
Optimus Technologies, a technology company that decarbonizes the largest and most challenging sectors of the transportation industry, announced today a $17.8 million Series A funding round led by Mitsui & Co. out of Tokyo, Japan. The round included participation from one of North America’s largest commercial fleets, Chevron Renewable Energy Group, and Pittsburgh regional investors including Idea Foundry, Inc., Innovation Works, Richard King Mellon Foundation, and Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh.
The capital raise will fund the further development and deployment of Optimus’ Vector System, an advanced fuel system technology which enables heavy-duty diesel engines to operate on 100% biodiesel, a biogenic near-zero carbon fuel. Heavy-duty transportation sectors are extremely challenging and costly to deploy electric or hydrogen solutions which require total replacement of existing assets, buildout of completely new infrastructure and a fundamental shift in global energy production to renewables. Conversely, Optimus Technologies’ Vector System seamlessly integrates into existing engines currently in operation or can be built into new engines as they are manufactured, leveraging the foundational diesel engine for the transition to a low-carbon future.
♻️⚙️ Germany’s Tvarit gets €5M to pave way for AI in sustainable metal manufacturing
Tvarit, a Frankfurt-based startup that’s on a journey to enable zero-waste manufacturing, has raised €5 million in the latest funding round led by Switzerland-based Momenta (also backed Smartex) and Futury Capital. Momenta leads the Series A round for Tvarit, an Industry 5.0 solution driving net-zero metal manufacturing”. The funding will help the German startup to accelerate zero-waste manufacturing through AI-powered, waste-free, and energy-efficient metal manufacturing.
Oshkosh Corporation invests in LiDAR technology company Baraja
Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE OSK), a leading innovator of purpose-built vehicles and equipment, is pleased to announce that it has invested in Baraja Pty, Ltd., an Australia-based startup that develops differentiated LiDAR solutions. The Oshkosh investment in Baraja supports the company’s dedication to innovating solutions that enhance and differentiate its product portfolio in the areas of active safety and autonomy.
Baraja is developing high-performance LiDAR technology that is more capable and reliable than legacy LiDAR systems, for use in harsh environments. One of Baraja’s unique enablers is the use of prism-like optics instead of mechanical steering to scan the environment in a solid-state fashion, resulting in a high-quality pointcloud for use in self-driving vehicles and equipment.
Meet Lumaux, a Dutch-based new investment fund focusing on robotics, energy transition and mobility
To bolster the growth of innovative startups and scale-ups, a new investment fund that focuses on technology has emerged in the Netherlands Based out of Eindhoven, Lumaux will support high-potential businesses with a multidisciplinary team and resources.
The Eindhoven firm has set high-level investment criteria for potential investments, including a focus on high-tech startups and scale-ups with a portfolio mix of early- and later-stage companies, a software/hardware product combination, and a base in The Netherlands.
Augmentir Announces New Round of Funding and Organizational Growth
Augmentir is known for its one-of-a-kind, industry-leading connected worker technology, that harnesses the power of AI to digitize and optimize frontline work based on worker capability and task complexity. This technology adds precision to workforce development by helping manufacturers identify opportunities to improve training and optimize upskilling and reskilling programs. In February, Augmentir announced that it expanded its AI platform to incorporate Generative AI and other foundational technologies underpinning ChatGPT. This addition represents another step forward in the company’s AI-first journey, and unlocks even greater potential for manufacturers looking to improve support for their frontline workforce.
The new financing round, led by Gardner Lewis Asset Management, includes participation from Lerer Hippeau, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and the Company’s founding team. The investment will be used to expand Augmentir’s global sales and marketing efforts while accelerating product development and innovation.
Liberation Labs Secures $30 Million in Equipment Funding for First Biomanufacturing Facility
Liberation Labs, industrial biotech’s fabrication partner, has secured $30 million in equipment financing to advance development of its first commercial-scale biomanufacturing facility in Richmond, Indiana. The new facility will have a fermentation capacity of 600,000 liters with a fully dedicated downstream process (DSP). Groundbreaking is expected in June 2023 with initial plant startup by the end of 2024.
🖨️ Quantica closes €14m Series A funding round ahead of NovoJet 3D printer shipments
A full 10 million EUR has been secured by the Berlin-based company, with a further 4 million EUR attainable on the basis that certain milestones are met. The investment round was said to be led by a family office with ties to the dental industry, with participation coming from venture capital firms byFounders and Scale Capital, as well as senior employees and management. Quantica will harness the funding to further industrialise and manufacture the first products based on its NovoJet multi-material inkjet technology. It will also be used to bolster its marketing efforts as new products are brought to market, and for talent recruitment across technical and market roles.
New Origin secures €6 million to build independent photonic chips foundry
New Origin has secured €6 million in funding from PhotonDelta – a cross-border ecosystem of photonic chip technology organisations. The capital will be used to create the Netherland’s first independent photonic chips foundry that produces silicon nitride chips. The funding is part of the contribution that the Province of Overijssel has made available to PhotonDelta for a national photonics programme.
⛏️🔋 GM Leads $50 Million Funding Round in EnergyX to Unlock U.S.-Based Lithium Supply for Rapidly Scaling EV Production
Energy Exploration Technologies Inc. (“EnergyX”) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today announced that GM Ventures is leading a $50 million Series B financing round in EnergyX, and has entered into a strategic agreement to develop EnergyX’s lithium extraction and refinery technology. The collaboration is focused on unlocking the North American supply of lithium, a critical material for EV batteries, by using EnergyX’s innovative process to maximize efficiency while improving sustainability for GM’s rapidly scaling EV production.
EnergyX’s direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology portfolio can make lithium metal directly from brine and potentially in anode-ready form for EV batteries, which enables more cost effective and sustainable lithium recovery to unlock a vast lithium supply chain in North America that may otherwise be unviable.
🌱 Carbon Robotics Raises $30 Million in Funding to Scale AI-Powered LaserWeeder™ Platform
Carbon Robotics, a leader in AI-powered robotics, today announced it closed $30 million in Series C financing from new lead investor Sozo Ventures along with existing investors Anthos Capital, Fuse Venture Capital, Ignition Partners, Liquid2 and Voyager Capital. The funding will be used to expand sales regions in North America, optimize and scale manufacturing, develop new software and hardware products, and launch into international markets. This latest round of financing brings Carbon Robotics’ overall funding to $67 million.
💸 Lux 8 + infinite potential
We are announcing our single largest fund to date with the successful closing of Lux Ventures VIII (Lux 8), an early-stage focused venture capital fund with $1.15 billion in Limited Partner commitments. With Lux 8, we will invest in and fully fund the most ambitious founders building hard science and deep technology companies, solving the world’s most pressing problems and futureforming the world we want to live in.
Roboto AI Raises $4.8M to Build Copilot For Robotics
We’re excited to announce that Roboto AI has raised $4.8M in seed funding led by Unusual Ventures alongside the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) and FUSE Ventures. With this funding, our team is building a world-class data platform designed for modern robotics companies. We’re also excited to share that we’re partnering with leading researchers and professors at the ETH Zürich AI Center.
Robotics is hard, but it shouldn’t be this hard. We want to catalyze progress in the robotics industry and see robots get to production faster by getting AI to do the dirty work for us! We’re building Roboto to be an out-of-the-box solution to the data challenges engineers face daily and we’re excited to have the support of an incredible group of advisors and investors to make it happen. We’re building new AI-powered tools for anyone working with sensor or log data; think copilot for robotics.
Covariant raises $75M for its AI-powered warehouse robots
Covariant, a startup developing warehouse robots that can be deployed faster than traditional automation hardware, has raised $75 million in funding. The company disclosed the investment today. The capital was provided as an extension to a Series C round that it had originally announced in 2021. Radical Ventures and Index Ventures co-led the new investment, while five other institutional backers contributed as well.
Everstream Raises $50M in Series B Funding to Accelerate Global Supply Chain Sustainability
Everstream Analytics, the global supply chain insights and risk analytics company, today announced the close of a $50M Series B funding round co-led by Morgan Stanley Investment Management as part of its 1GT private equity platform and StepStone Group, with participation from existing investor Columbia Capital.
Everstream’s proprietary data fuels the World Economic Forum’s Value Chain Barometer to help manufacturing and supply chain companies and governments anticipate and navigate supply chain risk and disruption.
Vytelle Closes $20MM in Series B Funding to Accelerate Genetic Progress in Cattle
Vytelle, a precision livestock company, has raised $20MM in Series B funding to accelerate genetic progress in cattle. With this new investment, Vytelle will continue to expand its global operations, while delivering the most accessible, reliable, and predictable reproductive technology available to customers today. The investment was led by Forage Capital Partners, a Calgary based growth equity fund that invests across the entire food and agriculture value chain. New investor, Mountain Group Partners, joins current investors, Grosvenor Food and Ag Tech, Open Prairie, Fulcrum Global Capital, Serra Ventures, and KC Rise to complete the round.
MakerVerse raises €9.4 million to expand its on-demand manufacturing platform
Berlin-based MakerVerse has raised a €9.4 million Series A funding round to scale its AI-powered on-demand manufacturing supply chain platform. The round was led by 9.5 Ventures and all investors from the previous Seed round got involved again, including Siemens Energy and ZEISS.
MakerVerse will expand its “one-stop shop” concept for advanced manufacturing with more technologies and materials while advancing support to integrate the platform into customers’ existing systems.
Automation Alley Invests in U-M Spinoff Software Company Ulendo
Automation Alley’s Industry 4.0 Accelerator in Troy was part of a $1 million seed round investment in Ulendo, a University of Michigan spinoff software services company. Ulendo creates software tools that improve the productivity and quality of manufacturing machines at a low cost. The company’s advanced software helps companies monitor, control, and improve the performance of their manufacturing process.
Gen Phoenix partners with Material Impact, Dr. Martens, InMotion Ventures, and Tapestry to scale sustainable next-gen material innovation
Gen Phoenix, the leading producer of sustainable recycled leather at scale, is announcing $18M in funding to further the company’s mission to create premium and eco-conscious next-gen materials. The investment was led by venture capital firm Material Impact, with participation from Dr. Martens, InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of Jaguar Land Rover, and Tapestry, the house of modern luxury lifestyle brands that include Coach, Stuart Weitzman and Kate Spade. The funding round also includes existing investors ETF Partners and the Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund, who continue to support the company’s growth plans.
Venti Technologies Announces $28.8 Million Series A Funding to Automate Global Logistics and Industrial Hubs
Venti Technologies, a world leader in autonomous logistics for global supply chain and industrial hubs, today announced that it has secured $28.8 million in a Series A financing. The financing round was led by LG Technology Ventures, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital arm of the LG Group, with participation from Safar Partners, UOB Venture Management, and existing investors Alpha JWC and LDV Partners. The funding will be used to accelerate Venti’s growth and meet increasing demand from customers worldwide.
Cowboy Clean Fuels Completes Series A Financing to Advance Renewable Natural Gas Commercialization Plan
Cowboy Clean Fuels, LLC (“we,” “us,” “our,” or “the Company”), a premier energy technology company formed to produce carbon-negative, renewable natural gas (“RNG”) from readily available waste agricultural byproducts utilizing proprietary, patented technology, today announced the closing of a $7.5 million Series A financing led by Machan Investments, LLC and advised by Syren Capital, LLC. The capital will be used to clear regulatory pathway objectives, provide initial engineering design and prepare for the Company’s initial commercial-scale project launch in the Powder River Basin (“PRB”) of Wyoming.
Climate Tech Start-Up 3E Nano Closes US$4 Million Series Seed Funding Round, Secures C$5M in Funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada
3E Nano, a technology start-up poised to disrupt the window market, is pleased to announce it secured a US$4 million Series Seed funding round. The syndicated raise was led by Energy Foundry and includes major investors MUUS Climate Partners, ACT Venture Partners, Creative Ventures, and New Climate Ventures. Additional climate impact investors participated in the round with significant contributions from Vectors Capital and VertueLab. 3E Nano’s patented thermal energy control nano-coating is a transparent, flexible, and low-cost solution that will transform the window market, quadrupling a window’s R-value, or insulating effectiveness.
Carbonaide raises EUR 1.8 million to make manufacturing concrete carbon negative
This VTT spin-out uses industrial side streams and carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, utilization and storage technology to manufacture carbon-negative concrete – Carbonaide now aims to disrupt the USD 130 billion/year global market of precast concrete.
Carbonaide, a spin-out company from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland that enables the manufacturing of carbon-negative concrete, has raised EUR 1.8 million in seed funding led by Lakan Betoni and Vantaa Energy. The round was completed with public loans and in-kind contributions from Business Finland and other Finnish concrete companies and strategic investors.
The company will use the funding to integrate its CO2 curing technology into an automated production line of precast concrete factory in Hollola, Finland. With its factory-sized pilot unit and fully operational value chain, Carbonaide can mineralize up to five tons of CO2 per day and increase production by 100-fold of its carbon-negative concrete products.
Loftware Secures Significant Growth Equity Investment
Accel-KKR, a global technology-focused investment firm, today announced a significant equity investment in Loftware, a leading global provider of cloud-based Enterprise Labeling and Artwork Management solutions. With this transaction, Accel-KKR will join current investor Riverside Partners as backers of Loftware. Terms were not disclosed.
Founded over 35 years ago, Loftware is a pioneer in Enterprise Labeling and has since become one of the largest global software companies specializing in Enterprise Labeling and Artwork Management solutions. Loftware serves over 100,000 customers and 1,000 partners worldwide in more than 100 countries for high-volume, complex labeling needs.
TDK Ventures invests in pH7 Technologies for clean extraction and recycling of critical metals
TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) announced today that subsidiary TDK Ventures Inc., its corporate venture-capital arm, is investing in sustainable metal extraction innovator pH7 Technologies and co-leading their Series A financing round. The unique chemical process developed by pH7 has the potential to change the metal extraction from mining and recycling resources through their sustainable and environmentally friendly approach. This closed-loop metal extraction process could potentially empower the metal transition necessary to usher in next generation global electrification. This investment reflects TDK Ventures’ commitment to supporting innovative solutions that can help address the global energy transformation by transforming the metal supply chain.
This Worldsensing-Bentley Systems deal feels like a marriage made in heaven
This latest round of financing is led by Bentley Systems–an infrastructure software engineering firm that provides innovative and industry-leading software solutions to professionals, and organizations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of roads and bridges, rail and transit, water and wastewater, public works and utilities, buildings and campuses, mining, and industrial facilities. The deal also includes acquisition of Bentley’s Thread connectivity device business by Worldsensing which will substantially increase the size of the operation.
The new partnership between Worldsensing and Bentley Systems features a critical go-to-market strategy to monitor critical infrastructure to save lives and protect the environment. The investment will help Worldsensing expand and complement the company’s product portfolio, offering new options to its customers where adaptive sensor integrations or active sensor management are a key requirement.
After seven years bootstrapped, IntegrityNext takes on €100 million via EQT Growth
IntegrityNext has raised €100 million via EQT Growth in a round that will see the company leverage its investors’ expertise and connections in order to solidify its market position in Germany. Additionally, IntegrityNext aims to expand its product offer in order to meet upcoming European regulations including Germany’s LkSG and the EU’s CSRD.
With its software solution that aims to help businesses meet regulatory ESG requirements, manage ESG risks and improve supply chain sustainability, IntegrityNext (I presume that’s right after SerenityNow?) counts more than 200 clients including Siemens Gamesa, Infineon, SwissRe, Kion, and Hilti amongst its client base, a figure that the company claims makes it one of the leading ESG certification software players in Europe.
LiquidStack Raises Series B Funding
LiquidStack, a Boston, MA-based company which specialized in liquid immersion cooling for data centers, raised an undisclosed amount in Series B funding. The round was led by Trane Technologies. The agreement also brings together LiquidStack’s technology with Trane’s system design, application engineering, go-to-market team and existing portfolio to deliver value for global data center customers. Trane and LiquidStack customers will now have access to broader end-to-end solutions, including immersion cooling coupled with Trane’s chillers, fluid coolers and heat recovery systems supported by world-class services.
🚚 Amogy Secures $139 Million Series B-1 Round of Funding, Moving the Transportation Industry Closer to Clean Energy
Amogy Inc., a pioneer of emission-free, energy-dense ammonia power solutions, today announced its $139 million Series B-1 fundraising. The round was led by SK Innovation, joined by other global investors including Temasek, Korea Zinc, Aramco Ventures, AP Ventures, MOL PLUS, Yanmar Ventures, Zeon Ventures and DCVC. This funding will enable Amogy to continue its organizational development to support commercialization, begin manufacturing of its innovative ammonia-to-power technology, and bring its first product to market in 2024.
🌱 Windfall Bio Raises $9 Million Seed Funding to Launch First-Ever Methane-to-Organic Fertilizer Solution
Windfall Bio, an agtech/climate startup focused on transforming dilute methane emissions into value-add products, announced today the close of a $9 million seed round led by Mayfield and UNTITLED—a venture fund founded by Magnus Rausing of the TetraLaval Family—with participation from additional investors including B37 Ventures, Baruch Future Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Cavallo Ventures. The newly created company is developing the first-ever solution for capturing and transforming climate-harming methane emissions into living organic fertilizer. Windfall Bio is addressing dilute methane emissions, one of the largest and most underappreciated problems for global warming. Windfall Bio will use the capital to begin pilot deployments on farms while also accelerating R&D activities.
Germany’s ampere.cloud bags in €5M from Point Nine Capital, others to build operating system for renewable energy plants
Berlin-based ampere.cloud, a climate tech startup, announced on Wednesday that it has secured €5M in a Series A round of funding. The round was led by Point Nine Capital (P9) along with Helloworld.vc and Vireo Ventures.
The German company claims that its platform can connect every aspect of the value chain, from local communication and remote control for operators through IoT, to automated monitoring and connecting facilities to energy traders.
🚙 Germany-based DeepDrive bags €15M to develop ‘revolutionary’ drive units for EVs
Munich-based DeepDrive, a high-tech company that claims to offer revolutionary drive units for electric vehicles, announced on Tuesday that it has raised €15M in a Series A round of funding. The round was co-led by top mobility investors BMW i Ventures and co-pace GmbH.
🚀 Frontier Aerospace Corporation Secures $10 Million Series A Funding from AEI HorizonX
Frontier Aerospace Corporation (“Frontier”), a leader in next generation liquid rocket engines for in-space propulsion, announced today it has closed a $10 million Series A funding round from AEI HorizonX. “This latest funding round will accelerate Frontier’s engine development activities, support major expansion of manufacturing and vacuum test facilities,” said Mr. McKinnon, Frontier President. “In the past, test facility availability has been by far the largest schedule driver. With this new investment, a modern test facility will be fully developed for rapid implementation supporting major upcoming development programs.”
ketteQ Raises $9 Million in Series A Funding Led by Vocap Partners and Circadian Ventures to Accelerate Growth and Delivery of Supply Chain Planning Solutions
ketteQ, a global leader in supply chain planning and control tower solutions, has raised $9 million in Series A funding, led by Vocap Partners with co-investment from Circadian Ventures. The funding will be used to accelerate the company’s growth and enhance its mission to transform supply chain visibility and scenario planning worldwide.
💊 Apprentice.io Announces Groundbreaking Product to Centralize Life Science Manufacturing Management and Raises $65 Million
Apprentice.io, provider of one platform for life science manufacturers to turn molecules into medicine, today announced a new addition to the Tempo Manufacturing Cloud, the Connected Manufacturing Network. The leading cloud-native platform for pharma manufacturing execution also announced a $65 million investment led by new investor ICONIQ Growth, with meaningful participation from existing investors, Alkeon Capital Management and Insight Partners.
Hanwha Solutions secures 9.7% stake in US battery materials company
Hanwha Solutions Corp., a South Korean company focused on energy services, petrochemicals and real estate development, recently acquired a 9.73% stake in Ampcera Inc., a US-based startup that develops solid-state battery materials. As per Hanwha Solutions’ business report filed with the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on Monday, the company participated in Ampcera’s $15 million Series A funding round last December, aimed at expanding the production of solid-state battery materials.
ScoutCam Closes $14 Million Private Placement
ScoutCam (OTCQB: SCTC), a leading provider of Predictive Maintenance (PdM) and Condition Based Monitoring (CBM) solutions, today announced that it has completed a private placement to existing stockholders, of 3,294,117 units, at a purchase price of $4.25 per unit, with each unit consisting of one share of the Company’s common stock and one three-year warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $5.50 per share, pursuant to the terms of Stock Purchase Agreements entered into on March 16, 2023. Gross proceeds from the private placement of approximately $14 million are expected to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, including to further advance the Company’s innovative products and technology in the fields of Predictive Maintenance and Condition Based Monitoring, critical pillars of Industry 4.0.
🛰️ QuadSAT Secures €9 Million Funding to Scale Up Operations and Expand Product Range
QuadSAT ApS has secured €9 million in funding. The Danish company is revolutionising the satellite industry by making it possible to accurately measure and calibrate antennas and satellite systems anywhere in the world. The funding round was led by IQ capital and supported by current investors, including the world’s leading space tech fund, Seraphim Space, Danish state Vækstfonden, and angel investors Torben Frigaard Rasmussen and Helge Munk.
QuadSAT’s unique testing solution provides a cost-effective, scalable and precise way to test antennas and satellite systems in operation, and anywhere in the world. This approach to testing has already attracted the attention of the satellite industry, helping QuadSAT to cement its position as a major player in the market. With the new funding, QuadSAT will be looking to recruit top talent, to expand its operations, and bring its technology to a wider customer base.
🦾 Nimble Robotics raises $65M to scale up its autonomous logistics fulfillment network
Nimble Robotics Inc., an autonomous logistics startup that’s aiming to reinvent the fulfillment center for small and medium-sized businesses, said today it has closed on a $65 million round of funding. Today’s Series B round was led by Cedar Pine and saw participation from existing backers DNS Capital, GSR Ventures, Breyer Capital and others, bringing the company’s total amount raised to $115 million.
Blinto raises €10.6 million for machinery platform
Swedish firm Blinto raised €10.6 million as it looks to enhance its machinery selling platform technology and expand across European markets. Blinto provides a sustainable solution which extends the lifetime of construction machines, utility vehicles and tools that would otherwise go to landfill. The investment came from sustainability investors Verdane.
Germany-based Intelligent fluids bags €10M for its sustainable industrial cleaning fluids
Leipzig-based Intelligent fluids (IFC), a deeptech scale-up that designs high-performance cleaning fluids, announced on Wednesday that it has raised €10M in a Series B round of funding. The round was led by the US-based WAVE Equity Partners, a sustainability fund. Existing institutional investors High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and IBG Sachsen-Anhalt also participated in this round. IFC says it will use the funds to increase its workforce, boost production at its German facility, and start its expansion into international markets by establishing manufacturing facilities in the US, India, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Taiwan.
Verity raises $32M in Series B funding to accelerate rollout of autonomous inventory drone system
Verity AG (Verity), creators of the first commercially successful inventory tracking solution powered by fully autonomous indoor drones, today announced completion of a 30M CHF ($32M USD) Series B funding round. The investment was led by A.P. Moller Holding with participation from Exor Ventures and existing and new investors. This funding allows Verity to quickly scale up operations to address the growing backlog of deployments with systems already installed in 30 sites across 13 countries on 3 continents.
AG5 raises €6 million from Headline, Peak to save the manufacturing industry from Excel
AG5, the SaaS platform used to map and track employees’ skills and qualifications, has raised €6 million in a new round of investment. Last year, the company received €1.2 million from tech investor Peak. Since then, AG5 has grown exponentially, and its annual revenue has tripled. Now, together with SaaS experts Headline and Acadian Ventures, Peak is investing in AG5 once more.
AG5’s SaaS solution offers the first interface organizations can use to map and track employees’ skills that is directly linked to production lines. It delivers scalable capacity planning and insights for audits and training programs to industries that still rely on Excel, or pen and paper. AG5’s plug-and-play software solution simplifies skills management with intuitive, appealing, and sharable skill matrices. AG5’s clients report an 80% reduction in audit preparation times and 15% savings on employee training budgets.
Verity raises $32M in Series B funding to accelerate rollout of autonomous inventory drone system
Verity AG (Verity), creators of the first commercially successful inventory tracking solution powered by fully autonomous indoor drones, today announced completion of a 30M CHF ($32M USD) Series B funding round. The investment was led by A.P. Moller Holding with participation from Exor Ventures and existing and new investors. This funding allows Verity to quickly scale up operations to address the growing backlog of deployments with systems already installed in 30 sites across 13 countries on 3 continents.
🦾 Rockwell Automation Announces Strategic Investment in READY Robotics and Collaboration to Streamline Robot Implementation
Rockwell Automation, Inc., the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, announced today a strategic investment in READY Robotics, a pioneering company in software-defined automation and a Rockwell Technology Partner.
READY Robotics’ ForgeOS platform enables operators to control and program the most popular brands of robots from a single user-friendly interface with minimal training. Using Task Canvas, one of many useful ForgeOS Productivity Apps included with the platform, operators can quickly create new automation tasks with a powerful, no-code, flowchart-based interface.
Plus One Robotics Raises $50 Million in Funding, Led by Scale Venture Partners, to Capitalize on $128 Billion Market Opportunity
Plus One Robotics, a provider of advanced AI vision software and solutions for robotic parcel handling, today announced that it has raised $50M in Series C funding. The round was led by Scale Venture Partners, with Partner Rory O’Driscoll joining the board of directors. Top Tier Capital Partners, Tyche Partners, ROBO Global Ventures, Translink, McRock, and Pritzker Group Venture Capital also participated in the round alongside existing investors, which brings the company’s total funding to date to nearly $100 million. Plus One’s technology helps to alleviate the persistent shortage of manual labor through robotic solutions, dramatically streamlining the parcel picking and depalletizing processes. Plus One deployments perform over one million parcel picks each day in production and currently hold an industry-leading metric of more than half a billion parcel picks globally. With these new funds, Plus One can further increase its capacity and rapidly scale deployment, as well as expand its sales and marketing efforts in North America and internationally.
Evove closes £5.7 million funding round to accelerate growth and scale-up of the next generation of filtration membranes
UK technology business Evove has today announced the completion of a funding round of £5.7 million. Capital was injected by existing investors and two new international specialist investors from climate-tech and additive manufacturing venture funds, alongside continued support from existing investors. The round was led by At One Ventures, backers of high growth companies using disruptive deep tech to upend the unit economics of established and emerging industries while dramatically reducing their planetary footprint.
Zeda, Inc. (Formerly PrinterPrezz / Vertex Manufacturing) Closes $52 Million Series B Financing Round
Zeda, Inc. (previously PrinterPrezz / Vertex Manufacturing), a global leader in advanced 3D manufacturing and nanotech solutions for the medical, space, aerospace, and defense industries, closed a $52 million equity and debt financing for a total capital raise of $68 million to date. The Series B round included participation by multiple new institutional and strategic investors, including Michelin, Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (a Mitsubishi Chemical Group company), and Fives Group. It was jointly led by existing investors: Boutique Venture Partners, Berkeley Catalyst Fund, DOV Management, and Solvay Ventures. The company will primarily use the proceeds to fund its new advanced manufacturing digital foundry in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as expand our facilities globally to address the growth in demand for metal 3D printing in the medical, aerospace, defense, space, and energy applications as well as expansion into the Asian market for its medical implant applications.
Battery Startup NanoGraf Raises $65 Million Series B to Scale North American Production of Silicon Anode Products
NanoGraf, an advanced battery materials company and enabler of the world’s most energy-dense lithium-ion 18650 cell, today announced that it has raised $65 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round. The funding round was co-led by Volta Energy Technologies and CC Industries (CCI) with participation from Emerald Technology Ventures, Material Impact, Arosa Capital, Nabtesco Technology Ventures, and TechNexus. Existing investors including Hyde Park Angels, Evergreen Climate Innovations, and Goose Capital also participated in the round. NanoGraf had previously raised a total of $27 million in funding from a mix of venture, angel and non-dilutive funding sources.
SoftBank-Backed CloudMinds Weighs $500 Million Hong Kong IPO
Artificial intelligence-powered robot developer CloudMinds Inc. is considering a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise as much as $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The Shanghai-based firm is working with China International Capital Corp. and Haitong International Securities Group Ltd. on preparations for the share sale, the people said. A listing could take place as early as this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
🔋 Sakuu to become publicly traded company via Business Combination with Plum Acquisition Corp. I
Sakuu Corporation and Plum Acquisition Corp. I, have announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement, providing for a merger that will result in Sakuu becoming a publicly traded company. Upon the closing of the proposed transaction, the combined company will be renamed Sakuu Holdings Inc. and is expected to be listed on a US national exchange under the ticker symbol “SAKU”. The transaction implies an enterprise value of approximately 705 million USD, according to Sakuu.
🖨️ Caracol, large scale 3D printing scale up, closes its Series A round
Caracol, leader in industrial large format 3D printing, closes a €10.6 million Series A investment round, with CDP Venture Capital, Neva SGR, Venture Capital from Intesa Sanpaolo Group, and Primo Space Fund and EUREKA! Venture SGR – already investors in Caracol. The funds will propel Caracol towards a global future, supporting its ability to accomplish the demanding objectives set in its strategic plan.
⛏️ AI-Powered Mineral Discovery Technology Company VerAI Raises $12M
VerAI Discoveries, an innovative, AI-based mineral asset generator that significantly improves the probability of finding vital metal deposits critical to the current and future economy, today announced it completed a $12M Series A funding round, including funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and other investors Orion Resource Partners, Chrysalix Venture Capital, and Blumberg Capital. This year, VerAI plans to bring to market new asset portfolios in Chile, Arizona, Nevada, Ontario, and Peru. These portfolios will include high-probability targets of lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, gold, silver, and molybdenum.
🧪 TeraPore Technologies Raises $10M to Bring Precision Nanofiltration Solutions to New Markets
TeraPore Technologies, the developer of advanced nanofiltration membrane systems for biomanufacturing, today announced it has raised $10M in new financing. The round was led by existing investor Anzu Partners with participation from Entegris (NASDAQ: ENTG), a global leader in advanced materials science, and fellow existing investor, RA Capital Management. TeraPore will leverage the funding to launch its IsoBlock™ virus filter and expand the use of its core technology into new high value markets.
🛢️ Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. Launches Initial Public Offering
Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE: AESI) (“Atlas”) announced today that it has launched an initial public offering of 18,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock (“Common Stock”) at an anticipated initial offering price between $20.00 and $23.00 per share pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In addition, Atlas intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,700,000 shares of its Common Stock. The shares have been authorized for listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “AESI,” subject to official notice of issuance.
✈️ PteroDynamics Raises $7.5 Million Seed Round to Expand Transwing Aircraft Platform
PteroDynamics, an aircraft design and manufacturing company that develops innovative vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, today announced the close of a $7.5 million Seed round. The round was co-led by existing investor Kairos Ventures and new investors Lavrock Ventures and CS Venture Opportunities Fund. The capital raised will support PteroDynamics’ plans to develop larger Transwing aircraft variants, attract world-class engineering talent, and execute on additional contracts. Further, the company is looking to adapt their aircraft for additional mission types and enter the commercial sector.
Introducing Crstl: No-code EDI for modern brands
As we continue to serve new customers and expand our integrations network and product offering, we have raised $4.4M in seed funding led by Mastry Ventures, with support from Village Global, Alumni Ventures, SuperAngel VC, On Deck, Mensch Capital Partners, Harizury, and founders and execs at Uber, Faire, Instagram, Stedi, ShipBob, OpenStore, Motive, and more. With the new funding, we are excited to announce the launch of our product & platform that has already powered millions of dollars in B2B commerce. We are already enabling brands to conduct business with their key trading partners, such as Target, Walmart, UNFI, and KeHE which are among the largest retailers and distributors anywhere in the world.
PILI raises $15.8M to accelerate its industrial scale-up and the decarbonization of the color industry.
PILI, a pioneer in decarbonizing the color industry, announced today $15.8 million in Series A funding to accelerate its industrialization by producing the first tons of high-performance bio-based indigo. Bpifrance led this round through the fund Ecotechnologies 2, with participation from Famille C Participations and existing investors, such as Elaia Partners.
Skydio Soars Into 2023 as it Meets Critical Infrastructure Need
Skydio, the leading U.S. drone manufacturer and world leader in autonomous flight, today announced it has raised $230 million in funding following a year that saw its enterprise customer base exceed 1,200 organizations, just three years after entering the enterprise and public sector market. The $230 million Series E round brings Skydio’s total funding raised to $562 million with a current valuation of over $2.2 billion.
Micro-fulfillment center automation startup Fulfil Solutions gains $60 million in funding
Fulfil Solutions announced today that it has emerged from stealth, with a B funding round of $60 million, and touting its robotic solution for grocery micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs), which it adds can be implemented in way that makes MFCs profitable. The $60 million Series B round of funding led by Eclipse with participation from Khosla Ventures and DCVC.
⚗️ SepPure Technologies Closes Series-A Funding Round, Raises US$12M
Industrial chemical membrane technology company SepPure Technologies announced today that it had closed a US$12M Series-A round led by SOSV with participation from Anji Microelectronics, RealTech Fund, Seeds Capital, EPS Ventures, and others. SepPure Technologies has developed a highly sustainable, chemical-resistant, nanofiltration solution that separates chemical mixtures at a molecular level with minimal energy usage.
Astroscale Raises $76 Million, Including Manufacturing Deal with Mitsubishi Electric
Astroscale raised $76 million in its Series G round, with funding from new investors Mitsubishi Electric, Yusaku Maezawa, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mitsubishi Corporation, Development Bank of Japan, and FEL Corporation. Alongside the investment from Mitsubishi Electric, Astroscale and the company agreed to jointly develop and manufacture satellite buses for Japanese national security constellations.
AeroCloud raises $12.6 million Series A
AeroCloud has raised $12.6 million in Series A funding led by US fund Stage 2 Capital. I2BF Global Ventures, Triple Point Ventures, Praetura Ventures and Starburst Ventures also joined in the round along with existing investors Playfair Capital and Haatch. The Praetura commitment to the round was supported with additional investment through the Regional Angel Programme by British Business Investments. AeroCloud has now raised $16m in total, and this new round of investment will support a doubling down on the airport management software revolution.
Xolo’s Volumetric 3D Printing Gets €8M Boost
Xolo, the developer of the first commercial volumetric 3D printer, announced that it has successfully closed its latest Series A funding round, raising a total of €8 million ($8.6 million). This comes on the heels of a successful €2.5 million ($2.7 million) seed round in 2021 and follows the unveiling of its proprietary printers called Xube and xolography technology, a revolutionary new method to print any design in seconds. The funds will support xolo’s vision to “transform the 3D printing industry through the use of its revolutionary new xolography process.” The money will also ensure that the startup is well-equipped to expand and serve more cutting-edge academic and industrial research and development groups, as well as enter its first industrial market in the not-too-distant future.
Zurich-based UNISERS bags €13M to help semiconductor fabrication plants eliminate contaminations
UNISERS, a developer of wafer inspection and particle detection solutions for semiconductor materials, announced on Thursday that it has secured $14M (approximately €13M) in a Seed round of funding led by Intel Capital. The capital will enable UNISERS to accelerate the delivery of its commercial products to customers by 2023.
eDRV Raises Seed Round to Accelerate An Interconnected EV Charging Ecosystem
eDRV, an API-first electric vehicle (EV) charging management solution used at over 7,500 charging locations globally, announced today it has closed on a seed funding round with an international set of investors, including Automotive Ventures from the United States, NP-Hard from the Netherlands, and Connect Ventures from the United Kingdom.
This latest investment demonstrates the value eDRV already delivers to dozens of global customers and the growing necessity of the company’s solution as the electrification of transportation accelerates. eDRV’s existing software empowers charging providers to quickly design and launch charging networks that maximize utilization and revenue potential. The company’s solution is also highly customizable. An API-first design offers customers flexibility of services, including hardware selection, payments, pricing, energy management, and integration with enterprise IT systems, and flexibility of applications, including multi-family apartments, retail, and hospitality.
Sustainability Ai Tech Start-Up QiO Technologies Secures $10m to Help Energy-Intensive Businesses Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Costs
QiO Technologies, an AI sustainability tech start-up which supports energy-intensive businesses to deliver rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and energy costs, has closed a $10m Series B funding round from WAVE Equity Partners, a leading impact investment firm based in Boston, USA. QiO will use this funding to expand its operations in USA and Europe, enhance the capabilities of its Foresight Sustainability Suite™, and accelerate customer acquisition in sectors which face the biggest challenges in achieving net zero GHG emissions.
Xaba Closes Seed Funding to Drive Intelligent Automation for Sustainable Manufacturing
Xaba, developers of the first AI-driven robotics and CNC machine controller, today announced it has closed a round of seed funding to bring to market AI-driven fabrication processes and intelligent autonomous machines. The funding round was led by Hazelview Ventures with participation from Whiteshell Group Inc. The investment will be used to accelerate the development of two Xaba manufacturing platforms, launch pilot programs, and grow the team across sales, deployment, and customer support.
Xaba has two manufacturing platforms – xCognition and xTrude – which use proprietary, state of the art industrial artificial intelligence (AI) to provide consistency, robustness, persistently high execution quality, and autonomy. Its platforms eliminate the need for constant human supervision, reprogramming, and waste – factors that significantly impact the return on investment of any major manufacturing or construction process.
Third Wave Automation Announces Strategic Investment from Qualcomm Ventures and Zebra Technologies
Third Wave Automation (TWA), provider of high-reach autonomous forklifts, today announced a strategic investment by Qualcomm Ventures and Zebra Technologies, bringing total funding to $70 million. The strategic investment will enable TWA to accelerate new innovations as its first product expands its select pilot program. With the funding, TWA plans to expand its market offerings, accelerate new solutions for automating other classes of forklifts, including narrow aisle and counterbalance trucks and integrate with automation solutions, such as Fetch Robotics, which is now part of Zebra Technologies.
Apkudo Secures $37.5 Million in Series C Funding, Accelerating Growth of its Circular Industry Platform for Connected Devices
Apkudo, the leader in supply chain automation for connected devices, announced today that they have closed $37.5 million in Series C funding in an oversubscribed round co-led by Closed Loop Partners’ Leadership Fund and Piper Sandler Merchant Banking with the participation from new and existing investors including MissionOG, Harbert Growth, Grotech Ventures, Lavrock Ventures, and Point Field Partners. During 2022, Apkudo continued its rapid growth and doubled revenue as industry players increasingly looked for ways to simplify and optimize their forward and reverse logistics for connected devices like mobile phones, tablets, laptops, wearables and other products. The company will use the funds to further expand their commercial and technical operations, as well as their international presence.
Germany-based cylib raises €8M for its new lithium battery recycling facility
Germany-based cylib, a company that offers an “innovative” and sustainable technology for Lithium-ion battery recycling, announced on Wednesday that it has raised €8M in an extension Seed round of funding. With this, the total Seed round comes to €11.6M. The company says the funds will be used to establish a recycling facility.
The round was led by Europe’s leading climate tech VC, World Fund. It only backs entrepreneurs building climate tech solutions that have the potential to save at least 100 megatonnes of CO2 every year, which it believes cylib can achieve through its technology.
Aachen-based cylib was spun out of RWTH Aachen University and its proprietary technology is now patent pending.
Prevu3D Raises $10 Million US to Accelerate the Development and Deployment of Its Industrial Digital Twin Software Solution
Prevu3D, the industry-leading provider of 3D digital twin technology, today announced the closing of a $10 million US Series A funding round led by Cycle Capital, a leading growth stage climate tech venture capital firm that supports the development of innovative technologies and contributes towards climate change mitigation and advancing the transition to a net-zero economy. The round also includes funding from previous Prevu3D investors, Brightspark Ventures and Desjardins Capital. The new funding will enable Prevu3D to build on its longstanding vision of reimagining the physical world, extending and accelerating the deployment of its 3D digital twin platform for industrial environments.
Trace Space's plan for AI industrial software raises the founders $1.5 million — all without an MVP
The Latvian company creates AI-powered tools specifically for industrial and automotive product manufacturing to manage 80 percent of the product development lifecycle, helping them build and deliver new products to the market faster. We’re in a world filled with modern productivity tools like Slack, Miro, and Figma. But engineering projects still mainly run on outdated enterprise software with outdated UX, monolithic architecture, and hefty annual licence fees.
Sif takes Final Investment Decision to Construct the World’s Largest Monopile Foundation Manufacturing Plant
Sif Holding N.V. (“Sif” or the “Company”) today announces its €328 million Final Investment Decision (“FID”) to construct the world’s largest monopile foundation manufacturing plant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Construction is expected to start in April 2023. The upgraded manufacturing plant will significantly increase the total combined capacity of Sif to 500 kilotons a year and upgrade Sif’s capabilities to manufacture the equivalent of 200 XXXL, 11 meter diameter, 2,500 tons reference monopile foundations a year.
Announcing Shift5’s Series B Funding
We announce our $50M Series B round of funding. Insight Partners is leading the round, and we’re thrilled to announce that Nick Sinai, Senior Adviser at Insight will join our board.
At Shift5, our mission is to defend planes, trains, and weapon systems against cyber-physical risks. Insight’s participation is a force multiplier on our work defending this sector of critical infrastructure, and with this capital, we will grow our team, focus on our product, and continue our work defending commercial transportation and defense markets. This funding validates the risk we see emerging in cyber-physical attacks against infrastructure, and validates Shift5’s role leading the market.
🔋🚙 Ionblox increases Series B to $32m with investment from Lilium, Applied Ventures, Temasek and Catalus Capital
Ionblox, a next-generation lithium-ion battery company announced a second close of its Series B round at an increased $32 million. Strategic partners include original investors Lilium and Applied Ventures who were joined by Temasek and Catalus Capital. The company will use the increased Series B funding to scale its technology, develop advanced high-power cells for electric aviation, and prototype fast-charge cells for Electric Vehicles.
⚗️🧠 Mattiq Launches With Revolutionary Approach to Developing Sustainable Materials
Mattiq, the developer of a revolutionary approach to sustainably produce chemicals and fuels poised to transform industries from energy to consumer products, today announced its launch alongside securing $15 million in seed funding, led by Boston-based venture capital firm Material Impact. Formerly known as Stoicheia, Mattiq also announced it has hired veteran Silicon Valley executive and entrepreneur Jeff Erhardt as Chief Executive Officer.
By synthesizing and evaluating millions of potential combinations in parallel, Mattiq’s integrated technology platform streamlines the historically fragmented development of novel materials powering a variety of products and solutions. At the same time, this work generates unprecedented amounts of high quality data that is enabling Mattiq to build the world’s most powerful materials AI.
🖨️ Fabric8Labs Closes $50M Series B Financing for Electrochemical Additive Manufacturing Technology
Fabric8Labs, pioneer of electrochemical additive manufacturing, today announced the close of a $50M Series B investment round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from existing investors, including Intel Capital, imec.XPAND, SE Ventures, TDK Ventures, and Lam Capital. The new infusion of capital will be used to scale the company’s proprietary Electrochemical Additive Manufacturing (ECAM) technology and establish a pilot production facility.
Industrial Cybersecurity Innovator Opscura Receives $9.4M in Series A Funding as Critical Operations Transform
Opscura Inc., an innovator in industrial control system (ICS) cybersecurity, announced today it has received $9.4M in Series A funding as it scales to engage further U.S. partners and customers seeking to protect and connect their critical operations. Founded in Spain as Enigmedia, the new global entity Opscura is also launching a new brand, global management team, and product upgrades in addition to the capital infusion led by Anzu Partners, with investments from Dreamit and Mundi Ventures.
Opscura’s technology adds a unique layer to the industrial cybersecurity ecosystem as manufacturers require greater efficiencies to protect thousands of vulnerable legacy devices they cannot take offline, and as the rapid build-out of new renewable energy critical infrastructure continues. To reduce the pervasive risks of ransomware, unauthorized access, and data theft, Opscura’s patented cloaking technology obscures deeper operational technology (OT) Level 2 network and Layer 2 data without disrupting operations.
✈️ Aviation startup Aiir Innovations raises over €2M to transform engine maintenance
Aiir Innovations, a leading startup in artificial intelligence (AI) for the visual inspection of aircraft engines, has raised €2.1M in an oversubscribed investment round. Led by VC fund Borski Fund, with the participation of HearstLab Europe and existing shareholder Mainport Innovation Fund. Aiir Innovations will use the investment to grow its remote-first team and expand globally, and set a new standard for engine inspections. Bart Vredebregt, CEO & Co-Founder, added “We are excited to work with investors that have a global reach and share our vision on company culture and diversity.”
RIIICO secures $1.5 million to advance AI-powered digital twins in manufacturing
German startup RIIICO has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Earlybird Venture Capital and US-based investors to push AI-driven digital twin creation forward. RIIICO’s advanced segmentation AI and meshing algorithms help manufacturers to translate their shopfloor reality directly into a transparent digital 3D model. The results are used across the factory software landscape for simulating the virtual start of production or different VR and AR applications.
🔋🚙 Liminal Raises $17.5 Million in Series A2 Funding to Catalyze Production of Safe, Reliable, High-Quality EV Batteries
Liminal, a battery manufacturing intelligence company, today announced a $17.5 million Series A2 funding round, led by climate tech fund ArcTern Ventures, joined by new investors Northvolt and Ecosystem Integrity Fund, and with continued support from Chrysalix Venture Capital, Good Growth Capital, University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners, Volta Energy Technologies, Impact Science Ventures, and Helios Climate Ventures. Liminal will use this funding to scale its EchoStat® inspection systems into factory-integrated solutions for global battery manufacturers, tapping into the rapidly growing demand for safe, reliable, and more affordable EV batteries.
Recycleye raises additional $17m in Series A funding to reinvent recycling
Recycleye, provider of the most adapted and robust AI-driven solution for sorting dry mixed recycling, today announced a $17m Series A financing round, led by deep-tech venture capital firm DCVC.
Recycleye uses AI-powered waste-picking robots to lower the cost of sorting materials. This ground-breaking technology is turning the world’s waste into resource and delivering data essential for dynamic decision-making in a Material Recovery Facility (MRF). The new investment will be used to further improve the uncommon accuracy of Recycleye’s sorting.
Toggle Adds New Strategic Investors to Series A Funding
Toggle Robotics (www.toggle.is) is announcing $3M of additional Series A funding to advance our mission of building innovative technology that accelerates construction to meet the needs of our changing world. The additional funding comes at a critical inflection point for Toggle and the construction industry as the constantly evolving workforce and supply chain landscape continues to put pressure on costs and timelines for major projects. This investment will allow Toggle to begin licensing its Weaver Workcell and Toggle OS product line to customers in markets beyond the delivery radius of the Pennsylvania facility.
Tau concludes €9m series-B round to scale up production for e-mobility
Technology company Tau has concluded a series-B round raising €9 million with Solvay Ventures as a lead investor. Solvay Ventures is joined by existing shareholders including Finindus, a Belgium-based joint venture of ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region, as well as management and private individuals.
Recently, Tau reached an important commercial milestone when its wire products completed diligent validation processes of several automotive OEM and Tier 1 suppliers in Europe, Asia and North America. The company is currently ramping up capacity, providing early adopters with immediate competitive advantages, and is preparing industrial scale carbon-neutral winding wire production in Italy with the goal to start worldwide deliveries by 2024.
Recurrency raises $22 million to revolutionize ERP for distribution
We started Recurrency with the mission to modernize the world’s supply chain software. Today, our team is overjoyed to share a key milestone: Recurrency has raised $22 million in funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Lachy Groom, Elad Gil, Y Combinator Continuity, and numerous other world-class investors. This new capital will enable us to further invest in our product, our team, and – most importantly – our customers.
Yokogawa Enters Investment and Collaboration Agreement with Ideation3X
Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6841) announces that it has made a US$10 million Series B investment* in Ideation3X Pte. Ltd. (i3X), a Singapore-based venture company that is targeting the rapidly expanding integrated solid waste management (ISWM) sector in India with a process that adopts a circular economy approach. The two companies have also signed a business collaboration agreement. With this investment in the high-growth ISWM field, Yokogawa aims to develop its business in the Indian market.
LuxWall Raises $33 Million Funding To Scale Production Of Their 'Net Zero Glass'
Acting as a thermos bottle for buildings, LuxWall’s transparent insulation Net Zero Glass can cut energy consumption and carbon emissions by up to 45% and significantly reduce owner payback through energy cost savings.
LuxWall, a startup producing Net Zero Glass technology, is announcing its $33 million Series A funding round. The round is led by 2150, with participation from Khosla Ventures and current investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Prelude Ventures. Following LuxWall’s $6 million seed round in 2021, this brings the total funding raised to $39 million.
The latest funding will go toward scaling the production of their Net Zero Glass technology at ‘LuxWall Factory 1’, the company’s first purpose-built commercial factory, which is a scaling extension of LuxWall’s pilot production line commissioned in 2022.
B2B cloud manufacturing startup CapGrid raises $7 million in fresh funding
Gurgaon-based CapGrid, a B2B cloud manufacturing startup for precision parts and components, has raised $7 million (about Rs 57 crore) in a Series A round led by Nexus Venture Partners. CapGrid said it is currently getting over 5,000 different precision components manufactured through its supplier network of more than 300 partners. CapGrid’s AI-powered platform and network of suppliers allows manufacturers to reduce the complexities in the direct material sourcing and procurement process.
Green Steel Technology Company Boston Metal Announces $120M Series C Financing Led by ArcelorMittal
Boston Metal, a company developing technology to fully decarbonize steel production, today announced the $120 million first close of Series C fundraising led by multinational steel company, ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE: MT). Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and SiteGround Capital also joined as new investors in this round, alongside current investors.
Boston Metal’s patented Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) process is being commercialized to produce both green steel and high-value metals, such as tin and niobium. The Series C funds will expand the production of green steel at the company’s pilot facility outside Boston and will support the site selection and preliminary design of its first green steel plant. The new resources will also support the construction and commissioning of a manufacturing facility for high-value metals at the company’s Brazilian subsidiary, Boston Metal do Brasil.
Lockheed Martin Ventures Invests in On-Demand Manufacturing Pioneer Machina Labs
Machina Labs today announced the completion of an investment by Lockheed Martin Ventures (LMV), the venture arm of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT), a global security and aerospace company. Machina Labs combines AI and robotics to rapidly manufacture advanced sheet metal products. This latest funding brings the total raised by Machina Labs to $21.8M. The investment will be used to accelerate company growth to meet customer demand, and to expand R&D into additional processes and metallurgical offerings.
Raven.ai Raises $12 Million USD and Completes Series A Financing
Raven, a leading provider of data contextualization software for frontline operations, announced today the successful completion of its Series A funding round, completing $12 million USD ($16M CAD) equity financing. The round was led by Momenta Ventures and Chartline Capital Partners with participation from Celtic House Venture Partners and Export Development Canada as well as continued support from prominent angel investors.
Raven is the only solution that combines and analyzes operator input and machine data to provide a clear timeline of all production states and losses — with context for everything that’s happening on the line, 100% of the time. Leading manufacturers in the Discrete, Life Sciences and Food and Beverage industries are using Raven’s solution to empower frontline, engineering and management teams to make confident, fact-driven productivity improvements on the shop floor. “Raven provides visibility we’d otherwise be guessing at,” said Justin Brennan, Director of Operational Excellence at Renaissance Lakewood.
AI vehicle inspection drives start up investment
Edge cases and tech layoffs might signal a difficult spell for driverless car developers, but that’s not to say that artificial intelligence isn’t booming elsewhere in the automotive industry. In January 2023, AI vehicle inspection firm, ProovStation announced that it had raised EURO 10.4 million to roll out a time-saving network of AI-assisted testing stations for the sale of used cars.
The AI vehicle inspection technology, which is housed in a drive-through design, enables car owners to receive a selling price for their vehicle in just a few minutes. Automating the vehicle valuation process means that used vehicle companies no longer need to waste time carrying out manual car inspections. Systems such as ProovStation’s automobile scanner eliminate human error and subjectivity from the vehicle valuation process, which can affect manual car inspections.
AMPECO raises $16M in funding as revenue quadruples year-on-year
We are happy to announce that AMPECO has raised a total of $16M in venture capital investment after having closed a Series A funding round of $13M led by BMW i Ventures. The funding will be used to drive further expansion into North America with a local presence while growing AMPECO’s engineering and product innovation teams.
Raise Robotics Receives Funding to Expand Commercial Deployments
This morning, Raise Robotics announced it has raised a $2.2M pre-seed round. The round included proptech and robotics investment leaders Cybernetix Ventures, Union Labs VC, and Zacua Ventures. “Construction is at the cusp of a seismic shift from an automation perspective. The dramatic acceleration of the labor shortage in the industry, coupled with the advanced abilities of robots today, makes the space ripe for disruption.” Over the coming year, the company plans to expand its leasing operations, hire additional engineers and establish a certification program for existing customers.
Scythe Secures $42M Series B Financing
Scythe Robotics, the company developing advanced, commercial-grade autonomous solutions for the professional landscape industry, today announced it has raised $42 million in Series B financing. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners and included additional new investors ArcTern Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Amazon’s Alexa Fund alongside participation from existing investors True Ventures, Inspired Capital and more. The funding will help Scythe meet demand for the more than 7,500 reservations for its all-electric, fully autonomous M.52 mower placed by commercial landscape businesses nationwide. This financing round brings the company’s total capital raised to date to $60.6 million.
Memfault Raises $24 Million in Series B Funding to Supercharge its IoT Reliability Platform
Memfault, the provider of the first IoT reliability platform, announced today a $24M series B funding round. The round was led by Stripes with additional participation from existing investors Partech Partners and Uncork Capital as well as the 5G Open Innovation Lab. The funding will support the company’s product roadmap and partner development, and grow the Memfault team across all areas to address rising enterprise demand.
Outrider raises $73 million Series C financing to accelerate the adoption of autonomous distribution yard operations
Outrider, the pioneer in autonomous yard operations for logistics hubs, today announced it closed $73 million in Series C financing led by FM Capital. New investors include a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm. Existing investors participating in the round include Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Outrider has raised $191 million in financing to date based on its technical leadership in autonomous systems for distribution yards.
Outrider will use this funding to expand its proprietary autonomy and safety technology portfolio, increase hiring domestically and internationally, and scale its yard automation solution with large customers in package shipping, retail, eCommerce, consumer packaged goods, grocery, manufacturing, and intermodal industries. Outrider’s customers, representing more than 20% of all yard trucks operating in N. America, have invested in joint product testing and pilot operations since 2019.
MacroFab Secures $42M in Growth Financing from Foundry, Edison Partners and BMW i Ventures
MacroFab, the cloud manufacturing platform for building electronics from prototype to high-scale production, with a network of more than 100 factories across North America, announced today $42M in new growth capital. The funding was led by Foundry and joined by BMW i Ventures, as well as existing investors Edison Partners and ATX Venture Partners. With this round of financing MacroFab has raised a total of $82M, enabling the company’s accelerated growth amid the ongoing transformation of global supply chains.
Sublime Systems Secures $40 Million Series A to Electrify and Scale Decarbonized Cement Production
Sublime Systems, a developer of technology to produce decarbonized cement, today announced that it has closed a $40 million Series A funding round, led by climate-tech focused fund Lowercarbon Capital with participation from existing investors including The Engine, Energy Impact Partners and others. Siam Cement Group, the largest cement producer in Southeast Asia, is also joining as a strategic investor. The company will use the new capital to ramp up production at its pilot plant, build its team, conduct product testing, and advance offtake commitments from new customers and partners.
Axiom Cloud Raises $7.4M Series A to Transform Commercial Refrigeration using AI
Axiom Cloud today announced its $7.4M Series A financing led by Blue Bear Capital. Following large-scale rollouts with major North American grocery chains and cold storage warehouse operators, Axiom raised its Series A to prepare for its next phase of growth. Axiom will use the funding to scale its software, operations, and sales teams to meet accelerating market demand for its refrigeration software. In total, Axiom Cloud has raised approximately $11.6M since its inception in 2020.
Summit Nanotech Secures US$50M for Lithium Extraction Technology to Support the Energy Transition to Net Zero
Summit Nanotech Corporation (“Summit”), a company sustainably solving lithium supply chain challenges, today announced the closing of a US$50 million Series A2. The Series A2 round was led by Evok Innovations and BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund alongside participation from previous investors including Xora Innovation and Capricorn Investment Group. Summit also welcomes a consortium of new climate-focused funds; Volta Energy Technologies, NGP, Helios Climate Ventures, and The Grantham Foundation.
Fairbrics raises €22M to bring to market its CO2-based polyester fiber and reduce the textile industry’s carbon footprint
The combined funds will be used to upscale Fairbrics’ technology, first in a pilot line of 100 kg/day by 2024 and later, by 2026, in a 1 ton/day demo plant. The primary aim is to fight climate change and accelerate energy intensive industries’ decarbonation by replacing fossil-based polyester with CO2-based polyester, using a circular approach that recycles CO2waste fumes from chemical plants into high value textile products. Fairbrics targets sectors employing polyester as a main material: clothing but also sports equipment, automotive and packaging.
Photoneo Brightpick Group Raises Additional $19 Million to Complete $40 Million Series B
Photoneo Brightpick Group, the parent company of Photoneo, a leading provider of robotic vision sensors and intelligence software, and Brightpick, a leading provider of warehouse automation solutions for ecommerce and grocery order fulfillment, today announced it has raised an additional $19 million to complete a $40 million Series B. Taiwania Capital led this most recent round, which also included follow-on investments by prior Series B lead investors IPM Group and Alpha Intelligence Capital. Additional investors in this round include H&D Asset Management, Venture to Future Fund and Kolowrat Group. This round brings the company’s total capital raised since inception to $53 million.
Stell: Announcing Our Preseed Raise
Stell raised an oversubscribed $3.1M round led by Wischoff Ventures and Third Prime VC. This capital will help us scale our team, build out the Stell product, and work with our first design partners and customers. Thank you to the rest of our investors as well: Picks & Shovels VC, Banter Capital, Rolling Fun, and our amazing team of angel investors.
At Stell, we believe in the power of small and medium business owners to meet the high demand for specialized and critical parts for American defense and space projects. Aerospace systems have been built in the small machine shops in every town across America for the last 50 years, and we want to serve and reinvigorate this ecosystem. American livelihoods and spirit depend upon this diverse group of small businesses - not on a small group of select companies in Silicon Valley.
Aerones raises $30M to scale its robot-enabled services and drive efficiencies in the $30B wind turbine maintenance market
Aerones, the Latvia-based world leader in robot-enabled wind turbine maintenance and inspection, is pleased to announce that it has secured $30 million in growth capital to scale its business globally. The capital will be used to help the Company meet surging demand in a market which is expected to reach $50 billion in value by 2028. The funding round was co-led by Lightrock, the global growth equity investor, and Haniel, the European family-owned purpose-driven investor. Further participation in the round, for the YCombinator-backed company, came from new investor Blume Equity, a climate-focused growth equity investor, and existing investors: Change Ventures, Mantas Mikuckas, Metaplanet, Pace Ventures and Future Positive Capital.
Hystar raises USD 26mn to scale up to full commercial operations
Hystar AS, the Norwegian high-tech hydrogen company, today announces a Series B funding round of USD 26mn to rapidly scale-up to full commercial operations with an automated GW-capacity production line by 2025. The injection of capital, raised through equity, will also be used to fuel Oslo-headquartered Hystar’s growth, expansion into new markets, and ability to deliver on larger (100 MW and beyond) projects.
The round was co-led by AP Ventures and Mitsubishi Corporation. Additional investors in the round included Finindus, Nippon Steel Trading, Hillhouse Investment and Trustbridge Partners, alongside existing investors SINTEF Ventures and Firda.
Profet AI Closes US$5.6m Series A Round To Fuel Regional Expansion And Product Development
Profet AI, a Taiwan-based developer of auto machine learning solutions, has raised US$5.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Darwin Ventures. Existing investors Hive Ventures, AUO and SVTI also participated in the round, joined by Harbinger Venture Capital, and Jensen-Capital Management. Profet AI will use this funding to accelerate its overseas expansion into Japan, Southeast Asia and China, further develop its AutoML Virtual Data Scientist Platform and Ready To Go Applications and accelerate new product development.
Hexagon AB invests $100m into Divergent Technologies
Divergent Technologies has received 100m USD in investment from software technologies leader Hexagon AB. A portion of Hexagon’s investment is subject to certain regulatory approvals. It follows the automotive tier 1 manufacturer’s 160m USD Series C funding round in April of last year. With this funding from Hexagon, Divergent is seeking to accelerate its plans to build a global network of DAPS factories, which will each serve multiple OEM clients.
Intelligent Engineering Platform Motion G Raises Over US$15 Million
Motion G, Inc. has recently raised over US$15 Million in Pre-A round, led by New Wheel Capital. The startup plans to accelerate the developments of data-centric foundation models, digital twin and automation software to significantly speed up the industrial engineering processes.
As its first application, Motion G’s intelligent engineering platform has revolutionized the solutions for traditional motion control. These solutions have been adopted rapidly by the manufactures of flexible transport systems, Li-ion battery, food and beverage packaging systems, oil drilling rigs, industrial robots, semiconductors, 3C devices, automated guided vehicles, and electric tools.
Dutch thermoplastic composite pipe producer Strohm bags €15M
Netherlands-based Strohm, a hydrogen pipeline company, announced on Thursday, December 15, that it has raised €15M in a fresh round of funding. According to a statement from the Dutch company, this is the largest funding round in the company’s 15-year history. Strohm’s €15M investment includes a €10M commitment from ING Corporate Investments (a 100 per cent subsidiary of ING Bank), as well as a further €5M co-investment from existing investors Shell Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Evonik Venture Capital and HydrogenOne Capital Growth Plc (HydrogenOne).
Strohm says it will use the funds in accelerating the growth of its manufacturing operations and increasing capacity to deliver its TCP solutions to offshore green hydrogen and carbon capture and utilisation and storage (CCUS) markets. Besides, the money will also help the company’s clients in achieving their net-zero goals.
Scrubbing wind turbines with robots nets Aerones $39M
Aerones, a robotics startup that scrubs and inspects wind turbines so humans don’t have to, secured $38.9 million in fresh funding this month from dozens of undisclosed investors, TechCrunch has learned.
Wind turbines produce clean energy, but their towers tend to leak oil, which can corrode blades, increase wind resistance and pollute the ground below. Aerones’ remote-operated robots clean towers and blades by blasting them with a liquid detergent, while funnels beneath the blades collect the mucked-up liquid for reuse. The robots also inspect turbine systems with cameras and ultrasound scanners.
Linse Capital Raises $700M to Back the Next Generation of World-leading Industrial Technology Companies
Linse Capital, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-headquartered growth equity firm, today announced the successful close of $700 million in capital raised. The capital will be allocated across the firm’s flagship fund –– Linse Capital Fund I (LCFI) –– alongside two co-investment vehicles for portfolio companies Skydio and Verkada.
LCFI has a dedicated commitment of $563 million to invest in world-leading industrial technology companies. Michael Linse, formerly a partner at Kleiner Perkins, founded Linse Capital in 2015. He and Bastiaan Janmaat manage the firm and previously worked together as investors in Goldman Sachs’ Special Situations Group.
Chinese driverless port transport startup secures new funding
Senior Automation, a Chinese startup providing driverless solutions for port transport, has raised more than 100 million yuan (about $14 million) in a series A+ funding round, a 36Kr survey found. The new investment in Senior Automation was led by Tsinghua Innovation Ventures and Winreal Investment. The other investors that participated in the latest funding round also include Estar Capital. Senior Automation will use the funds to increase investment in research and development, expand its driverless operations in the area of port transport and develop new commercialization scenarios.
Linse Capital Raises $700M To Back Industrial Technology Companies
Linse Capital, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based growth equity firm, raised $700m to back industrial technology companies. The capital will be allocated across its flagship fund – Linse Capital Fund I (LCFI) – alongside two co-investment vehicles for portfolio companies Skydio and Verkada. LCFI will invest in a select group of new companies per year, investing between $100m and $400m in each business. The firm aims to become the largest or one of the largest shareholders at exit. Investment areas include four sectors: transportation, energy, logistics and real estate.
KKR Leads AUD 108 Million Series B Funding Round In AI Leader Advanced Navigation
Advanced Navigation (the “Company”), a developer of AI robotics and navigation technology, and KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the signing of definitive agreements under which KKR will lead a USD 68 million (AUD 108 million) Series B funding round in the Company. Advanced Navigation looks to use the funding to accelerate R&D programs focused on transformative robotic, navigation, photonic, and quantum sensing solutions, and enhance its global sales and marketing capabilities to reach new customers. Advanced Navigation will also assess inorganic growth opportunities to incorporate new technologies and products into its suite which complement the Company’s existing products and areas of expertise.
Chevron invests in carbon capture and removal technology company, Svante
Chevron New Energies (CNE), a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., and Svante announced that Chevron is the lead investor in Svante’s Series E fundraising round, which raised $318 million that will be used to accelerate the manufacturing of Svante’s carbon capture technology.
Since its founding in 2007, Svante has developed carbon capture and removal technology using structured adsorbent beds, known as filters. This funding will support Svante’s commercial-scale filter manufacturing facility in Vancouver, which is anticipated to produce enough filter modules to capture millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year across hundreds of large-scale carbon capture and storage facilities.
Cirba Solutions Secures Over $200 Million Investment to Grow its Closed Loop EV Battery Recycling & Materials Production in North America
Cirba Solutions, the largest and most comprehensive battery management and materials processor for end-of-life batteries and gigafactory manufacturing scrap, has received a $245 million minority investment from the EQT Infrastructure V fund (“EQT Infrastructure”). The Heritage Group, a fourth-generation family-owned business managing a diverse portfolio of companies focused on a safer, more enriching, and sustainable world, will remain the majority owner of Cirba Solutions.
The new investment from EQT Infrastructure will support the expansion of an existing lithium-ion facility in Lancaster, Ohio that should generate enough recycled battery material to power 200,000 EVs annually when complete. Additionally, Cirba Solutions has announced a new lithium-ion processing site in Eloy, AZ and expects to announce future processing locations that will further enhance the broad battery collection and processing network that Cirba Solutions has already established. Cirba Solutions expects to invest over $1 billion into the market over the next 10 years to continue its leadership and be the largest and most comprehensive battery recycling company in North America.
Germany’s fruitcore robotics bags €23M to helps SMEs adopt digital robots, automation
Constance, Germany-based fruitcore robotics, a provider of industrial robotics and automation solutions, announced on Wednesday, December 14, that it has secured €23M in a Series B round of funding.
The company says it will use the funds to accelerate product innovation, sales, marketing, and international expansion. The robotic company is active in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. “With the closing of our Series B financing, we are again a big step closer to our goal of making robotics and automation solutions accessible to the masses. We see the demand for high-quality and easy-to-use robots in the market is steadily increasing. Therefore, we will use the new capital primarily to serve the demand for our robotics and automation solutions as well as digital products in the European market,” says Jens Riegger, Managing Director (CEO) and co-founder of fruitcore robotics.
MasterControl Raises $150M Series A Funding Round from Sixth Street Growth at Valuation of $1.3B
MasterControl, a leading provider of quality and manufacturing software solutions for the life sciences, today announced its first ever funding, a $150 million Series A round led by Sixth Street Growth. MasterControl has grown profitably for nearly 30 years, and with this funding is valued at $1.3 billion. The proceeds will be used to accelerate the development of SaaS solutions serving the company’s global life sciences customers, which include Pfizer, Cochlear, Thermo Fisher Scientific and more than 1,100 others worldwide.
MasterControl will use the financing to continue to build and enhance its solutions while also placing more focus on technology that will predict and prevent quality events, and enable true AI assisted manufacturing optimization. Investing in new technologies like AI, machine learning and natural language processing will improve customers’ business outcomes and reduce the time and cost of compliance and red tape, getting life changing products to patients in timeframes that were previously not possible.
ZEDEDA and Emerson Expand Relationship to Modernize the Industrial Edge
ZEDEDA, the leader in edge orchestration, today announced a strategic investment from Emerson Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Emerson (NYSE: EMR), a global technology, software and automation leader. The move extends the relationship between the two companies, as Emerson is also a ZEDEDA customer.
Emerson’s solution integrates ZEDEDA’s edge management and orchestration offer into its DeltaV™ automation system, enabling Emerson customers to extend DeltaV to the distributed edge. This expansion will deliver enhanced OT solutions while also continuing into the IT environment, providing software-defined automation and revolutionizing how customers can deploy and connect workloads within their distributed environments.
SafeAI Raises $38 Million Series B Funding to Accelerate the Deployment of Autonomous Heavy Equipment
SafeAI, a global leader in autonomous solutions for heavy equipment, today announced a $38 million Series B round of funding with key investors including Builders VC, McKinley Management, George Kaiser Family Foundation, and Energy Innovation Capital. Additionally, Moog Inc. joined the round as a strategic investor. SafeAI retrofits construction and mining vehicles with aftermarket hardware and proprietary autonomy software that delivers significant gains in increased worksite productivity, safety and cost savings. The company will use the funding to accelerate their autonomous vehicle technology roadmap, and to scale operations globally to service and deploy their growing customer base.
Robco links up with $14M led by Sequoia to bring modular robotics to industrial SMBs
Robco, a Munich-based startup that has built a platform for designing low-cost modular robots for small and medium industrial businesses, has picked up €13 million (about $13.8 million). The round — a Series A — is led by Sequoia, with Kindred Capital, Promus Ventures and Torsten Reil, Christian Reber and Daniel Dines all also investing.
Even with the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been poured into a variety of industrial automation and robotics companies over recent years (and some of the very notable failures that have inevitably come out of that) Robco believes that it has found a niche in the market by focusing on tricky tasks and building cost-effective solutions to address the needs of smaller manufacturers. In short, SMBs might need to scale up productivity at times but — either due to the economics of the need, or labor shortages, or both — are unable to hire people to fill those jobs on a permanent basis. This is an area that those making larger machines for bigger industrial clients had yet to address, he said.
Nucor Investing in Start-Up Company Developing Zero-Carbon Iron Technology
Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that it has made an equity investment in Electra, a Colorado-based start-up developing a process to produce carbon-free iron that can be used to make steel. The company uses renewable energy to refine low-grade iron ores into high-purity iron through electrochemical and hydrometallurgical processes. This material will be used in the steelmaking process to offset other high-quality metallics that come with higher greenhouse gas emissions.
The process developed by Electra produces Low-Temperature Iron (LTI) from commercial and low-grade ores using zero-carbon intermittent electricity. The company electrochemically refines iron ore into pure iron at 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) using renewable electricity. That iron can be turned into steel using existing electric arc furnaces, which account for 70% of steel production in the U.S.
Pactum Raises $20M to Strengthen How Enterprises Negotiate Deals and Counter Recession Impacts
Pactum, the business negotiation technology pioneer that enables enterprises to unlock value in deals they typically can’t negotiate on their own, has raised $20 million in additional funding. Pactum’s solution – which uses advanced mathematical models, cognitive science, and best-in-class negotiation techniques – leverages intelligent bots to digitally engage third parties and negotiate mutually-benefiting contracts, leading to better pricing, payment terms, and supply continuity.
The investment was led by 3VC, with participation from new investors NordicNinja VC and Maersk Growth, and existing investors Atomico, Project A, Metaplanet, and Taavet+Sten. Maersk Growth invested after Maersk’s procurement team successfully deployed Pactum’s technology to negotiate spot trucking rates.
Pactum’s solution, which leverages digital bots that learn over time, creates a fast and responsive environment for users to digitally negotiate deals with thousands of suppliers at a time, leading to productivity gains, cost-reductions and stronger terms for all parties. On average, Pactum generates savings of 3%-5% when fully deployed by enterprise clients, creating hundreds of millions of dollars in unrealized savings.
Flow Engineering raises $8.5m to develop engineering collaboration platform for ‘new age’ hardware engineers
Flow Engineering, the first collaboration platform for hardware engineering teams designing complex systems, is today announcing $8.5m in seed funding. Flow is Github for hardware engineers, a single source of truth helping teams design complex systems and get products to market 30-50% faster. EQT Ventures led the round with participation from some of Europe’s top tech investors, including Backed VC, David Hegelson (Unity), Charlie Songhust (ex-Microsoft), Kyle Parrish (Figma) and Matt Clifford (EF). Today’s funding will help Flow realise its mission of supporting hardware engineering teams solve some of humanity’s greatest problems.
Anduril Raises $1.48 Billion in Series E Funding
Defense technology company Anduril Industries today announced $1.48 billion in Series E funding, valuing the company at $8.48 billion, nearly doubling the company’s previous valuation in June 2021. The new funding will enable Anduril to accelerate research and development to bring new, cutting edge, autonomous defense capabilities to the market and continue to mature and scale its current business lines with the US Department of Defense as well as US allies and partners.
The problems US and allied militaries are facing are fundamentally software problems. To continue to enable the US, allies and partners to deter adversaries, Anduril is building software-defined and hardware-enabled capabilities that solve mission needs with autonomy, today. Autonomous systems will enable the military to operate faster and at greater scale across both tactical and strategic operations.
Specialty chemicals startup Covvalent raises $4.3 million in seed funding from Nexus VP, others
Gurugram-based startup Covvalent, which operates in the B2B speciality chemicals space, has raised $4.3 million in a seed funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners. The startup, founded this year by IIT Kharagpur alumni Sandeep Singh and Arush Dhawan, operates as a tech-enabled managed marketplace for speciality chemicals such as pigments, resins, additives, binders and polymers.
RailVision Raises US$4MM in Seed Funding to Lower Fuel Costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Railway Industry
RailVision Analytics, the company powering the railway industry into a new era of cleantech, announced today it has closed a US$4 million (CAD$5.5 million) seed funding round from investors that back entrepreneurs building the future of transportation. The investment – which was more than two times oversubscribed – was led by Trucks Venture Capital with participation from new investors MUUS Climate Partners, Blackhorn Ventures, Incite.org, and Measured Ventures, and returning investors Active Impact Investments and Neil Murdoch. RailVision will use the funding for technical hiring, to grow its product development team, and to expand its product line and customer base.
Locus Robotics Announces $117 million in Series F Funding, Bringing its Valuation Close to $2 Billion
Locus Robotics, a leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for fulfillment and distribution warehouses, today announced more than $117 million in Series F funding, led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and G2 Venture Partners. As part of the financing, Mark Midle, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs, and Zach Barasz, Partner, G2 Venture Partners, will join the Locus Board of Directors, bringing their unique industry perspectives and insights to further guide Locus’s next stage of growth and global expansion.
The Locus warehouse execution platform disrupts large-scale warehouse fulfillment and distribution with an industry-leading, intelligent, and dynamically scalable robotics-driven solution. Locus delivers 2X-3X productivity by seamlessly coordinating both human labor and AMRs to dramatically improve order fulfillment efficiency and workplace ergonomics, while lowering operational costs.
Verdant Robotics Raises $46.5 Million to Reduce Ag Chemicals, Improve Farm Profits
Verdant Robotics announced the close of a $46.5 million Series A funding to scale its advanced robotic technology and accelerate broad adoption of its regenerative and precision ag solutions. Lead investor Cleveland Avenue was joined by DCVC Bio, Future Ventures, SeaX Ventures and all existing investors, including Autotech Ventures, Cavallo Ventures, and AgFunder, making the series one of the largest investments in ag robotics to date.
Verdant’s commercial Robotics-As-A-Service (RaaS) is in high demand, actively servicing a wide variety of specialty crops on thousands of acres with orders pending for tens of thousands of additional acres. This investment enables Verdant to rapidly scale its fleet while developing next generation products that massively increase RaaS efficiency. Verdant’s multi-action, autonomous platform is the only ag robot in the U.S. market that can simultaneously weed, fertilize, and treat plants for pests and diseases – all while collecting data on each plant allowing farmers to make key decisions in real time.
RemotiveLabs secures funding for automotive software platform enabling iteration and speed
Startup RemotiveLabs is set to ensure that all software engineers, independent of industrial background, can solve challenges and collaborate in the cloud using best-practice approaches in software development. The Malmö-based AutoTech company has secured funding of 900k Euro and is now ready to scale internationally.
Investors include Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Almi Invest and private investor Anette Saleskog. The new funding will be used to continue to develop the platform and to grow awareness in the global marketplace. “The status quo tooling is not only expensive, but also hindering innovation and lowering productivity. We see a great response to what we’ve built so far and now we are set to grow a global community with a developer-first mindset to software in automotive” adds Per Sigurdson, Co-Founder and CEO.
FAIRMAT announces €34M Series A round to make it easier and more sustainable to recycle advanced materials through robotic technologies
Fairmat, the Paris-based sustainable deep tech start-up pioneering the recycling of advanced materials, announced today that it has completed its Series A funding round at a total of €34M, one of the largest Series A rounds for a deep tech startup in both France and Europe as a whole this year.
The company will use the funds to accelerate the deployment of its robotized industrial capabilities, including the ramp up of its newly inaugurated automated sorting plant, which will host over a hundred robots and be able to handle up to 3,500 metric tons of scrap per year. Additionally, the company will be expanding internationally into new markets, starting with the United States in 2023 and Spain, Germany, soon after. As part of this expansion, Fairmat will also grow its global team from 80 in 2022 to 400 people by 2025, seeking to recruit the best talent in robotics and data science.
AMFG Receives $8.5 Million in Funding Led by Intel Capital to Drive the Future of Fully Autonomous Manufacturing
AMFG Corp., a rapidly growing Manufacturing Execution System (MES) & workflow automation software for 3D printing, has secured $8.5M in funding led by Intel Capital to further catapult their spot in the new age of industrial transformation. As part of the most recent fundraise, Intel Capital investor Jennifer Ard is joining AMFG’s board of directors. With this new funding, AMFG will continue to help companies scale their additive manufacturing processes, further solidifying AMFG’s position at the forefront of the autonomous manufacturing revolution.
This financing round comes on the heels of a year of accomplishments for AMFG. These include expanding into the U.S by establishing a global headquarters in Austin, Texas, which places the company in direct contact with the region’s dramatically shifting manufacturing scene, and making strategic hires to the growing AMFG team. With this funding, AMFG will advance its vision to pioneer a path into the future of autonomous manufacturing.
ISEE, the first company to achieve fully-autonomous operations with their self-driving yard trucks, raises $40 million in Series B.
Self-driving technology company, ISEE, has raised $40M in a Series B funding round led by Founders Fund, that included Maersk Growth, Eniac Ventures, New Legacy and other new and existing investors. This brings ISEE’s total funding to $70 million since the company was spun out of MIT in 2017.
With ISEE’s technology, customers can achieve 30% IRR, while simultaneously benefiting from a sophisticated tech stack that enables them to manage their operations with unprecedented efficiency. ISEE is winning too: revenue has grown by more than 20x in the past 12 months alone. Co-founder, President & COO Debbie Yu feels this is only the beginning, “With this new funding and strong customer pipeline, we’re excited to scale our operations and accelerate our business growth so that we can bring our self-driving technology to more customers.”
Soft Robotics Inc. secures $26M in first close of Series C led by Tyson Ventures. Marel and Johnsonville also invest and join Soft Robotics powerful syndicate.
Soft Robotics Inc. (SRI) announced today that it raised $26M in an initial Series C closing and will use the funds to expand commercial deployment of its mGripAI™ robotic picking solutions. mGripAI is an easy-to-integrate automation package that combines ultra-fast 3D vision and artificial intelligence technologies with patented and proven, IP69K-rated, soft grasping to give industrial robots the hand-eye coordination of humans. This unprecedented combination of robotic “hands,” “eyes,” and “brains” enables, for the first time, the use of high-speed industrial arms to automate bulk picking processes throughout protein, produce, dairy, baked goods, and prepared foods operations.
Soft Robotics’ Series C was led by Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN), and brings new investors, Marel (AEX:MAREL) and Johnsonville, into SRI’s powerful investor syndicate. SRI reported that it closed the first $26M of an undisclosed-size round with participation from these new investors and strong participation from existing investors.
Blockchain circular economy startup Circularise secures €11 million funding
At Circularise, founders Mesbah Sabuh and Nordi de Vos have spent the past six years commercialising a concept that was devised in their days at Delft University of Technology. With their digital product passport, Sabuh and de Vos aim to store all relevant materials data on blockchain, eliminating privacy and confidential risk that arises when sharing the information to third-parties.
In its series A round, Circularise has also won corporate support in the form of oil refiner-turned waste recycling specialist Neste, and also the Japanese conglomerate Asahi Kasei whose main dealings cover chemicals, plastics and materials science.
Metaspectral Raises $4.7 Million to Launch Fusion, a Cloud-Based AI Platform
Metaspectral, a software company advancing computer vision using deep learning and hyperspectral imagery, has completed a $4.7 million seed round from SOMA Capital, Acequia Capital, the Government of Canada, and multiple notable angel investors including Jude Gomila and Alan Rutledge.
The company plans to use this investment to scale up its team to support the continued development and refinement of the Fusion platform which is set to publicly launch this Fall. Fusion makes it easy for those with or without technical expertise to train and deploy deep learning models that analyze hyperspectral imagery in real-time. Hyperspectral images contain information from across the electromagnetic spectrum, making it possible to identify the chemical composition and other invisible properties of materials with computer vision.
Pelico Raises $18.5M to Help Manufacturers Manage Factory Operations in an Increasingly Complex & Volatile Context
Pelico, the factory operations SaaS platform that empowers manufacturers to deal with rising levels of complexity and volatility in their operations, today announced that it has raised $18M led by 83North and Serena with participation from La Famiglia & ISAI as well as multiple business angels such as Adrien Nussenbaum (Mirakl), Carsten Thoma, Bastian Nominacher (Celonis)… This new fund will give the opportunity to Pelico to grow its team, significantly invest in its technology and expand its internal presence.
Supply chain and manufacturing have become more complex than ever, with volatile demand, fragmented supply chains and an increasing complexity in products. Because operational context changes faster than the teams’ ability to plan, those teams spend their time firefighting these unplanned disruptions. This puts at risk revenue as sales are delayed, and margins as last minute solutions are costly. Pelico acts as an operations management system for factory teams.
Pickle Robots Are Unloading Trucks in Southern California to Expedite Supply Chain Processing and Ease Labor Challenges
Pickle Robot Company (“Pickle Robot”), a pioneer in AI-enabled robotic automation systems that unload trucks, today announced it has live pilot implementations unloading tens of thousands of packages per month at customer sites in the greater Los Angeles area, and has raised $26 million in series A funding led by Ranpak, JS Capital, Schusterman Family Investments, Catapult Ventures, and Soros Capital. Additionally, Pickle Robot has added growth-oriented industry veterans to its leadership team to accelerate commercialization of the company’s flagship robotic unload systems.
Pickle will use the funding to accelerate go-to-market activities and strengthen deployment capabilities. Omar Asali, Chairman and CEO of Ranpak, has joined Pickle’s Board of Directors as part of the investment deal. Following this Series A investment round, the company has raised a total of nearly $32 million to date. Previous investors that participated in this funding round included Toyota AI Ventures, Third Kind Venture Capital, Hyperplane Ventures, BoxGroup, and Version One Ventures.
Attabotics Secures $71.7 Million USD to Revolutionize Legacy Fulfillment Centers
Attabotics, the world’s first 3D robotics supply chain company, today announced it has raised $71.7M USD in Series C-1 funding led by Export Development Canada (EDC) with participation from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’) through Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG). The round brings Attabotics’ total funding to $165.1M USD to date and will be used to further accelerate the commercialization of its 3D robotics warehousing solution in the wake of growing post-COVID-19 demand.
Attabotics’ unique architecture maximizes the flexibility and speed of warehouse processes while reducing a retailer’s required warehouse needs by up to 85%. This reduction of space allows Attabotics customers to place warehouses closer to cities for faster delivery times. As consumer expectations continue to increase, Attabotics is helping customers to adjust to that surge while simultaneously offering a solution to ongoing warehouse labor shortages.
IoT and Industry 4.0: Zerynth raises a €5.3 million round led by United Ventures
Zerynth, the Italian startup, spin-off of the University of Pisa, that supports companies in digitizing production processes and developing connected industrial products through Industrial IoT solutions, announces a €5.3 million investment round led by United Ventures, the Italian venture capital fund specializing in investments in technology startups.
The funding will support the company’s domestic and international expansion for the next three years. Resources will also be invested to hire new talent and strengthen the team to support product development and enhancement, including the introduction of new features of the Industrial IoT app leveraging the opportunities of IoT and AI technologies; finally, part of the resources will be dedicated to establishing new strategic partnerships with major players in the industrial field.
Acerta Analytics secures $7.82M Series B financing
Acerta Analytics Solutions Inc. has raised US $7.82 million in Series B funding led by BDC Capital Industrial Innovation Venture Fund and Thrive Venture Fund and Lab for Women, with participation of OMERS Ventures and StandUp Ventures.
TOffeeAM banks £5 million
The round was led by Sumitomo Corp subsidiary Presidio Ventures Europe and London-based East Innovate. UK-based deeptech investor IQ Capital has returned from TOffeeAM’s seed round, investing alongside US-based fund Type One Ventures, Exor Seed, Italy’s Excellis and assorted angel investors.
TOffeeAM will use the series A capital to scale its 3D printing platform into new overseas markets; specifically seeking in-roads into the massive US market and also across East Asia.
Infinitum Secures $30M in Additional Growth Capital to Expand and Fully Automate Production Facility in Mexico
Infinitum, creator of the sustainable, breakthrough air core motor, today announced $30 million in additional growth capital from Riverstone Holdings Latin America, Alliance Resource Partners, Caterpillar Venture Capital and Cottonwood Technology Fund. The funds will be used to expedite commercial and industrial motor production by expanding and fully automating assembly at the company’s 65,000 square foot facility in Mexico to meet a significant increase in demand.
Electric motors consume more than half of the world’s electricity, with the general industry segment consuming 38 percent. Infinitum’s motor is 50 percent smaller and lighter, uses 66 percent less copper and no iron, and consumes 10 percent less energy. Infinitum motor components can be reused, allowing them to stay in service for decades.
BOWE GROUP leads an $8.2M investment round in robot software innovator MOV.AI
BOWE GROUP, a leading provider of integrated automation technology announced today an $8.2M investment round in MOV.AI – a startup revolutionizing Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) software. The round is led by BOWE GROUP and includes MOV.AI’s existing investors State of Mind Ventures, NFX, and Viola Ventures.
MOV.AI’s Robotics Engine Platform changes how AMRs are built, separating software from hardware and offering both AMR manufacturers and automation integrators the enterprise-grade tools they need for advanced automation. The Robotics Engine PlatformTM helps AMR manufacturers quickly develop and differentiate their robots. Automation integrators can deploy in days, not months, and ensure secure, uninterrupted operation in constantly changing business and operational environments.
project44 Raises $80 Million Valuing Company at $2.7 Billion, Up 12% from January Despite Widespread Downturn in B2B SaaS Valuations
project44, the leading supply chain visibility platform, announced today that it raised an $80M funding round led by Generation Investment Management, the sustainable investment management firm, and A.P. Moller Holding, a privately held investment company, based in Denmark. CMA CGM, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, joined the round along with previous investors Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Goldman Sachs”), TPG, Emergence Capital, Chicago Ventures, Sapphire, 8VC, Sozo Ventures and Omidyar Technology Ventures.
Smartex sews up $24.7M to put smarter eyes on textile manufacturing
Smartex has developed machine-vision-driven software that makes fabric production more efficient by identifying defects, which primarily can be used to stop manufacturing if something is going wrong, preventing waste. In particular, the company argues that imperfect fabric can travel down the supply chain, with product issues only getting discovered much later in the manufacturing process.
These Series A funds will enable Smartex to expand the business to new geographies and to continue to grow the team. “I’m so excited about textile production in Asia and all the mega-factories in Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, etc. No one will ever solve textile problems without having a deep understanding and presence in these markets. So, going into all the cultural aspects and making businesses here is really awesome,” said Loureiro. “Our ultimate vision and long-term goal is to expand into other industries to enable factories around the world to produce with significantly less waste. We won’t stop until we have made a massive difference.”
AMP Robotics Raises $91 Million in Series C Financing
AMP Robotics Corp. (“AMP”), a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and infrastructure for the waste and recycling industry, has raised $91 million in corporate equity in a Series C financing, led by Congruent Ventures and Wellington Management as well as new and existing investors including Blue Earth Capital, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP), Tao Capital Partners, XN, Sequoia Capital, GV, Range Ventures, and Valor Equity Partners. This new round of funding follows a $55 million Series B financing led by XN in January 2021.
AMP will use the latest funding to scale its business operations while continuing its international expansion. Demand for robotics to retrofit existing recycling infrastructure continues to thrive; among historic demand for recycled commodities of all types, the industry needs capacity to meet the 2025 goals of consumer packaged goods companies that have committed to the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. The company’s core technology business has grown accordingly; the new capital will enhance manufacturing capacity to support a fleet of approximately 275 robots around the world and further AMP’s ongoing development of AI-enabled automation applications for recycling, like AMP Vortex™, the company’s latest innovation for recovery of film and flexible packaging. AMP also has three production facilities in the Denver, Atlanta, and Cleveland metropolitan areas; the funding will help drive further growth of the company’s secondary sortation business in the United States.
Stratasys makes $10m investment in Axial3D to support mainstream adoption of 3D printed anatomic models
Med-tech start-up Axial3D has announced the closing of a 15 million USD investment round led by a strategic investment of 10 million USD from Stratasys. The collaboration between the two companies will provide a joint offering to make patient-specific 3D printing solutions for hospitals and medical device manufacturers more accessible, pushing for its adoption as a mainstream healthcare solution.
Samsara Eco raises $54M AUD for its ‘infinite plastic recycling’ tech
Samsara Eco, an Australian startup that uses enzyme-based technology to break down plastic into its core molecules, announced today it has raised $54 million AUD (about $34.7 million USD) in Series A funding. The company is planning to build its first plastic recycling facility in Melbourne later this year, with the target of full-scale production by 2023.
Samsara’s new funding will be used for expansion, building its library of plastic-eating enzymes and funding its first commercial facility, which it says will be able to infinitely recycle 20,000 tons of plastic starting in 2024. It will also grow its engineering team and expand operations into Europe and North America.
Solugen raises over $200 million Series D to reimagine the chemistry of everyday life
Solugen is reimagining the chemistry of everyday life with enzymes found in nature. We make chemicals better, faster, cheaper, and without fossil fuels from right here in Houston, Texas. Whether you care about the climate, local competitiveness, or just plain old profits, we have good news: it’s working!
Our first Bioforge has been operating for a year and Solugen is running a nearly nine figure business with high margins selling commodity and specialty chemicals. We have established ourselves with top tier customers for our existing solutions and fortune 100 technology partners to build a robust pipeline of future molecules that will help us achieve our goal of 10 mil tons of CO2 removed from the atmosphere.
Last year we raised over $300m to fund our first Bioforge. Now, we’ve raised over $200m, which increases our valuation above $2b. This capital allows us to break ground on our next Bioforge and start working on 3, 4 and 5, both in the US and abroad. We will significantly grow and advance our new molecule pipeline to enable an even wider range of carbon negative and low carbon solutions for our customers and for end consumers.
Bright Machines Raises $132M in New Funding to Expand Intelligent Automation in Manufacturing
Bright Machines, an innovator in software-defined manufacturing, announced today $132M in debt and Series B equity funding. The equity portion of the funding, worth $100M, was led by Eclipse Ventures. The debt portion of the funding, worth $32M, was led by Silicon Valley Bank (NASDAQ: SIVB) and Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC). Bright Machines intends to use the funds to accelerate the company’s growth, which includes continued expansion into high-demand industry verticals, and the development of new software and service offerings to complement its existing portfolio of products. This round of funding brings the total raised by Bright Machines to $330M since the company’s founding in 2018.
In addition to refining and extending the capabilities of its flagship product, the Bright Machines Microfactory, the company plans to use the funds to accelerate its Brightware software roadmap, expand its service offerings, strengthen its partner network, and grow its installed base of customers. It will also unveil an Integration Hub in Guadalajara, Mexico, later this year and a U.S. based Customer Experience Center in San Francisco in early 2023.
Software Defined Automation Fuels Growth Through $10M Seed Round Led by Insight Partners
Software Defined Automation, a leading innovator turning factories into software systems, announced it has raised $10 million in a seed round led by global software investor Insight Partners, with additional investment from Baukunst VC, Fly Ventures, and First Momentum. The funds will be used to scale customer adoption and extend its solution portfolio.
Software Defined Automation revolutionizes factory automation with an Industrial-Control-as-a-Service offering. Industrial-Control-as-a-Service (ICaaS) is centered around cloud-based management of existing PLCs (TechOps), Git-enabled PLC code versioning and collaboration (DevOps), as well as virtualization of PLCs on edge servers (Virtual PLC). In combination, these technologies have the power to break down proprietary silos in control technology stacks and enable API-based modern microservices architecture. This new paradigm transforms the daily lives of automation professionals by bringing remote work, cloud security, resilience, collaboration tools and independence from proprietary automation vendor hardware to the modern factory.
PaintJet, A Robotic Solution for The $175 Billion Painting Industry, Raises $3.5 Million
PaintJet, a robotics and material sciences company automating large scale commercial and industrial painting, today announced it has raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by Dynamo Ventures, with participation from MetaProp, Pathbreaker Ventures, and Builders VC.
The US currently needs more than 100,000 painters to meet demand, and that will only continue to worsen with more than 41 percent of painters in the workforce expected to retire by 2031. Corrosion currently costs the US 3 percent of its GDP, and 80 percent of painting/corrosion prevention costs are due to labor. In short, painting is specialized and expensive work that has to be done.
PaintJet helps business and facilities owners rethink how buildings are protected, through advanced robotics, data, imaging, and specialty coatings. Its technology enables painters to increase their productivity and decrease time on the jobsite, resulting in lower costs while guaranteeing application quality. The technology itself is a mobile lift attachment designed to quickly and uniformly apply paint or industrial coatings to large scale commercial projects at an accuracy of 0.001” thick. Precision application reduces overspray and improves coating transfer efficiency, reducing coating consumption by 25 percent.
Impact Analytics Raises Additional $10M Investment Following Banner Year in Consumer, Retail and Manufacturing
Impact Analytics, a leading provider of SaaS AI-based solutions for strategic and unified planning for retail, CPG, and supply chain, announced today the closing of a $10-million round in growth financing led by Argentum Capital Partners IV, L.P. This funding is in addition to Argentum’s previous led investment of $11 million, secured in February 2021.
Along with the continued expansion of Impact Analytics’ AI-led retail solution suite, the round of funding will be used to scale the Company’s customer success, and sales and marketing organizations to meet the surge of demand for its AI-led products in North and South America, Europe, EMEA and Asia. In 2023, Impact Analytics will open offices in London and Dubai to meet burgeoning global demand. Led by highly passionate and driven leaders, product industry experts, expert data scientists, and dedicated customer care teams, Impact Analytics will continue to onboard top talent who push the boundaries of what’s possible when humans and machines work together.
Ascend Elements Secures $300 Million in Funding
Ascend Elements, a U.S.-based engineered materials and lithium-ion battery recycling company, today announced it has secured $300 million in equity and debt financing, including $200 million in Series C equity investments from an international group of strategic and financial investors. The funding round was led by Fifth Wall Climate and joined by SK ecoplant, the environmental unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group. Other new investors include Oman Investment Authority, Lithium Americas Corporation, GLy Capital Management’s New Mobility Fund, Mirae Asset Capital & LS and Shinhan GIB. Many investors from previous funding rounds also participated in the latest round, including Hitachi Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, TDK Ventures, Orbia Ventures, At One Ventures, TRUMPF Venture, and Doral Energy-Tech Ventures. This funding is in addition to two recently awarded grants totaling $480 million from the Department of Energy.
This funding, along with the grants, will accelerate commercialization of Ascend Elements’ innovative and proprietary Hydro-to-Cathode™ direct precursor synthesis process, which establishes a closed-loop, EV battery materials supply chain in North America. The announcement follows Ascend Elements’ recently disclosed plans to invest up to $1 billion to build a sustainable lithium-ion battery materials facility in Hopkinsville, Ky. The first-of-its-kind manufacturing facility, known as “Apex 1”, will produce enough lithium-ion battery pCAM and sustainable CAM to equip up to 250,000 electric vehicles per year.
Perygee Raises $4.75M Seed Round to Secure the Supply Chain’s Most Vulnerable IoT and OT Devices
Perygee, the company providing a lightweight and complete security platform for Internet of Things (IoT) and Operational Technology (OT), today announced the closing of a $4.75 million seed investment led by Ballistic Ventures. The round also includes investment from cybersecurity angels Ray Rothrock, John Donovan, Ohad Finkelstein, Corey Thomas, and Bryson Bort, as well as BBG Ventures, which backs early-stage startups with female founders. To date, Perygee has raised $6.35 million in funding.
Solvent-Free, Dry-Electrode Manufacturing for Batteries: Our Investment in AM Batteries
Electrode fabrication is the first stage in battery manufacturing, and the conventional process is lengthy and costly. It involves a “wet coating” that most commonly includes N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent, followed by drying and compression. The drying process requires a large physical footprint — the equivalent size of a football field — and NMP is inherently toxic, so recovery is required. Both the drying and recovery processes require high operating temperatures and result in high energy consumption and operating costs, equivalent to approximately 32% of the total cost of battery manufacturing and 50% of the energy consumption.
AM Batteries’ process does not require energy-consuming evaporation or solvent-recovery. AM Batteries’ dry-electrode manufacturing technology uses an electrostatic spray deposition technique: active materials (cathode/anode) are electrostatically charged, deposited onto metal foil current collectors, and then processed to their final state. AM Batteries has found that this dry process results in 1) a 40% reduction in capital required for electrode equipment investment; 2) a 50% reduction in electricity usage of the plant; and 3) reduced cell cost. In addition, AM Batteries’ electrodes also offer the potential for fast-charging and higher-energy density batteries.
Fox Robotics Announces $20M Investment led by BMW i Ventures
Fox Robotics, the autonomous forklift company, announced today the close of a $20M oversubscribed funding round led by BMW i Ventures. Additional new investors include Zebra Technologies, Japan Airlines & Translink Innovation Fund, and Foothill Ventures. Existing investors Menlo Ventures, ENIAC Ventures, and SignalFire also participated in the round.
Fox is on a mission to deploy its forklifts across warehouses and production environments across the globe and develop new autonomous capabilities to expand use cases. It intends to use the new funds to ramp up production, invest in talent, and expand globally.
Proemion Announces €33.5M Growth Investment from Global Technology Investment Firm Battery Ventures
Proemion, the multinational technology company creating hardware-enabled software solutions to connect mobile machines with humans, the cloud, and each other, today announced a €33.5M growth investment from Battery Ventures, the global technology-focused investment firm. In July, Battery announced new, global funds capitalized at a combined $3.8B.
Family-owned since its founding in 1987, Proemion creates connectivity solutions with proprietary telematics control units and accompanying cloud-based software. Proemion customers include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and mixed-fleet companies who use Proemion’s telematics solutions to operate machinery more efficiently through the use of remote diagnostics and analytics. Specifically, the technology allows customers—who operate in industries including construction, agriculture, logistics, and natural resources—to better manage equipment, plan maintenance, save fuel costs, monitor CO2 emissions, and more. The predictive capabilities of Proemion telematics allow global customers to increase productivity with robust, cloud-based remote diagnostics while reducing operational costs and downtime.
With this growth investment from Battery—and anticipated future capital infusions from Battery and the founders—Proemion will expand international operations, execute other organic-growth initiatives and pursue acquisitions. As part of this transition, Robert Thomas Michaelides, current Proemion COO, will assume the role of chief executive officer.
Shippeo Announces Record $40m Funding Round to Accelerate Global Supply Chain Resilience
All existing investors took part in the new round, including Battery Ventures, Partech, NGP Capital, ETF Partners, Bpifrance Digital Venture and SAP.io, alongside new strategic investors Hong Kong-based LFX Venture Partners and Japan-based Yamaha Motor Ventures, whose investment will help to ramp up operations across Asia-Pacific.
The investments will support Shippeo’s mission to help shippers and carriers run more collaborative, automated, sustainable, profitable, and customer-centric supply chains, leveraging global partner networks, real-time data and AI to enable greater ecosystem collaboration. Regarded by many companies as the heart of their operations, supply chains can now benefit from highly accurate, real-time operational visibility and perfect workflow orchestration, which have become crucial for overcoming the unprecedented challenges, uncertainty, and financial fallout from disruption that organizations continue to face.
Parts-Matching Platform Gearflow Gets $5.5M, Led by Brick & Mortar
Gearflow, a parts market platform for heavy equipment owners, including contractors, has received $5.5 million in a new funding round led by Brick & Mortar Ventures. Founded by Darren Bechtel, Brick & Mortar Ventures is joined by Alumni Ventures, as well as existing investors in Gearflow Newark Venture Partners, Watchfire Ventures and Liquid2 Ventures, as participants in the funding.
The investment will be used to further develop Gearflow’s heavy equipment parts supply chain solutions, which has customers that include equipment owners, dealers, distributors and original equipment manufacturers.
Digital Twin Software Company Sensat Raises $20.5m USD to Automate the Way Infrastructure is Planned, Built and Managed
Sensat has raised $20.5m (£16.7m) in Series B funding in a round led by National Grid Partners, with the participation of existing investors. Sensat is a leading digital twin company with a mission to digitize the underserved construction industry and bring efficiencies to the development and operation of large infrastructure projects.
The funds will help Sensat to drive digital automation in infrastructure projects in the energy, rail and telecommunications sectors, which have traditionally lacked the productivity gains that have been a by-product of the rapid digital adoption that has occurred in other sectors.
Orbex Secures £40.4 Million in Series C Funding
UK-based spaceflight company Orbex has secured £40.4 million for its Series C funding round, led by a new investor, the Scottish National Investment Bank. The new round of funding will allow the company to scale up its resources as it counts down to the first vertical launch from UK soil, as well as unlocking additional funding to support future projects.
Orbex recently revealed its “Prime” rocket in its final form, making this the first full orbital micro-launcher to be unveiled in Europe. Prime is a 19-metre long, two-stage rocket designed to transport small satellites weighing up to 180kg into low Earth orbit.
MycoWorks & General Motors
Biotechnology company MycoWorks announced today its newest investor GM Ventures, the investment arm of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), and their long-term agreement to co-develop Fine Mycelium™ materials for potential use in a range of applications within automotive design. MycoWorks’ collaboration with GM marks the exploration of its entry into one of the largest end-use markets for leather and demonstrates the significant opportunity to create more sustainable materials for the automotive space.
Garvis Raises €3.5 Million Euros for a Bionic AI Platform to Optimize Supply Chain Management
A year after the launch of its AI platform for demand and inventory planning, Belgian startup Garvis raised € 3.5 million to develop the platform. Investors include British investment funds Superseed and Scalebridge Capital, and the German group Bosch Ventures. Garvis’ technology enables companies to respond at lightning speed to upheavals and evolutions that influence customer purchase behavior. One unique feature: even non-specialists are able to use the platform within a day.
Businesses need a radical new planning method that uses risk profiles, insight and real-time data. The platform Garvis developed, maps relevant environmental factors and provides transparent, explainable insights and predictions of demand patterns for various industries such as automotive, semiconductor, retail, and food and beverage. It uses open-box AI to respond to global fluctuations in buying behavior. Unexpected changes in demand patterns are recognized early, allowing planners to immediately adjust their forecasts and keep schedules up to date. Garvis works with the University of Antwerp (Belgium) to continuously optimize the predictive algorithms.
Makersite secures $18M investment
We are happy to announce the completion of an $18M funding round. The investment is led by Hitachi Ventures, the global venture capital arm of Hitachi, Ltd., and Translink Capital, a Silicon Valley-based VC fund, with participation from KOMPAS, an EU-based venture capital fund, and seed investor Planet A.
When looking at the sustainability space right now, there’s a great buzz about reporting standards, ESG, Science Based Targets, GHG-Protocol, etc. But in 3-5 years’ time, no one will care about any now-implemented corporate reporting. What counts are the changes implemented across an organization. Makersite helps enterprises to take the right decisions today, not tomorrow. The investment will help us to grow our sales and marketing teams in Europe and the U.S along with increasing our delivery capacities. This way, the investment supports both our old and new customers.
Ambi Robotics Raises $32 Million for New Kind of Warehouse Robot
The Ambisort can plow through about 400 parcels per hour; humans do the same work at about one-third the pace and usually make more mistakes. Ambi Robotics, the company that developed the system and the accompanying machine-learning algorithms that allow the robot to recognize each parcel and select the right way to grasp it, has deployed 80 of these systems and plans to surpass 100 in the field next year. On Monday, Ambi is announcing that it raised $32 million from Tiger Global, Bow Capital and the UK’s Ahren Innovation Capital. Pitney Bowes, the postage meter maker turned e-commerce logistics firm with 55 warehouses around the country, is another investor in the round as well as a customer.
ShipIn Systems Announces Series A Funding with Zeev Ventures, Raising $24 Million
ShipIn Systems, the world’s first Visual Fleet Management Platform, today announced Series A funding led by Zeev Ventures, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Investors at.inc/, Hyperplane, and Munich Re Ventures also participated, bringing the total funding to $24 million.
With this investment, ShipIn will focus on significantly scaling across the industry, and expand its visual analytics platform capabilities. Using AI and computer vision technology, ShipIn’s FleetVision™ platform detects events onboard ships in real-time, alerting crew at sea and teams ashore to safety or security hazards, operational anomalies, machinery concerns, and more. A recent study with one of its customers highlighted a 40% reduction in losses onboard cargo ships, while increasing cargo operations productivity by 8%.
Lincoln Electric Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Fori Automation, Inc.
The acquisition will accelerate Lincoln’s Higher Standard 2025 strategic goal of achieving $1 billion in automation sales by 2025 with the addition of new and innovative automated capabilities including large-scale assembly, automated material handling solutions and end of line testing systems. These complementary solutions will extend Lincoln’s market presence within the attractive automotive sector, better position Lincoln Electric to capitalize on accelerating investments in automotive EV platforms, and offer cross-selling growth opportunities to Lincoln’s industrial customers. The acquisition would also extend Lincoln’s automation footprint in South Korea and India and expand Lincoln’s existing presence in Europe, China and Latin America. The Fori Automation acquisition is expected to increase Lincoln Electric’s annual automation sales by approximately $225 million at comparable EBIT margins to Lincoln Electric’s current automation portfolio, and is expected to be accretive to earnings.
Soli Organic Raises Nearly $125 Million to Expand National Footprint, Scale Soil-Based Indoor Production Technology
Soli Organic Inc. (“the Company”), the nation’s only soil-based, indoor farming company delivering 100% USDA certified organic produce, has announced the close of a Series D funding round totaling nearly $125 million. The round was led by global investment group CDPQ, with leading European investment firm Movendo Capital, B.V. also joining the round, along with follow-on investment from existing investors S2G Ventures, Cascade Asset Management Company and XPV Water Partners. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive placement agent for Soli Organic.
Strategic venture funding through this round will fund the continued build-out of additional large, high-tech, soil-based indoor farms that will transform the Company’s nationwide production footprint. The Company plans to have a total of 15 farms in strategic locations nationwide, including high-tech facilities in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Pacific Northwest and other forthcoming locations, as well as several smaller, early generation facilities currently in production. The Company is also in the process of identifying sites for its next farms in the Midwest and Northeast.
Katana Closes $35M Series B to Scale an Industry-Leading Manufacturing Ecosystem for SMBs
Katana, an industry-leading manufacturing ERP software has closed a $35 million Series B round, bringing the total funding to date to $51 million. Funds will be used to scale up Katana’s features for small to medium-sized manufacturers, allowing them to manage D2C and B2B sales in an intuitive, industry-leading software solution.
Foxglove's $15M Series A and the Missing Data Stack for Robotics
I’m happy to announce our $15M Series A funding led by Eclipse Ventures. It’s an exciting time for Foxglove – thousands of robotics engineers use our software, and our user base has grown by over 8x in the past 12 months alone! But before we jump into details, I want to spend a minute reflecting on our mission and why it is so important.
Foxglove is building the data stack for robotics. Our platform combines open-source robot logging, data lake management, and visualization to streamline common robotics development workflows, increase collaboration, and ultimately help companies get robots to market faster. Our products are used by thousands of engineers, product managers, and operations teams, and we’re transforming development at some of the top companies across a range of industries, from autonomous vehicles (NVIDIA), logistics (6 River Systems), and autonomous forklifts (Third Wave Automation), to lawn mowing, sidewalk delivery, undersea exploration, fulfillment, and defense.
Sustainable 3D print-on-demand fine jewellery service provider Cloud Factory raises €2m in seed funding
Cloud Factory, a precious metal 3D printing company, announced this week that it has raised a 2 million EUR seed round led by Charge Ventures, a leading early-stage fund in the Baltics. The company claims to be the world’s first company to use direct metal 3D printing to “scalably” manufacture fine jewellery in a cost-effective and sustainable way.
Cloud Factory aims to use the investment to increase its manufacturing capacities and further develop its online platform for product creation and order management integrations. It says that through introducing green tech to the jewellery industry, it has become the first zero waste jewellery factory in the world using resource-efficient 3D printing technology. The type of machine in use at the company is the SLM 125 metal 3D printer.
trinckle Scores €3M for 3D Printing Design Configuration Software
3D printing software startup trinckle allows customers to create configurators for customizable 3D printed goods. This enables businesses to save time by automating their workflows. Its Paramate software make it possible to parametrically design customizable orthotics, grippers, production jigs, copper inductors, surf fins, optics, and jewelry.
Now, the company has raised €3 million to beef up its efforts in this area. trinckle hopes to use the money to grow its team and roll out its software worldwide. Interestingly, the round was led by HZG Group the investment fund run by the founders of Concept Laser (now owned by GE Additive), Kerstin and Frank Carsten Herzog.
AgriWebb adds $6.7m to Series B funding round and announces new sustainability-driven partnerships
AgriWebb, the leading livestock business management solution, has secured an additional $6.7 million in its series B funding round, bringing the round total to $29.3M while adding two more top-tier sustainability investors ad and expanding its sustainable impact via two newly secured USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant-awarded projects led by Trust in Food and American Farmland Trust.
The latest investment capital is earmarked to roll out new partnerships, features and capabilities to support improved animal productivity and sustainable land stewardship, while grant allocations will enable AgriWebb and other leading US ag innovators to launch carbon-smart initiatives collectively aimed at helping more than 1,250 farms and ranchers managing over 130,000 animals work toward more measurably climate-friendly practices over the next 5 years.
Airbus Ventures Leads Solestial’s Oversubscribed $10M Seed Round
Airbus Ventures announces its newest lead investment in Solestial, Inc. (“Solestial”), the solar energy company for space. The round was joined by AEI HorizonX, GPVC, Stellar Ventures, Industrious Ventures, and others. This new funding will be used to ramp up production and customer engagement capabilities, as the company expands ground and flight testing in parallel; additional investments in R&D and go-to-market functions are also planned.
Solestial’s solar panels can be produced at scale using automated production methods at 90 percent lower cost than solar panels widely used by the satellite industry. This best-in-class silicon photovoltaic technology, optimized for space, also delivers orbital reliability of at least 10 years in low Earth orbit (LEO). Economical solar panels with scalable manufacturing capability are critical to meeting the demand of the satellite industry, which is projected to grow from 5,000 operational satellites to 100,000 or more by 2030, a 40% CAGR.
Kite Magnetics raises $1.85 million in seed funding
Researcher-led startup Kite Magnetics has announced a $1.85 million seed round led by Investible Climate Tech fund to develop a new generation of smaller, lighter and more efficient electric motors.
Kite Magnetics’ seed round will be used to design, build, test and fly electric motors for small two-seat electric aircraft such as those already being used to train new pilots across the world, including right here in Australia. Kite Magnetics is seeking to build electric motors for aircraft of all sizes, including those that will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells and flying regional routes in the coming years and intends to become a dominant player in the emerging aviation electric propulsion sector.
Electra raises $85M to electrify and decarbonize iron and steelmaking with no green premium
Electra, a green iron company, has raised $85 million to produce Low-Temperature Iron (LTI) from commercial and low-grade ores using zero-carbon intermittent electricity. Electra’s process emits zero carbon dioxide emissions and carries zero green premium, meaning it will cost the same or less than existing production methods powered by fossil fuels.
Electra, founded by entrepreneurs with decades of experience developing complex electrochemical systems, has created a novel process to electrochemically refine iron ore into pure iron at 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) using renewable electricity and then convert the iron to steel using the existing infrastructure of electricity-powered arc furnaces. By comparison, 69% of steel today is made at approximately 1,600 degrees Celsius (2,912 degrees Fahrenheit) using coal, emitting about two tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of steel produced.
Altana Technologies Lands $100M Series B to Fund Expansion
Altana, a startup pioneering a shared source of truth on the global supply chain, today announced a $100M Series B investment led by Activate Capital. OMERS Ventures participated alongside strategic investors Prologis Ventures, Reefknot Investments, and Four More Capital. Existing investors GV (formerly Google Ventures), Amadeus Capital Partners, Floating Point, and Ridgeline Partners all joined the round.
The Series B comes on the heels of dramatic sales and data network growth for Altana. The investment will fund aggressive platform and product development to empower the world’s governments, logistics providers, and businesses - including Maersk, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, BMW, Merck, and Boston Scientific - to build trusted supply chain networks on a shared source of truth.
Plyable secures $3.2M investment to deliver their lightweight custom composite marketplace on a global scale
Plyable, award-winning, market-leading composite mold producer has now received a total of $4.25M investment to fund the growth of its time and significant cost-saving composite tooling solution.
The demand for composites is growing exponentially, with the incredible, rapid innovation seen in aerospace, electric vehicle and marine industries. Award winning, market-leading disruptor in composite tooling, Plyable’s impressive customer base spans all these sectors. This latest injection of investment will fund the growth of its time and cost-saving composite tooling solution, benefiting innovators, engineers and industry disruptors across the board.
Invisible AI Raises $15 Million Series A to Rapidly Scale Innovative Computer Vision Platform Across Manufacturing Facilities
Invisible AI, a leader in state-of-the-art AI solutions for manufacturing, today announced the close of a $15 million Series A funding round, bringing the company’s total amount raised to $21 million. New investor Van Tuyl Companies (VTC) led the round with participation from new investor FM Capital and existing investors 8VC, Sierra Ventures, K9 Ventures and Vest Coast Capital. The funding will be used to grow the team and meet rapidly growing demand from existing and new customers.
Invisible AI’s technology uses edge-based AI devices with a built-in AI chipset, 1 TB of storage, and a high-resolution 3D camera to track activity across manufacturing facilities without using the cloud or any bandwidth. The self-contained AI device processes body motion data to identify potential for high-stress injuries and prevent simple defects in real-time, which generates millions in savings for customers. The software is entirely anonymized and privacy-centric by design and can be deployed in minutes without any coding or engineering expertise, allowing customers to scale to thousands of cameras with ease.
ServiceNow, Honeywell Back Noodle.ai with $25M Series C to End Global Supply Chain Crisis
Noodle.ai, creator of the world’s leading supply chain system of intelligence, today announced it has closed a $25M Series C funding round, including participation from the venture arm of ServiceNow ( NYSE: NOW) and Honeywell Ventures. The investments provide further validation of Noodle.ai’s innovative AI-driven platform, Inventory Flow, a supply chain system of intelligence that enables companies to profitably navigate some of the world’s most complex supply chain challenges.
The latest round brings Noodle.ai’s total funding to more than $100M, including previous rounds from TPG Growth, Dell Technologies Capital, Mitsubishi and SMS group. In a tight investment landscape, the recent funding is notable, reinforcing the urgent need for innovation in global supply chains. Noodle.ai will use the funds to accelerate product innovation and technology integrations to support a growing customer base of companies across a wide range of industries heavily reliant on the global supply chain, including consumer packaged goods (CPG), food and beverage, beauty and cosmetics, metals, automotive, paper and pulp, and more.
JITX Launches General Availability And Announces $12M Series A From Sequoia Capital
Today we’re announcing the general availability of JITX and that we raised a $12M Series A round, led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Funders Club and Liquid 2.
Hardware engineers need a credible way out of the trap they find themselves in. JITX helps by letting them write code that automates their engineering process. To get ahead they can’t just do one design after another – they need reusable code that designs hardware for them. To illustrate this point: a software engineer can upload code to GitHub and thousands of people can reuse that code in their own projects. Using a traditional hardware design flow, each one of those thousands of engineers would have to re-design and re-analyze the same circuit to make sure the design will behave correctly in their product. JITX brings the productivity of software to hardware.
At the same time we were working with enterprise design teams like Northrop Grumman. It turns out that they also needed JITX to address some specific problems. Like everyone else, their biggest challenge is finding and retaining skilled engineers. There just aren’t enough experts to go around, and even entry level positions are getting harder to fill (turns out new EE graduates are more interested in AI than drafting circuit boards). So they use JITX as a way to make their existing experts more productive. They find a lot of value out of checking designs automatically – a manual derating analysis on a complex FPGA board can take months but JITX automates the whole procedure. They are also excited about using code as a more efficient way to coordinate across different teams in the organization. At the end of our iteration process we were quickly designing boards that were at the limit of what traditional factories could build (our thanks to Gerry Partida for an 8/4 stacked microvia with sub 70um trace and space!). For example we built this silicon validation board that included 2500 pins in a complex 300um grid.
France’s Schneider considers full buyout of AVEVA
French industrial conglomerate Schneider said on Wednesday it was considering buying out software company AVEVA, sending the British company’s shares more than 32% higher. Schneider, which already owns nearly 60% of AVEVA, said it had until 16:00 GMT on Sept. 21 to decide whether to go ahead with the full buy-out.
“Schneider Electric believes that a full combination of AVEVA and the software business of Schneider Electric will reinforce AVEVA, and enable it to execute its growth strategy faster,” Schneider said. “Whether or not an offer is made, Schneider Electric remains committed to AVEVA, to its agnostic and autonomous business model and to its employees.”
Apprentice.io Raises $8M Series A for First Conversational AR and AI Platform
Apprentice.io, creator of the first conversational augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) platform, announced today an $8M Series A funding round led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital with participation from existing investors, Silverton Partners and Hemi Ventures. The Venture Reality Fund — leading early-stage investor focused on immersive and intelligent computing — and GFR Fund also joined as new investors.
With more than $10 million in total capital raised to date and support from the industry’s top AR/VR funds, Apprentice.io is recognized as the leader in enterprise AR for the pharma/biotech industries and, by extension, lab, line and suite environments. In a cleanroom gown, a lab technician can use Apprentice’s conversational user interface (UI) to access complex procedures, visualize a 3-D technique demonstration, and intelligently capture or track data using computer vision — all without touching a single piece of paper.
EverestLabs Raises $16.1M to Transform the Recycling Industry with AI and Automation
EverestLabs, developer of RecycleOS℠, the first AI-enabled operating system for recycling, raised $16.1M in Series A funding led by Translink Capital and joined by NEC Orchestrating Future Fund and existing investors BGV, Sierra Ventures, Morado Ventures, and Xplorer Capital. The funding enables the company to invest in its scaling and go-to-market capabilities, including further commercialization activities that build on its AI-powered RecycleOS℠ operating system, robotics, and unique end-of-arm tools.
BMW i Ventures Leads Series A Investment in Optical AI Technology Company, Alitheon
BMW i Ventures announced today their lead investment in a $10M Series A round for Alitheon, an Optical AI technology company. The company’s FeaturePrint® technology quickly and easily digitizes physical objects for irrefutable identification, authentication, and tracing, and eliminates misidentification and misuse of items. BMW i Ventures previously invested in the company’s seed round and is co-leading this round of investment alongside Imagine Ventures, a Seattle-based venture capital firm.
“The counterfeit crisis is a major cause of concern – not only for economic reasons, but even more as individual safety is concerned,” said Marcus Behrendt, Managing Partner at BMW i Ventures. “Alitheon’s cutting-edge technology and ability to bring trust and safety back to supply chains is groundbreaking. After participating in Alitheon’s Seed Funding, we’ve watched the growth of the team and the rising potential of its technology, and are excited to lead its Series A as they bring their product to market.”
1MRobotics Launches Out of Stealth With $25m In Series A Funding
1MRobotics, a startup developing next-generation robotic dark stores, or as they classify them - robotic nano-fulfillment centers, announced today that Ibex Investors led their A-round funding along with its existing backers Emerge VC, Target Global, and INT3, with participation from other prominent investors. The Series A funding brings its total raised to $25 million, including a previous seed round of $8.5 million.
They set out to develop fully automated, small, and flexible dark stores enabling effective and profitable last-mile operations for the world’s largest brands and service providers.
Taqtile Announces $5M Equity Raise Supporting Global Deployment Of Manifest, The Leading AR-Enabled Work Instruction Platform For Industry And Defense
Taqtile, Inc., maker of Manifest®, the leading augmented reality (AR)-enabled work-instruction platform for deskless workers, announces completion of a $5 million preferred equity round. The Seattle-based company will utilize proceeds to increase sales and marketing efforts, reinforce engineering and development teams and increase its global footprint through its extensive partnership network.
Nikon Announces Investment in Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies Global, Inc.
Nikon Corporation (Nikon) today announced an investment in Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies Global, Inc. Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies Global, Inc. (HMT), an award-winning industry leader in additive manufacturing (AM), successfully created an approach that enables users to integrate additive tools onto any platform. This groundbreaking technology allows users to take full advantage of the manufacturing process by unifying multiple complementary technologies in one set up.
This latest investment will enable HMT and Nikon to leverage their combined expertise to accelerate innovation and expand the hybrid manufacturing landscape. Yuichi Shibazaki, Nikon Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Next Generation Project Division said, “This investment in HMT is the latest component of our Next Generation Project program to further industrialization of digital manufacturing. As an industry leader with demonstrated collaborative capabilities, HMT and its AMBIT™ portfolio are well-matched with Nikon technologies. We look forward to working with them as part of our commitment to creating value and advancing society through novel industries like hybrid manufacturing.”
Nikon Announces Investment in RF Solutions Provider Optisys, Inc.
Nikon Corporation (Nikon) today announced an investment in Optisys, Inc. (Optisys), a global industry leader in the design and manufacture of metal printed antennas for commercial and government applications where high performance, size, and weight are critical. The Optisys IP portfolio includes many proprietary antenna designs as well as revolutionary design improvements that support mass customization capabilities.
This investment will enable Nikon and Optisys to boost utilization of metal additive manufacturing for applications including high-performance antennas and other RF products. “This investment in Optisys is another central element of our Next Generation Project program to propel industrialization of digital manufacturing, “Yuichi Shibazaki, Nikon Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Next Generation Project Division said. “Optisys’ industry leadership and precision design and manufacturing capabilities are well-aligned with Nikon core technologies and our vision for the future. We look forward to partnering with their team to expand the additive manufacturing horizon.”
Litmus Raises $30M in Series B Funding Led by Belden
Litmus today announced it has closed $30M in Series B funding to cap a period of exceptional growth in adoption of its Industrial IoT Edge platform. The Series B was led by Belden with participation from other investors whose confidence in Litmus signals the strength of Litmus Edge as the standard data platform for Industry 4.0.
The new round brings the Litmus funding total from $12.6M to $42.6M and will allow the company to scale sales, marketing, customer support and extend service and deployment to enterprise customers through various go-to-market channels. The company will expand its presence in EMEA and APAC while supporting fast-growing OEM relationships to provide customers with the most complete IIoT Edge platform on the market that unifies data collection, data analytics, application enablement and data integration.
ATLANT 3D Nanosystems Secures 15M USD Investments to Enable Atomic Layer Advanced Manufacturing for Electronics
ATLANT 3D Nanosystems (ATLANT 3D), today announced the closure of their capital raise of 15M USD. The round was led by UK venture capital firm West HillCapital and further supported by existing investors including a leading Japanese corporation. The funding is the largest joint Series A round in Denmark outside of life sciences and software.
The funding will be used to get one step closer to ATLANT 3D’s vision to create a network-centric smart advanced manufacturing infrastructure based on its proprietary technology and know-how and integrate it in the future with other advanced technologies. ATLANT 3D aims to develop a network of advanced manufacturing hubs – the A-hubs – across the globe to enable a radical innovation ecosystem for next-generation micro and nanoelectronics prototyping and manufacturing.
Modulous raises £10m ($11.5m) to develop the technologies that enable developers, architects and contractors to build net-zero modular homes without a factory
Modulous announced today that it has raised £10m ($11.5m) of Series A funding, increasing its valuation despite the slide in global markets. “Building energy efficient, affordable housing without the waste and carbon footprint that accompanies traditional construction has never been more critical,” said Modulous CEO Chris Bone. “Modular delivery is really the only way the housing crisis can be resolved, but, for many, the upfront capital investment has held back the industry’s ability to scale.
Realtime Robotics Announces Additional Funding of $14.4 Million
Realtime Robotics, the leader in collision-free autonomous motion planning for industrial robots, today announced that it has secured $14.4 million in additional funding, with Soundproof Ventures, Heroic Ventures and SIP Global Partners as lead investors. The funding comes on the heels of the official launch of the company’s new RapidPlan software, which helps manufacturers design and deploy industrial automation faster and more efficiently. With RapidPlan, customers can automate the programming, deployment and control of their industrial robots within applications such as automotive or logistics, autonomously creating and choreographing all robot movements without the need for brand-specific robot programming.
ELISE Raises €14.5 million to scale Connected Engineering
We are incredibly proud to announce that we have closed our Series A financing round of €14.5 million! The investment is led by the renowned US Investor Spark Capital, with participation from BMW i Ventures, Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners, and Venture Stars. “This new investment will allow us to make significant progress towards our goal of becoming the low-code standard in engineering. The ease of use of our visual programming language enables engineers to model and automate development processes in the shortest possible time,” explained Moritz Maier, co-founder and CEO of ELISE. “With our open platform, we enable engineers to transfer the agile and efficient methods of software development to hardware development. This automates manual and repetitive tasks and enables companies to manage the growing complexity of product development in the face of increasing cost and innovation pressure.”
Taranis Raises $40 Million Series D to Advance Crop Intelligence and Unlock Growth Opportunities for Agribusinesses
Taranis, the leading AI-powered crop intelligence provider, announced today that it has raised $40 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Inven Capital, a European climate tech fund, with participation from new investors Seraphim Space Investment Trust (‘SSIT’) and Farglory Group, and strong backing from existing investors: Vertex Growth, Viola Ventures, Vertex Ventures Israel, La Maison Partners, Hitachi Ventures, K3 Ventures, UMC Capital, OurCrowd, Micron Ventures, iAngels Ventures, Presidio Ventures (Sumitomo), Cavallo Ventures (Wilbur Ellis), Finistere Ventures, and Eyal Gura. This latest round brings Taranis’ total funding to $100 million.
Varjo Raises $40 Million Series D Funding to Build a True-to-Life, Industrial Metaverse
Backed by EQT Ventures, Atomico, Volvo Car Tech Fund, Lifeline Ventures, and new strategic investors Mirabaud and Foxconn, the new capital will enable Varjo to build a true-to-life, industrial metaverse for all professionals. Varjo will use the funds for its R&D cloud services, namely Varjo Reality Cloud, the company’s XR streaming platform that was announced in April. The new capital will help the company continue to scale its software and hardware offerings across new enterprise verticals such as design & manufacturing, engineering, education, and healthcare.
Divert seeks to scale food waste prevention tech, recycling platform with $100M investment
Divert, a Massachusetts-based technology company focused on mitigating food waste, announced last week its retail customer base has grown by 40% in the last two years to more than 5,200 stores across all 50 states — including among five Fortune 100 companies. The company currently has six modular sites with depackaging capabilities to prepare material for third-party organics processing, plus two existing anaerobic digesters in California and Massachusetts. Divert is developing three more digesters in California, Pennsylvania and Washington that will produce renewable natural gas. The company was founded in 2007 but has largely kept a low profile. Last year, Divert was acquired by private equity firm Ara Partners and received $100 million in growth equity.
Lumachain Raises US$19.5M in Series A Funding Led by Bessemer Venture Partners
Lumachain, an end-to-end solution for food supply chains, today announced it has raised US$19.5 million in Series A funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from existing investor Main Sequence. The company has also announced its first U.S. headquarters in Denver.
This investment will allow the company to accelerate the roll out of its world-first computer vision-based artificial intelligence platform at meat and food processing plants across the U.S. and globally. In addition, Lumachain will significantly scale up its team of computer vision and software engineers, and delivery and product experts from the meat industry.
Luminovo raises €11 million in seed funding to fix the broken electronics value chain with transformative software suite
For electronics manufacturers (EMS), Luminovo’s software brings together and reorganises the quoting process - including material and production costing - in one cloud-based tool, replacing the need for different on-premise methods. By bringing the whole workflow together and connecting customers and suppliers, Luminovo automates many repetitive, manual parts of the process and allows manufacturers to focus on the more complex steps that need collaboration.
GrayMatter Robotics’ sanding solution brings in $20M
GrayMatter Robotics announced that it has raised $20 million in Series A funding. The company’s Scan&Sand system is a flexible robotic sander that can quickly adjust to objects with complex geometry. The system doesn’t require coding to program the robot, and operators can learn how to operate it in just a few hours. Scan&Sand can handle a variety of materials like composites, metals, solid surfaces, acrylics, plastics, wood, and stone.
Bow Capital led the funding round, which also included participation from GrayMatter’s existing investors B Capital Group, Calibrate Ventures, OCA Ventures, Pathbreaker Ventures, Stage Venture Partners and 3M Ventures. Swift Ventures was a new investor that participated in the round.
Infineon acquires startup Industrial Analytics and strengthens its offering in AI-powered analysis of machinery and industrial equipment
Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) has acquired the Berlin-based startup Industrial Analytics. Infineon is thus strengthening its software and services business in artificial intelligence for predictive analysis relating to machinery and industrial equipment. Infineon is acquiring 100% of the company’s shares. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the amount of the transaction. “Industrial Analytics has outstanding expertise in the area of predictive analysis for industrial machinery and equipment using artificial intelligence,” said Peter Wawer, President of Infineon’s Industrial Power Control division. “We intend to jointly expand Industrial Analytics’ business and to offer Infineon’s industrial customers new AI solutions that complement our semiconductor portfolio.” “Together with Infineon, we can accelerate our growth path of the past years,” said Anja Vedder, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Industrial Analytics. “With Infineon, we not only gain a strong partner, we also receive access to Infineon’s system knowledge as a leading semiconductor company. We will benefit enormously from this.” Industrial Analytics develops artificial intelligence solutions which for example monitor plants for early detection of critical developments, based on analysis and evaluation of vibrations. The AI solutions from Industrial Analytics not only evaluate data for predictive maintenance, but also provide recommendations for action (prescriptive maintenance).
DataProphet closes $10m investment to lead the Digital Maturity Journey for Manufacturers
DataProphet, a world-leading AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) for manufacturing innovators, today announced the completion of its $10 million Series A funding round. Knife Capital led the round, joined by South Africa’s IDC and Norican – the world’s largest metal surface preparation and finishing equipment provider. The funding provides DataProphet with the capital to invest further in its award-winning industrial AI product set while facilitating targeted growth in selected geographies and manufacturing verticals.
“I am excited about the continued support DataProphet has received from Knife Capital. Going forward, we will use this additional funding to accelerate and expand into new markets, build new relationships aligned with our machine builder strategy, and further our global expansion. Another important pillar is bringing in top talent to build on this momentum.” says Frans Cronje, CEO of DataProphet.
Canvass AI Accelerates Expansion with Completion of US $14.23 Million Series A Funding
Canvass Analytics Inc. (“Canvass AI”), a leader in industrial AI software, today announced the completion of its previously reported Series A financing with an extension of US $7.73 million, led by Yamaha Motors Ventures and a CDN $5.7 million (US $4.43 million) repayable loan from the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). The Series A extension will fuel the company’s mission to empower industrial workforces to drive impact across their operations with the power of Industrial AI.
Geek+ announces $100 million series E1 financing round
Geek+, a global provider of autonomous mobile robot technologies, announced today it has closed a new, $100 million series E1 funding series. Investors in the round include Intel Capital, Vertex Growth, and Qingyue Capital Investment. The company will use this funding to accelerate its global market expansion and invest in its AMR technology research and development for key product innovation.
Start-up with ultra-efficient electrolyser, Hysata, to develop pilot factory after securing $29m
Australian start-up Hysata that says it has developed the world’s most efficient electrolyser has attracted A$42.5m ($29.4m) in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The money will be used to grow the company’s team and “develop a pilot manufacturing facility” for its innovative “capillary-fed” technology, which it says will be able to deliver the “world’s lowest-cost green hydrogen” due to its superior efficiency.
DataMesh closed a new funding round led by SIG Asia
DataMesh has recently closed a new round of funding led by SIG Asia Investment, LLLP, followed by Singtel Innov8 and Global Brain.
DataMesh builds its enterprise metaverse platform and tools based on digital twin and XR technologies. Hundreds of enterprises have adopted DataMesh products and SaaS services, mainly in building construction, manufacturing, and facility operations and maintenance industries. DataMesh Director, which focuses on “democratization of XR,” won NTT Docomo’s DX Award for the most outstanding 5G enabled digital transformation award in 2021. It supported the BIM + XR presentation of the New Saga Arena project in Saga Prefecture, Japan, together with Toda Construction. DataMesh FactVerse is the computing platform for digital twin factories and virtual facilities, which has been widely adopted in automotive factories, cargo airports, and large arenas.
Nexeon raises over $200m to fund battery materials manufacturing
Further to the announcement of its strategic partnership with and investment from SKC on 26th January 2022, Nexeon, a battery materials developer and manufacturer, has completed the second round of its fundraising, resulting in a total investment of $170m. The capital raised will provide Nexeon with further resources to accelerate the expansion of its own manufacturing capabilities to mass produce tens of thousands of metric tonnes annually of its silicon-based anode materials for use in rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries.
Manufacturing marketplace startup Zetwerk raises $210M in funding
Startup Zetwerk has raised $210 million in new funding less than six months after closing a previous $150 million investment at a $1.33 billion valuation. The new funding round was reported by Inc42 on Tuesday. Bangalore-based Zetwerk reportedly raised the capital from a group of backers that included ICONIQ, IIFL, Steadview Capital and D1 Capital Partners. Greenoaks Capital Partners was the lead investor.
Redwood Materials announces $700M external investment round
Today, Redwood is announcing a more than $700M external investment from a carefully selected group of strategic investors who understand the mission and value of what Redwood is working to achieve. The round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and includes Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Baillie Gifford, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Fidelity. In addition, all Series B investors, Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, returned for this round and Valor Equity Partners, Emerson Collective, and Franklin Templeton also participated.
“With this capital, Redwood will be able to accelerate our mission to make battery materials sustainable and affordable, accomplishing the change we need in the world with a circular economy,” said JB Straubel, CEO, Redwood Materials.
Geomiq raised $8.5M to Digitize Manufacturing
We’ve raised $8.5m to digitize global manufacturing and deliver industry leading service levels for Engineers and Procurement teams. With this funding we’re expanding in to Europe, accelerating our product plans, and growing our amazing team
BMF Raises $43M Series C to Continue Driving Convergence of Additive Manufacturing and Miniaturization
Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF), the pioneer in microscale 3D printing systems, today announced the successful closing of a Series C round of funding, totaling $43 million. The round was led by Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. (“SCGC”). BMF will use the funding to advance product development, sales and marketing and customer support as the company continues to expand and serve its global customer base.
Blackhorn Ventures Leads Datch's Series A with $10 Million Investment
In just a few years, we have rapidly expanded, introducing our technology into Fortune 500 and other industry-leading enterprises, and now work with a range of sectors: utilities, energy, manufacturing, mining, and aviation. Continuing with this momentum, we are proud to announce our latest funding round of $10 million. Blackhorn Ventures, an Industry 4.0 fund investing in software companies redefining the industrial sector, led the capital raise, which was also supported by Blue Bear Capital, Boeing HorizonX, Park Partners, Lorimer Ventures, and others.
The funding will be used to expand Datch’s platform capabilities, introduce new integration tools, and scale our enterprise operations and support. Our goal is to provide our customers with the toolkit to map their unique processes and connect Datch to their systems-of-record with ease.
Juniper Ventures’ Series B Investment in ZEDEDA
Juniper Ventures is thrilled to announce its Series B investment in ZEDEDA, a pioneer in edge virtualization. Since the original investment in 2018, we continue to be impressed by ZEDEDA’s execution and its team’s ability to meet the ambiguous and evolving demands of today’s enterprise edge market. ZEDEDA’s cloud-native solution eliminates vendor lock-in and simplifies the deployment and full lifecycle management of both hardware and software applications at scale. The platform supports a diverse set of hardware with Zero Trust security and is scalable through flexible application deployment models — enabling users to leverage existing infrastructure investments alongside modern, cloud-native innovations.
JAKA Robotics raises $150M for collaborative robots
JAKA Robotics has raised $150 million in Series D funding. This follows a $50 million Series C funding round earlier in 2021. JAKA plans to use the Series D funding to further support globalization of the company and the research and development of its collaborative robot (cobot) arm.
AM Ventures closes venture capital fund with focus on industrial 3D printing
AM Ventures, one of the global leaders in venture capital for additive manufacturing (AM), has announced the final closing of its oversubscribed venture capital fund focused on industrial 3D printing, closing at 100 million EUR hard cap.
Phaidra Uses AI to Boost Industrial Profitability and Reduce Emissions
Phaidra, a pioneer of using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency, stability, and sustainability in the industrial sector, has closed $25M in Series A funding, the company announced today. The funding will allow Phaidra to accelerate deployment of its technology in mission-critical industries, from data centers and refineries to pharmaceutical plants and steel mills.
‘At DeepMind, my co-founders and I saw first-hand how deep reinforcement learning was creating breakthroughs in multiple real-world applications. We started Phaidra to bring the benefits of this technology beyond the tech companies to the industrial sector,’ said Jim Gao, CEO of Phaidra. ‘Robert’s company-building expertise and the Series A raise will go a long way towards achieving our mission of radical resource efficiency.’
Arch Systems secures $15M in new funding led by Two Bear Capital
Arch® Systems today announced $15M in new funding led by Two Bear Capital and joined by new and existing investors including seed lead investor Uncork Capital.
Arch, founded by Stanford engineering PhDs, provides leading electronics and discrete manufacturers with an advanced analytics platform for factory-wide and multi-factory operations. On the manufacturing floor, the technology provides best-in-class operational guidance to improve productivity, quality, and maintenance. Across multiple factories, Arch automates global KPI alignment and delivers enterprises tools to drive data-driven action management both at in-house and contracted factories to maximize overall manufacturing performance.
About the new financing, the Arch CEO said, “This new funding will accelerate our go-to-market motion both in our core area, electronics manufacturing, and in the adjacent area of high-tech manufacturing including defense and medical manufacturing. Two Bear Capital brings incredible expertise and insight into company building in the deep tech and networking space as well as our domain manufacturing markets. This is a rare and exceptional combination of expertise. We are excited to be partnering with them on this next phase.”
Industrial AI enterprise Detect Technologies raises $28mn in Series B funding led by Prosus Ventures
Detect Technologies, a leading AI-based SaaS enterprise, announced today that it raised $28 Mn in primary and secondary funding. Detect Technologies provides cloud-based applications to industries to automate and enhance visibility of industrial risks and improve productivity. Prosus Ventures led this round with significant participation from existing investors Accel and Elevation Capital, and continued support from other existing investors—Shell Ventures, Bharat Innovation Fund and Bluehill Capital.
Detect Technologies has grown rapidly to become a leading industrial AI and SaaS enterprise. The company will utilize this capital to further expand and strengthen its sales and operations across international markets in North America and Europe. Operating in the fast-evolving space of AI, the company has also allocated funds for enriching its product suite.
FORT’s $25MM Series B Funding Accelerates Expansion of its Machine Communications Platform
FORT Robotics (FORT), a pioneer in communications and control for smart machines, today announced the close of a $25 million Series B funding round, led by Tiger Global. The company will use the funds to accelerate the rollout of its machine communications platform, which aims to make autonomous machines safer and more secure.
FORT’s platform technology is the foundation for its hardware solutions, including wireless emergency stops and remote control systems, that are used by industry leaders including Agility Robotics, Hexagon, Moog, and hundreds of others. With the new investment, FORT plans to expand its platform functionality and enhance security offerings to address growing demand from end users.
Booz Allen Ventures to accelerate deployment of commercial tech for federal clients
Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) announced today the formation of Booz Allen Ventures, LLC, a $100 million corporate venture capital arm that furthers the firm’s commitment to invest in strategic dual-use, commercial technologies that will provide federal clients disruptive technology for critical missions. Aligned with client demand and the firm’s VoLT (Velocity, Leadership, Technology) growth strategy, Booz Allen Ventures will invest in early-stage companies and technologies within four core areas of demand: defense, artificial intelligence/machine learning, cybersecurity, and deep technology.
Excited to Announce Aquabyte’s $25M Series B
In 2017, Aquabyte was an idea and a prototype. The prototype was a camera powered by AI and Machine Learning, to capture and analyze images of underwater fish.
So today, five years since that initial prototype in my San Francisco bathtub, I am proud and grateful to announce that we have completed our Series B funding. I am grateful for the commitment of SoftBank Ventures Asia, The Nature Conservancy, Westerly Winds, New Enterprise Associates, Costanoa Ventures, ArcTern Ventures, Alliance Venture, and Struck Capital who are joining us as investors, friends, and true partners.
Hoosun Completes Round D Financing
Li Yuanlin, Chairman and General Manager of Hoosun, spoke about the company’s efforts: “Hoosun will increase its investment in research and development in the future, continue to work on breakthroughs in key technologies for core equipment in the field of micro-nano materials and the process path of material processing, while leading the way in the domestic substitution of new materials and equipment.”
Steelhead Technologies Raises $2.2 Million Seed Round
Steelhead’s software performs as a plant operating system. The platform modernizes and streamlines production environments through digitization, automation and optimization, while uncovering previously unknown data manufacturers can begin to leverage to drive more efficient processes and profitability. Steelhead’s goal is to improve competitiveness and profits of manufacturing in the U.S. Steelhead serves the surface finishing, heat treatment, and additive manufacturing industries, among others including Anchor Bay Powder Coat, Custom Powder Coating and D&K Powder Coating.
Divergent Secures Up to $80M in New Financing for 3D Printed Car Operations
3D printed supercar startup Divergent Technologies announced that it has successfully completed two new financing agreements, for a total of up to $80 million. This follows the Southern California-based company’s $160 million Series C investment round, announced in April of this year.
This signals financial faith being shown not just in the AM sector, but, more broadly, in the technology’s ability to deliver wholly automated production lines. That has significance far beyond its implications for one company, as it is precisely what AM will have to display it can achieve, in order for the industry to scale up to the point where it is capable of handling mass production.
Sortera Alloys Announces $10M Funding Round to Advance End-of-Life Recycling for Automotive Metals
Sortera Alloys, Inc., an innovative industrial scrap metal sorting and recycling company powered by A.I. imagery, data analytics, and advanced sensors, announced $10M in funding led by Assembly Ventures with additional funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Novelis. Sortera is dedicated to providing a solution for end-of-life circular recycling in the aluminum industry.
Sortera’s A.I.-powered technology allows existing streams of mixed alloy aluminum scrap to be separated back into individual alloys. The upgraded metals can then be recycled back into the highest value applications ranging from automotive cast and flat-rolled products to building, construction, and aerospace materials extrusions. The company’s low-cost, scalable production process enables customers to reduce their CO₂ footprint and achieve sustainability and circular production goals due to the fact that recycled aluminum requires roughly 95% less energy to produce than aluminum produced from virgin raw materials.
Flexe Raises $119M as Enterprises Accelerate Flexe Logistics Program Adoption
Flexe, the programmatic logistics leader, announced its $119 million Series D funding round at a $1b+ post-money valuation. The round includes new investments from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and follow-on investment from Activate Capital, Madrona Ventures, Prologis Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. and Tiger Global.
Flexe continues to see accelerated demand for its logistics programs. An uncertain macroeconomic environment, rapidly shifting consumer behaviors, forecast variability and supply chain gridlocks have led retailers and brands to strategically embrace logistics flexibility.
Celus grabs $25M in Series A funding to automate electronic circuit board design
German startup Celus GmbH announced today it has raised $25 million in a new round of funding to help further its goal of using artificial intelligence to streamline printed circuit board development. Today’s Series A round was led by Earlybird Venture Capital and saw participation from DI Capital plus existing investors Speedinvest and Plug and Play.
The startup plans to use the cash from today’s funding round to scale its business and grow more, with a focus on expansion into the U.S. It will also expand its commercial teams and executive leadership. Celus co-founder and Chief Executive Tobias Pohl said the company will open an office in the U.S. in order to position itself in the heart of the electronics industry. “We want to reach every electronics designer out there, enabling them to focus more time on innovation and creativity, while our software reduces the tedious and time-consuming tasks they were dealing with before,” he said.
VulcanForms Announces Capital Raise of $355 Million and Pioneers Industrial-Scale Digital Manufacturing Infrastructure
VulcanForms, a MIT-born company that builds and operates advanced digital manufacturing infrastructure, announced today it has raised $355 million and is valued at over $1 billion. VulcanForms’ investors include Eclipse Ventures, Stata Venture Partners, Fontinalis Partners, D1 Capital Partners, Standard Investments, Atlas Innovate, Boston Seed Capital, Industry Ventures, and the Simkins Family. The company also revealed its first two digital production facilities, in Devens, MA and Newburyport, MA, capturing the full value chain for precision metal components and assemblies.
VulcanForms’ customers include leading companies in the aviation, space, defense, medical, semiconductor, and other critical industries. For instance, the company supplies over a dozen U.S. Department of Defense programs, including the F35 Joint Strike Fighter and Patriot Air Defense System, has delivered thousands of components for the semiconductor industry, and is enabling innovation in medical implants. By combining its breakthrough technology, a data- and simulation-based digital thread, and operational excellence, VulcanForms’ integrated approach allows its customers to innovate faster and produce more without the need to make major capital investments and implement new manufacturing technologies from scratch.
Industrial Next Secures $12M in Pre-A Financing
The leading investors in this round were Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, while co-investors were Xiaomi‘s strategic investment department and Axpfund. The firm’s existing shareholders, MiraclePlus and YC from the US, also joined in the round. The funds will be mainly used for technology R&D, market expansion and other purposes.
Industrial Next is an advanced manufacturing technology services provider dedicated to helping OEMs build their own factories and providing a new generation of production line technology. Its core products include process intelligence technology, MES and MOS (Material Operating System) software, and so on. It hopes to improve, upgrade and popularize the production line technology that has been verified in Tesla, and focuses on serving emerging OEM manufacturers of new energy vehicles around the world.
Geminus.AI Announces the Completion of $5.9M Seed Round Led by Lam Capital and SK Inc.
Geminus.AI, global leader in physics-informed AI, announced completion of $5.9M in seed funding led by Lam Capital, the venture capital arm of a leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer and South Korean industrial conglomerate SK, Inc. Additional investors include SkyRiver Ventures and Sentiero Ventures, who joined existing investors The Hive and Darling Ventures.
HZG Additive Manufacturing Tech Fund reaches €60M investment
HZG Group, a venture capital investor based in Germany, has completed an investment round resulting in €60 million for its HZG Additive Manufacturing Tech Fund, which will support Additive Manufacturing startups, primarily based in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland across all areas of Additive Manufacturing and related industrial fields.
The investment fund was reported to be significantly oversubscribed, initially having an upper limit of €50 million and later increased to €60 million. Following a €25 million investment by HZG Group founders Kerstin Herzog and Frank Carsten Herzog, the remaining funds came from entrepreneurs and other investors.
Nikola Labs Raises Additional Growth Capital to Transform Maintenance in Manufacturing through $29 Million Series A Preferred Round
Nikola Labs announced today that it has received an additional $9 million in Series A Preferred funding, including participation from Standard Investments. The additional capital closes out the Series A Preferred round, giving Nikola Labs over $29 million in fresh capital to pursue growth and raising its total funding to date to $50 million.
BotsAndUs secures $13M in Seed financing led by Lakestar for its warehouse data intelligence platform with autonomous robots
BotsAndUs, a cutting-edge intelligence and robotics company has secured $13m in seed funding to expand its logistics-disrupting solution globally. Lakestar leads the round, with participation from Maersk Growth, Kindred Capital, and Capnamic.
BotsAndUs already won key customers across various industries. In addition to Maersk and Huboo, BotsAndUs works with Menzies Aviation, the air cargo company that services more than 200 airport locations, – including at Europe’s largest airport, London Heathrow. The company recently entered into a partnership with Maersk – the global integrator of container logistics, to collaborate with Maersk’s warehousing and contract logistics division, initially in one of their warehouses, exploring automating inventory management and acceptance processes, and with time to improve customers’ visibility and access to inventory across facilities. With the fresh capital, BotsAndUs is targeting markets including Germany, France, Nordics, USA, and Canada and driving product development.
UVeye Enters into Strategic Collaboration with General Motors to Expand Technology to Global Dealerships
UVeye, a provider of advanced vehicle diagnostic systems, today announced that it has received an investment from the capital venture arm of General Motors, GM Ventures, to help fund the development and commercialization of the company’s vehicle inspection technology.
As part of the strategic collaboration agreement, the two companies have agreed to work on a variety of vehicle-inspection technology projects involving used-car auctions, fleet operations and automotive dealership sales. In the future, UVeye plans to incorporate electric-vehicle and autonomous-driving platforms into its inspection databases as well.
Chinese Battery Giant CATL Raises $6.7 Billion in Share Sale
CATL raised about 45 billion yuan, equivalent to $6.71 billion, in a heavily oversubscribed deal, it said in a filing late Wednesday. CATL, which is based in Ningde, a city in the southeastern province of Fujian, said it would use some of the proceeds to boost production at several locations in China.
Ocado Group successfully raises over £875m to fund future growth plans
Ocado Group is pleased to announce that it has successfully raised over £875m of gross liquidity through an approximately £578m equity placing and a new £300m revolving credit facility (RCF), providing a very healthy liquidity position for the Ocado Group of almost £2.0bn.
This funding secures sufficient liquidity to deliver the requirements of Ocado’s existing and expected customer commitments into the mid-term, with no additional Group financing as the business becomes cash flow positive. This includes funding the Group’s exciting plans to deliver a pipeline of 58 announced Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFCs) to 11 of the world’s leading grocers globally, helping accelerate channel shift online and support over £20bn in partner sales in the medium term. For Ocado Group, fulfilment of these customer commitments underpins a clear path to potential group revenue of £6.3bn+ and group EBITDA of £750m+ in the mid-term.
CloudNC raises $45m to deliver autonomous manufacturing
CloudNC, the company developing advanced software that enables factories to autonomously manufacture precision parts, today announced it has raised $45 million in a Series B round led by Autodesk, with Lockheed Martin and British Patient Capital participating alongside returning investors Atomico and Episode 1 Ventures. The company will use the additional capital to further develop its SaaS offering and roll out at-scale through integrations with CAD/CAM packages such as Autodesk’s platforms, and to expand its unique full-stack manufacturing capability in Essex, United Kingdom.
CloudNC’s technology already provides a significant degree of autonomy. A user can upload a 3D model of any part and, with one click, the software autonomously determines the tools needed, how they will be used and drafts the code to tell a CNC machine how to make it. This software assistance allows factories to be more efficient while upskilling the workforce, since more junior employees are able to operate the machines.
Warehouse automation firm Hai Robotics closes $100M series D funding round
Less than a year after raising $200 million, Chinese warehouse automation firm Hai Robotics has announced a $100 million series D+ funding round. The latest round was led by Capital Today and an undisclosed U.S. fund. Existing shareholders 5Y Capital, Source Code Capital, Sequoia Capital and 01VC also participated. The funding is the third round raised in the past year as the acceleration of warehouse robotics intensifies across the globe. Hai has now raised $315 million, according to Crunchbase, across six total rounds.
“This round of financing will be spent on stepping up the R&D of warehousing logistics robotic systems and on global business expansion, to provide more efficient, intelligent and flexible products to power every warehouse with robots to address labor shortages and cope with the challenges brought by the aging population,” said Richie Chen, the company’s founder and CEO.
Turntide Technologies Exceeds $1 Billion Valuation With $80 Million Fundraise to Accelerate Decarbonization of Buildings, Equipment, and Vehicles
Turntide Technologies (“Turntide”), developer of breakthrough electrification and sustainable operations technologies, today announced it secured $80 million in equity funding, valuing the company over $1 billion, making it one of a handful of climate tech companies to achieve unicorn status in the first half of 2022.
Addressing climate change is more urgent than ever, and we are grateful to work with an investor base that is committed to achieving meaningful, near-term emissions impact,” said Ryan Morris, Chairman and CEO of Turntide. “Even in the face of global economic uncertainty and supply chain upheaval, the market demand for Turntide’s sustainability solutions has enabled us to secure new investments. This capital will accelerate and further scale our efforts to decarbonize the world’s most energy-intensive industries.”
B2B supply chain startup Groyyo raises $40 million in mix of equity and debt led by Tiger Global
Groyyo, a business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing and supply chain enablement company has raised $28 million in equity and $12 million via debt led by Tiger Global. The funding round also saw participation from early investors Alpha Wave Global. Groyyo plans to utilise the funds raised to scale the team across manufacturing clusters in India and Bangladesh and key demand belts in the United States and European Union.
Boeing backed AI Build scoops $3.2M to revolutionise large scale 3D printing industry
The AI SaaS company Ai Build has just recently announced closing a $3.2M funding round. Its platform assists manufacturers in employing the additive manufacturing process to maximise their efficiency. The funding was led by ACT Venture Partners and existing investor SuperSeed. The intelligent software platform makes use of advanced geometrical analysis, real-world data analytics and physics simulations to automatically adapt and optimise the production of parts across different machines in large enterprises.
Announcing Teleo's Series A
Our Series A is led by UP.Partners, with new investors F-Prime Capital and K9 Ventures joining the round. We’re grateful Trucks Venture Capital, who led Teleo’s seed round, has participated again
The biggest challenge facing heavy civil and mining contractors today is shortage of skilled labor. Finding and retaining operators to run heavy equipment, like dozers, excavators, trucks, wheel loaders, and more, is increasingly difficult. To address this problem, Teleo is developing autonomous technology that retrofits contractors’ existing heavy equipment and turns the machines into semi-autonomous robots. Teleo lets construction and mining contractors run their heavy equipment without an operator in the cabin. Instead, Teleo Supervised Autonomy technology enables the operator to control multiple pieces of equipment while sitting at a remote control station — which significantly enhances both safety and productivity.
Nvidia, Ready Robotics Partner to Accelerate Industrial Automation
Nvidia is set to incorporate Ready Robotics’ Forge/OS universal operating system into its Omniverse Isaac Simulator, as part of a wider collaboration between the companies.
Nvidia’s investment, contributed alongside Micron Technology and SIP Global Partners, will allow Ready Robotics to continue developing its Forge/OS platform. The system creates software drivers for digital twins of robots, helping developers such as Epson, Yasawa and Universal Robots trial and monitor units.
Virridy Raises Series A Funding to Accelerate Development and Adoption of IoT Sensors, Analytics for Environmental Markets
Virridy, dedicated to improving the management of environmental resources through technology, today announced it has closed $5.5 million in Series A funding to accelerate the development and adoption of its satellite-connected sensors for managing water, energy, and agricultural resources. The round was led by Accord Capital, with participation from existing investors FHI 360, Cleo Capital, Reverent Rock, Save Earth, and VertueLab. In addition to the funding, Virridy has rebranded from SweetSense to reflect its commitment to enabling high-quality environmental commodities.
Resilience Announces $625 Million Series D Financing to Expand Network, Bring Innovative Technologies to Biomanufacturing
National Resilience, Inc. (Resilience), a technology-focused biomanufacturing company dedicated to broadening access to complex medicines, today announced it has raised $625 million in a Series D financing, in addition to a previously unannounced $600 million Series C financing completed in August 2021.
The company will use the funding to continue to invest in building its infrastructure network through strategic collaborations, acquisitions, organic growth and international expansion, and by developing innovative biomanufacturing technologies to ensure the medicines of today and tomorrow can be made quickly, safely and at scale. Resilience is also investing in advanced R&D, including stable cell lines for viral vector production, distributed manufacturing for autologous cell therapy and cell-free and continuous manufacturing for biologics.
Vendia announces Series B funding
Today we’re excited to announce the latest milestone for Vendia. We’ve raised an additional $30M in Series B funding led by NewView Capital – with new investment from the Neythri Futures Fund, Operator Partners, and Lux Capital. The funding also includes additional investment from Neotribe Ventures, Aspenwood Ventures, Sorenson Capital, Canvas Ventures, and BMW iVentures. This latest round brings our total funding to $50M, and it will help us grow our internal teams, invest in our go-to-market engine, as well as scale partnerships and new areas of compliance certifications.
Everstream raises $24M to conquer supply chain complexity and disruption
With new investor Morgan Stanley Investment Management joining the round and increased commitment from existing investors Columbia Capital, StepStone Group, and DHL, Everstream’s $24M Series A round financing comes on the heels of a significant acceleration in company growth. To date in 2022, we’ve increased our customer base by 550% and welcomed new banner clients, including AB InBev, KIOXIA, Shaw Industries, Whirlpool, and more. The capital raised will propel innovation and further global expansion while we continue to outpace the competition.
Tractian raises $15M Series A for its machine operations platform led by Next47
Tractian, a machine intelligence company offering one of the most advanced industrial monitoring systems on the market, announced $15 million in Series A funding led by Next47, a global venture capital firm specializing in building category-defining B2B technology businesses. YCombinator and other previous investors also participated in the round. The new capital will allow the company to consolidate its position in the global market by extending operations from Brazil to Mexico and the U.S. and continuing rapid development of industry-leading products.
Buildots Raises $60 Million, Expanding AI Solution To Provide Real-Time Knowledge Across The Entire Construction Process
Buildots, which uses AI and computer vision to modernize construction management, today announced a $60 million Series C round mutually led by Viola Growth and Eyal Ofer’s O.G. Tech along with existing investors TLV Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Future Energy Ventures and Maor Investments. Buildots will use the new funds, secured less than a year after the company’s series B raise, to expand its solution to support more workflows within construction teams.
“This funding round is fueling an essential expansion to our product offering, which in the process moves us closer to our vision of connected construction,” said Roy Danon, co-founder and CEO of Buildots. “Facilitating better decision-making for construction teams is a key step in moving the entire industry towards greater collaboration and efficiency.”
Keelvar Raises $24M to Usher in Next Generation of Intelligent Sourcing Technology
Keelvar, a global pioneer of intelligent sourcing and automation solutions, today announced it has raised $24 million in Series B funding to simplify and radically improve procurement, the world’s most inefficient trillion-dollar marketplace. Keelvar’s sourcing technology - which leverages AI, data science and smart sourcing bots that run on autopilot - empowers customers to make crucial supply chain decisions quickly and confidently amidst ongoing change and disruption.
Tignis, a Technology Innovator in AI Process Control Solutions for Semiconductor Manufacturing, Announces $7.2 Million in Series A Funding to Expand Sales Team, Take Company to the Next Level of Growths
Tignis, a technology innovator in AI process control for semiconductor manufacturing, today announced the completion of $7.2 million in Series A Funding led by early-stage venture capital fund DN Capital with participation by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Clear Ventures, former Microsoft Executive/VMware CEO Paul Maritz and former GE Digital CTO Harel Kodesh.
“This funding will accelerate Tignis on its journey of advancing physics-driven AI process control as an enabler of the next generation of semiconductor manufacturing,” said Jon Herlocker, president and CEO of Tignis. “AI Process control will accelerate semiconductor process development, improve efficiency and quality, and enable manufacturing technologies that previously were too complex to model, resulting in production of smaller and more complex chips, faster time to market and improved yield while reducing the cost of operations. In addition, the advancement of AI process control technology in semiconductor manufacturing that Tignis is undertaking is of particular importance to the US market, to re-establish competitiveness and leadership in this industry.”
SkySpecs Accelerates Growth with $80 Million Strategic Investment led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management
SkySpecs, a Michigan-based provider of renewable energy O&M solutions, announced today that it has closed an $80 million strategic capital raise led by the Sustainable Investing business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs) with additional participation from a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and other existing SkySpecs investors including, Statkraft Ventures, Equinor Ventures, Evergy Ventures, UL Ventures and Huron River Ventures. SkySpecs provides service and software solutions to make renewable energy the most efficient power source in the world. The new funding will help SkySpecs accelerate the expansion of their software offerings by leveraging their existing foundation of automated high quality data collection and analytics, as well as grow its geographic footprint in order to advance its mission to optimize renewable performance and help displace fossil fuel generation.or manufacturing that Tignis is undertaking is of particular importance to the US market, to re-establish competitiveness and leadership in this industry.”
Koch Strategic Platforms Leads $102M Series D Funding Investment in 6K To Accelerate Battery Material Production and Recycling
6K, a leader in the sustainable production of engineered materials for lithium-ion batteries and additive manufacturing produced from its UniMelt® plasma technology, announced today it has raised $102 million in its Series D funding first close. The round was led by Koch Strategic Platforms, a subsidiary of Koch Investments Group, an investment arm of Koch Industries, with participation by investors Energy Impact Partners, Albemarle, HG Ventures, as well as participation by 6K’s existing investors. The Series D proceeds will fund production expansion for premium 3D metal powders in its 6K Additive division and accelerate the deployment of cathode production plants in its 6K Energy division.
The $102 million raised is the first of two funding tranches for Series D, which is expected to reach $150 million in total. With an expected close in spring 2022, 6K will add a limited group of strategic investors. 6K is working with partners throughout the supply chain with the intent to build an end-to-end solution, including its partnership with Albemarle for the sustainable production of lithium products, and Heritage/Retriev for the production of cathode from end-of-life batteries. 6K is opening its $30M Battery Center of Excellence in August 2022 and working through site selection for its first 10-20 GWh cathode plant with production launch in early 2024.
Voxel raises $15M for AI-powered workplace safety
Voxel, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered, workplace safety company, has secured $15 million in new funding. The company uses computer vision and AI to identify hazards, risky behaviors and operational inefficiencies across workplaces. Eclipse Ventures led the $15 million series A funding round with MTech and World Innovation Labs’ participation. This latest round of funding brings total equity raised to $18 million.
“We believe computer vision and existing security camera infrastructure are better aligned to improve workplace safety and operations given the larger scope of risks they can identify and the lack of additional hardware requirements,” said Senemar. Down the line, Voxels technology might also help safety planning at the facilities level using simulation and digital twins.
Peak Rock Capital Affiliate Completes Acquisition of Mojix
An affiliate of Peak Rock Capital (“Peak Rock”), a leading middle-market private investment firm, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Mojix Inc. (“Mojix” or the “Company”), a leading supply chain SaaS platform.
Pete Leibman, Managing Director at Peak Rock, said, “Our investment in Mojix will provide significant growth capital to accelerate the Company’s product roadmap and pursue organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Mojix’s track record as a leading item-level inventory management software platform is impressive and we look forward to partnering with management to expand the Company’s technology capabilities, geographic footprint, and core industry verticals.”
ProteanTecs strengthens its AI-enabled chip analytics platform, raises $45M
ProteanTecs, an Israel-based company providing deep data solutions for electronics health and performance monitoring, today announced it raised $45 million. ProteanTecs claims it’s built advanced cloud and edge enterprise solutions that monitor the health and performance of chips powering electronics from design to field.
ProteanTecs says this additional capital will help to accelerate its market reach by expanding its global team, enabling the company to continue to innovate and enhance its product offering. The company also claims it will mark a significant milestone in the company’s growth strategy and builds on its growth equity round. The funding round was solely led by Addition. ProteanTecs was founded in 2017 and has raised almost $200 million since inception.
Pico MES is creating smarter, smaller factories
Pico MES, a manufacturing execution system (MES) software company focused on small and midsize manufacturers, has raised $6.75 million in seed funding. The funds will enable Pico to improve its tools and expands its sales, marketing and development teams. The company has 22 employees currently and is expected to increase by another 30-50% by the year’s end.
MES systems work by capturing data from manufacturing equipment and the individuals involved in the various steps of making a product. These applications are generally oriented to larger enterprises. But 98.6% of manufacturers in the U.S. have fewer than 500 employees and these companies produce over $3 trillion of goods each year. Pico’s software is priced, configured and optimized to meet the needs of these smaller manufacturers.
Dusty Robotics Raises $45M; Announces the Industry’s First Hardware, Software and Services Solution to Eliminate Construction Errors Through Advanced Robotics
Dusty Robotics, a robotic solution provider for the construction industry, announced today that it has closed a $45 million Series B round. The round was led by Scale Venture Partners and joined by returning investors Baseline Ventures, Canaan Partners, Root Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, and Cantos. The company will use these funds to grow its team, expand its product offerings, and accelerate manufacturing with the goal of deploying Dusty products on all construction sites in the U.S.
Dusty’s FieldPrinter™ solution eliminates one of the most common sources of conflict on construction projects: incorrect hand-drawn layout using a chalk line process that was invented 5000 years ago by the early Egyptians. The patented FieldPrinter solution automates the process of taking digital floor plans onto construction sites by printing them full-size on the floor through a combination of hardware, software, and services. This end-to-end solution ensures that all trades build from the same set of plans, eliminating errors, expediting conflict resolution, and significantly reducing the cost and duration of construction.
Vention closes a $95M USD Series C financing
Vention, the leading digital manufacturing automation platform (MAP), announced today the closing of US$95M in Series C financing, led by existing investor, Georgian. New investor Fidelity Investment Canada ULC (certain funds) also joined the round alongside existing investors White Star Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and Bolt Ventures.
Proceeds from Series C financing will be used to grow Vention’s go-to-market, expand the company’s global distribution footprint, and accelerate the development of its hardware and software platform. The company expects to make some of those announcement’s public in September 2022 at its annual product launch event, Vention DemoDay.
Arcadia Raises $200 Million Led by J.P. Morgan's Sustainable Growth Equity Team
Arcadia, the technology company empowering energy innovators to fight the climate crisis, today announced the raise of a $200 million funding round. The round was led by an inaugural investment from J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s (NYSE: JPM) Sustainable Growth Equity Team. The financing will help accelerate the impact of Arcadia’s data and API platform, Arc, by expanding data coverage and new product development to empower companies to monitor, report, and act on their carbon impact.
KINEXON Raises $130M in Funding Round Led by Thomas H. Lee Partners
KINEXON, a leader in connected and automated processes, today announced a successful $130 Million Series A fundraise. Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”), a premier private equity firm investing in growth companies, led the round with co-investments from BMW i Ventures and Telekom Innovation Pool (TIP), Deutsche Telekom’s strategic investment fund. KINEXON will leverage the investment to accelerate the development of its automation technology and to continue its expansion in North America and Europe.
Fictiv Secures $100 Million in Funding to Solve Urgent Supply Chain Risks and Accelerate Time to Market for Product Companies
Fictiv, the leader in high-quality, on-demand manufacturing, today announced the closing of a $100 million Series E funding round. The investment will advance Fictiv’s mission to accelerate product innovation with an expanded focus on decreasing supply chain risk through its best-in-category technology and product experience. This unique combination of benefits helps Fictiv’s customers tackle both the continuous, competitive pressures to innovate faster and address the relentless, daily supply chain disruptions.
The funding round, led by Activate Capital, includes new investors Angeleno Group, Cross Creek, and The Westly Group, and existing institutional investors including Accel, Bill Gates, G2 Venture Partners, and Standard Investments. This Series E brings the total investment in Fictiv to $192 million since its founding in 2013.
Voyage Foods, The Technology Leader Future-Proofing Classic Foods, Announces $36M In Series A Funding
Voyage Foods, the leading food technology company known for re-creating some of our most beloved foods using sustainable ingredients and sourcing practices, today announced a $36M Series A round, bringing total funding to date to $41.7M. The round was co-led by funds managed by UBS O’Connor and Level One Fund, and also included participation from Horizons Ventures, SOSV’s Indie Bio, and Social Impact Capital. The closing of this Series A funding round establishes Voyage Foods as a top competitor in the ethical food market, which is projected to grow to $727.86B by 2025 at an annual rate of 5.8% as consumers demand more accountability from popular brands.
Fictiv Secures $100 Million in Funding to Solve Urgent Supply Chain Risks and Accelerate Time to Market for Product Companies
Fictiv, the leader in high-quality, on-demand manufacturing, today announced the closing of a $100 million Series E funding round. The investment will advance Fictiv’s mission to accelerate product innovation with an expanded focus on decreasing supply chain risk through its best-in-category technology and product experience. This unique combination of benefits helps Fictiv’s customers tackle both the continuous, competitive pressures to innovate faster and address the relentless, daily supply chain disruptions.
The funding round, led by Activate Capital, includes new investors Angeleno Group, Cross Creek, and The Westly Group, and existing institutional investors including Accel, Bill Gates, G2 Venture Partners, and Standard Investments. This Series E brings the total investment in Fictiv to $192 million since its founding in 2013.
Divergent Has Raised $160 million to 3D Print the Cars of Tomorrow
Divergent successfully raised $160 million last week to continue creating automotive parts using additive manufacturing. The company has developed a software solution and automated assembly system, called Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS®), to design almost all the components of a car. The company has chosen SLM Solutions‘ NXG XII 600 machine as its 3D metal printer, and the funds raised should enable it to increase its manufacturing capacity and open new factories in the United States and Europe from 2024.
Aerones raises $9 million in seed funding
Aerones is excited to share an important milestone in its history. We have raised $9 million in seed funding to further accelerate global scaling of robotic wind turbine maintenance and inspection.
The round was led by Future Positive Capital, alongside existing investor Change Ventures. Other investors include Skype founder Jaan Tallinn (through his vehicle Metaplanet), Vinted co-founder Mantas Mikuckas, Printify CEO James Berdigans, Capitalia, Pace Ventures, and EcoSummit.
With its suite of proprietary robots, Aerones inspects and maintains turbines up to six times faster and up to 40% more cost efficiently than humans.
Advanced Ionics Secures $4.2 Million To Enable A New Era For Decarbonization Of Industrial Hydrogen Production
Advanced Ionics, a leading provider of next-generation industrial electrolyzers that can produce hydrogen for less than $1/kg, today announced the closing of its initial financing of $4.2 million led by Clean Energy Ventures, a venture capital firm funding early-stage climate tech innovations, with participation from SWAN Impact Network. By requiring significantly less electricity than other electrolyzers, Advanced Ionics uses low-cost renewables or nuclear energy to produce green hydrogen for less than the current cost of fossil fuel-derived hydrogen. With the funding, Advanced Ionics will accelerate its product development roadmap and scale-up, and implement pilot projects with customers.
Amper raises $11M Series A
Amper, a Chicago-based tech startup that helps manufacturers modernize their operations, has successfully closed an $11M Series A funding round led by Lewis & Clark Ventures, with participation from Foundation Capital, Corazon Capital, Slow Ventures, SOSV, Converge VC and GTMfund. The company will use the financing to expand Amper’s IoT and software tools, with the goal of becoming the leading Factory Operating System for manufacturers.
Battery Analytics Platform TWAICE Announces $30 Million Funding Led by Coatue
TWAICE, a battery analytics company that helps customers in mobility and energy grow safely and sustainably by enhancing the transparency and predictability of batteries, today revealed that it has secured $30 million in additional Series B financing led by global investment firm Coatue. The round extension, which includes personal investment from Lip-Bu Tan and participation from existing investors, builds on TWAICE’s $26 million Series B in May 2021 led by Energize Ventures. The funds will be used to further optimize TWAICE’s cloud analytics platform and expand its presence in Europe and North America, including growing its new Chicago-based office.
InZiv Raises $10M Series A1 to Pioneer the Future of microLED Display Inspection and Repair
InZiv, a leader in high-resolution inspection and repair of microLED, QLED, and OLED displays, today announced that it has raised $10M in a Series A1 round led by BlueRed Partners, a Singapore based venture capital fund. Co-investors include OurCrowd, a number of Asian family offices, and existing investors. InZiv will use the capital to accelerate its product development of fast electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) automated solutions, make strategic company appointments, and expand its global presence with a particular focus on the US and Asia to support growing customer demand. The company has also announced that Yishai Klein, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of BlueRed Partners, and Itzhak Edrei, President Emeritus of Tower Semiconductor, will be joining the Board of Directors.
Convoy Raises $260 Million to Accelerate Digital Freight Transformation
Convoy, the nation’s leading digital freight network, raised $260 million in new funding, comprised of a $160 million Series E preferred equity round led by Baillie Gifford and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., as well as a $100 million venture-debt investment from Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC). The company also secured a new $150 million line of credit from J.P. Morgan. This new funding will enable Convoy to accelerate the development of its efficiency-focused technologies in response to surging customer demand within the nation’s $800 billion trucking industry. With the most recent equity investment, Convoy is valued at $3.8 billion.
Series C Funding Brings the UPSIDE of Meat One (Giant) Step Closer
Our $400 million Series C is the largest round of investment to date in the cultivated meat industry and will help us drive product innovation, partnerships, and the infrastructure needed to make cultivated meat at scale. With this round of funding, we will continue our industry leadership and commercialization push – including building a new commercial facility that will target making tens of millions of pounds of UPSIDE meat every year!
NFW closes $85 million Series B to scale naturally circular materials
Today, we are honored to announce that we have raised $85 million in funding to scale production of high-performance, all-natural, circular materials products coming to market with a wide array of global brand partners. The visionary investors backing our truly circular materials include: Evolution VC Partners, Tattarang,Lewis & Clark AgriFood, Collaborative Fund, AiiM Partners, Engine No.1, Raga Partners, Tidal Impact, Scrum Ventures, Gaingels, BMW i Ventures, Ralph Lauren, Advantage Capital, and Central Illinois Angels.
AmerisourceBergen launches $150M venture fund for emerging healthcare companies
AmerisourceBergen, one of the top pharmaceutical distributors, is investing $150 million in a corporate venture fund focused on healthcare startups. The wholesale giant’s new VC fund, called AB Health Ventures, will initially look to invest in early to midstage health-related startups both in the U.S. and abroad. The fund will prioritize investments in startups focused on innovation in pharmacy and distribution, clinical development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals, practice solutions for healthcare providers and animal health, executives said in a press release.
Tool and Die Software: Our Investment in Atomic Industries
Tool and die making has been one of those stubborn pieces that has yet to find its place in the factory of the future mosaic. This is largely because tool and die making is an outdated, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process that has eluded innovation. With a vision of making mass manufacturing as agile and distributed as software development, Atomic also wants to drive business model innovation by converting tooling from a capital expenditure to an operating expenditure. Focusing first on injection mold design, the team plans to expand into applied automation in fabrication and testing of manufacturing tools. Die casting, stamps, and metal injection molds are also on the roadmap.
$100M to decarbonize corporate and financial organizations
We’re announcing our $73M Series B, bringing our total funding to $100M. But forget the numbers – it’s about who we’re building Sweep with. From the start, my cofounders and I agreed to surround ourselves with the best minds. That’s true for our brilliant team of Sweepers and the choice of investors. Led by global investment firm Coatue, this new round saw the participation of iPod and iPhone inventor Tony Fadell and all our existing investors. It’s a true privilege to build our carbon management platform with the support of respected tech figures in the US and Europe.
Kargo, which powers supply chain visibility with smart loading docks and data, raises $25M
Founded in 2019, Kargo has developed a software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based hardware and software platform that captures and aggregates data from physical loading docks and enterprise software systems — it essentially connects the physical and digital worlds around freight.
Additionally, the company has developed sensor hardware called Kargo Towers, which lean on edge computing and computer vision to capture data on-site — this enables a significant degree of automation, in terms of giving companies a more complete picture of what’s happening on the ground. This includes being able to identify faulty goods, or verify the size and movement of a particular shipment. The sensors’ ability to inspect freight automatically means that unloading time can be reduced by up to 48%, according to the company.
Qualcomm Invests $100 million for Snapdragon Metaverse Fund
Qualcomm announced this week its Snapdragon Metaverse Fund, which boasts a total investment of $100 million meant to support both developers and companies actively producing extended reality (XR) ecosystems as well as the augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies designed to advance the XR experience.
GM Buying Out SoftBank's $2.1 Billion Stake in Cruise Self-Driving Cars
American automaker General Motors announced Friday it is acquiring SoftBank’s $2.1 billion stake in its autonomous car venture Cruise. In addition, GM will chip in another $1.35 billion investment to cover a commitment made in 2018 by the Vision Fund of SoftBank, a Japanese telecom giant. The Detroit firm has ramped up its investments in autonomous technology and its build-out of electric vehicle capacity as it looks to curb emissions and engage in a technology race with Tesla and other self-driving ventures.
Mining technology startup Plotlogic Announces $18M Series A
Deep-tech mining startup Plotlogic, whose mission is to improve mining to make it more sustainable, today announced it has raised an $18 million Series A led by Innovation Endeavors. The round included participation from DCVC, which led Plotlogic’s Seed round. Baidu Ventures and GRIDS Capital reinvested, and new investor Bentley iTwin Ventures also participated. The company plans to use the capital to invest in additional research and development, bolster commercialization, and support Plotlogic’s proprietary OreSense® Technology.
Plotlogic’s first commercial product combines LiDAR, hyperspectral imaging technology and advanced machine learning algorithms to produce real time ore characterization and enhance environmental performance.
CesiumAstro Secures $60 Million In Oversubscribed Series B Funding
CesiumAstro Inc. (“Cesium” or “Company”), a developer of advanced aerospace communication systems, today announced it has secured $60 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round, co-led by Airbus Ventures and Forever Ventures, with strategic participation from L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX). Returning investors include Kleiner Perkins, Lavrock Ventures, Franklin Templeton Blackhorse Fund, and HEICO (NYSE: HEI).
Stellantis Ventures Launches with €300 Million Fund to Propel Innovation Uptake
Stellantis today announced the launch of its first venture capital fund with the creation of Stellantis Ventures. The fund will initially invest €300 million in early and later-stage startup companies developing innovative, customer-centric technologies that could be deployed within the automotive and mobility sector.
Stellantis Ventures will act as a strategic investor and help startups integrate new technologies within the Company in compressed timeframes – allowing the adoption within months versus years. Investments will not only impact Stellantis’ efforts around sustainability, competitiveness, and in-vehicle technology but will also transform customer experiences around vehicle marketing, sales, and finance.
Startup whose A.I. will help track drug runners’ boats gets $5 million in funding
Today, Modern Intelligence, which had been operating in “stealth mode” since its founding in late 2020, announced the completion of a $5 million seed funding round. The investment is being led by Geoff Lewis, the founder and managing partner of Bedrock Capital. Also participating in the funding round are Vine Ventures, a venture capital firm in New York; Air Street Capital, a London-based investment firm that backs startups using A.I.; and Contrary Capital, a venture firm that manages funds from co-founders and early employees of several well-known Silicon Valley successes, such as Airbnb, Facebook-parent Meta, Tesla, and SpaceX.
Modern Intelligence also said that it has been selected to test its maritime surveillance technology this summer at the U.S. Navy’s Naval Special Warfare’s Trident Specter exercises—which are designed to pilot emerging technologies that might be able to help U.S. Navy’s special operations forces. Modern has been developing its software partly with input from the U.S. military’s Southern Command and its Joint Interagency Task Force South, based in Key West, Fla., which is responsible for combating drug and people trafficking in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
The Untitled Ventures Bets on Green Hydrogen With Its Fresh Investment in Naco
Naco Technologies is on a mission to empower this shift by providing a full spectrum from nano-coating solutions to manufacturing of coated components for electrolyzers and fuel cells. Naco has a unique and hard-to-copy solution that is designed in a way that it uses 10 times fewer amounts of materials, decreasing the electrolyzer and fuel cell stack cost by 30-50%. Equipment based on the Naco designed magnetron system is also more compact and productive if compared to similar competitive solutions.
Menlo Micro Announces $150 Million in Series C Funding as Ideal Switch Technology Accelerates the Electrification of Everything
Menlo Microsystems, Inc. (Menlo Micro), the company responsible for reinventing the electronic switch with its Ideal Switch™ technology, announced today its $150 million Series C, bringing Menlo Micro’s total cumulative funding to over $225 million. Vertical Venture Partners and Tony Fadell’s Future Shape led the round with participation from new investors Fidelity Management & Research Company, DBL Partners and Adage Capital Management along with existing investors, Standard Investments, Paladin Capital Group, Piva Capital, and PeopleFund.
Menlo Micro will use the funding to expand the company’s domestic manufacturing and supply chain for the Ideal Switch, the most disruptive technological innovation in the electronics industry since the advent of the transistor.
$73 M Series C Funding Will Bring Infrastructure Into the 21st Century
Gecko Robotics, a leader in robotics and industrial asset management software, today announced their Series C funding round of $73 million, led by XN with participation from Founders Fund, XYZ, Drive Capital, Snowpoint Ventures, Joe Lonsdale, Mark Cuban, Gokul Rajaram, and others. This latest funding round accelerates Gecko’s stated mission, “To protect today’s critical infrastructure, and give form to tomorrow’s.”
Co-founded by Jake Loosararian (CEO) and Troy Demmer (Chief Product Officer), Gecko focuses on essential industries such as power generation, oil and gas, heavy manufacturing, and defense. Gecko’s robots capture data at previously unheard-of scale and fidelity, climbing pipelines, boilers, tanks, ship hulls, and much more in search of damage, no matter how subtle. Gecko’s software, in turn, enables human experts to contextualize that data and translate it into action.
Supply chain specialist Cloudleaf rebrands as ParkourSC, lands funding
One of the software-as-a-service packages being deployed is made by real-time supply chain operations platform-maker Cloudleaf, which today announced two things: a strategic rebrand under the name ParkourSC, and the closing of a $26 million investment led by Cota Capital, including former executive chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems John Chambers, the current founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures.
Eight-year-old ParkourSC specializes in digital transformation, manufacturing and the pharmaceutical industry. Its real-time platform creates a digital twin of the supply chain and processes billions of events per second to produce diagnostic and predictive insights for location, condition, utilization and anomaly detection. The service can be added to an enterprise system without the need to make costly changes to existing technologies and infrastructure, CEO Mahesh Veerina told VentureBeat via email.
Aether Raises $18 Million Series A Led by Helena
Aether Diamonds (“Aether”), creators of the world’s first diamonds made from atmospheric carbon, today announced the completion of an $18 million Series A funding round led by global problem-solving organization, Helena. The round was co-led by TRIREC, with participation from SOUNDWaves (the sustainability-focused investment vehicle from Sound Ventures, founded by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary), Khosla Ventures, and Social Impact Capital.
RightHand Robotics Secures $66 Million in Series C Funding
RightHand Robotics, a leader in data-driven, autonomous robotic picking solutions for order fulfillment, announces today that it has secured $66 million in a Series C financing led by top growth investors: Safar Partners, a technology venture fund; Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P. (“THL”), a leading investor in automation and supply chain; and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which is part of the SoftBank Group. Zebra Technologies, Epson and Global Brain also join this round, along with previous investors GV, F-Prime Capital, Menlo Ventures, Matrix Partners and Tony Fadell’s Future Shape. Previous rounds were led by Menlo Ventures and Playground Global.
RightHand Robotics intends to use the funds to accelerate product and business development, while scaling its global presence and partner network. The company will also expand its offices and invest in talent acquisition to support overall growth plans.
Rios, a startup developing robots that can grasp objects, has raised $28M
Rios today announced that it raised $28 million in a series A funding round led by Main Sequence with participation from Yamaha Motor Ventures, Orbit Venture Partners, Hypertherm Ventures, Morpheus Ventures, Grit Ventures, Valley Capital Partners, and others, bringing the startup’s total raised to more than $33 million.
Founded in 2018 by former Xerox PARC engineers CEO Bernard Casse, Christopher Lalau-Keraly, Christopher Paulson, Clinton Smith, and Matthew Shaffer, San Francisco, California-based Rios develops and deploys robots to factory assembly lines and warehouses to automate supply chain and logistics operations. As a business, the company provides what it calls “factory automation-as-a-service” for brands across manufacturing, food services, agriculture, and biochemical, offering a subscription-based product to mechanize individual manufacturing lines.
Instrumental Secures $50m In Series C Funding To Expand Manufacturing Optimization Solutions
Instrumental Inc., the leader in manufacturing optimization software, today announced it closed $50 million in Series C financing, led by BAM Elevate, with Canaan, Root Ventures and Eclipse Ventures as return investors. Instrumental Inc. will use the funds to expand research and development for new products and make critical hires in engineering and go-to-market teams.
Anvyl Funding Tops $31M, Transforms Supply Chain Technology Market
With this funding round Anvyl is actively hiring to double its team to include software engineers, designers and product managers. Anvyl will continue to scale out its one of a kind machine learning and AI capabilities to help brands see around the corner and prevent issues across their global SC.
Micropsi raises $30M to retrain industrial robots using human demonstrations
Micropsi claims that, using AI, MIRAI can generate robot movements in real time — dealing with variations in position, color, and lighting conditions. It can also be trained and retrained for various process steps, the company says, including detecting leaks in machinery, screwing screws and inserting cables into products, and sorting objects on the assembly line.
“Data is generated by giving demonstrations, the rest is done by MIRAI in the background — it takes [about] 30 minutes of demonstrations and between one and three hours of number-crunching time in the cloud to create a new skill from scratch,” Vuine explained. “Users learn how to create good datasets by iterating their skills: Record some data, see the robot perform, add some more data to address weaknesses, and after three or four iterations, a very robots skill has been created. No one at Micropsi Industries needs to understand the use case, and no one on the customer side needs to understand the machine learning.”
Q5D Technology is excited to announce a $2.5m seed investment in order to take its technology and business to the next stage
Chrysalix Venture Capital, is based in Vancouver, British Columbia and Delft in the Netherlands, and has an excellent track record in hard tech investments, SOSV a Silicon Valley investor who invested pre-seed funds into Q5D and mentored the company through its hardtech startup program HAX, and finally the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund LP who specialise in seed investment in the UKs most innovative companies.
This funding will help Q5D refine the technologies to automatically manufacture wiring harnesses. The resulting harness can be lighter, easier to maintain and include the CAE benefits of optimised structural design. The harness will be integrated into existing surfaces or built around structures which can be assembled by robots.
Israeli startup Vanti Analytics raises $16M to unlock AI at scale for manufactures
Vanti’s AI platform “provides a first of its kind, end-to-end offering overseeing the entire AI lifecycle – from raw data to development and maintenance of models.” The company provides automated machine-learning products created to help manufacturers without data science backgrounds enable production line optimization, while simultaneously maintaining high-quality standards. Vanti’s technology has been adopted by major manufacturers such as Seagate and Flex and they plan to use the new funding to “fuel growth, expand globally and invest in the company’s next generation of AI technology”.
Vecna Robotics raises new capital as the warehouse automation industry grows
Vecna claims it can automate the process of unloading materials from an incoming truck into outbound trailers, vans, or rail cars. Its robots are designed to gather full cartons or boxes of products and group and package related items together as one unit, delivering materials to assembly lines and moving products to fulfillment operators who pick what’s needed.
All of Vecna’s robots are managed through the company’s Pivotal software, which handles firmware updates and analytics. With Pivotal, warehouse workers can view “pick lists” containing product images and other information and corral the robots based on their location, availability, and more.
o9 Solutions Raises $295 Million From Strategic Investors to Continue its Growth Across Industry Verticals & Markets
o9 Solutions, a leading enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming planning and decision-making speed and quality in companies across industry verticals, today announced that it has received equity investments totaling $295 million from General Atlantic, including BeyondNetZero, its climate investing venture, Generation Investment Management, a pure-play sustainability investment manager, and existing investor KKR. This significant investment will help o9 build on its momentum and accelerate growth for its AI-powered Integrated Business Planning platform it calls the “Digital Brain” across industry verticals and markets. It will also help o9 drive continued innovation in R&D, industry knowledge models and partner ecosystem development that will help companies implement o9’s game-changing platform faster and realize greater value.
Announcing Verusen’s $25M Series B Funding
Verusen announced its Series B Funding of $25 Million and we welcomed a new investor, Scale Venture Partners as an addition to our Board and team. The news comes on the heels of our Series A and the event marks an exciting time in our history (to say the least). In just one year, we have tripled our customer base, achieving 10X growth. We have established new headquarters in Atlanta’s Tech Square, and our wonderful offices in #SupplyChainCity give us the location and space to move faster than ever before.
Austin's SparkCognition raises $123 million, tops $1 billion in value
SparkCognition has developed machine-learning technology to predict when a customer’s systems might fail or be hacked. The technology works by modeling physical and virtual assets and continuously learning from the data. The company has clients in industries including defense, finance, manufacturing, automotive, telecommunications and energy. Customers include Boeing, Hitachi High-Technologies and Aker BP.
Seurat Technologies Raises $21M to Decarbonize Manufacturing
Seurat has already secured seven letters of intent to join its commercialization program from the world’s largest automotive, aerospace, energy, consumer electronics, and industrial companies, and expects to launch its first commercial programs this year. The additional funding will be used towards building Seurat’s production-grade system which is targeted to produce parts at $300/kilogram — comparable to parts produced by machining. By 2025, Seurat anticipates lowering manufacturing cost to $150/kilogram, which is comparable to castings. As Seurat grows, its tech will make the $1 trillion metal manufacturing market fully accessible to additive manufacturing.
Apprentice Raises $100 Million to Adapt Pharma Supply Chains to the Omicron Variant
Apprentice, the company helping pharma manufacturers get medicine to patients faster, announced today that it raised $100 million in Series C funding led by new investor Alkeon Capital Management, with repeat participation from Silverton Partners, Insight Partners, Pacific Western Bank, and new investment by Colorcon Ventures. The company will use the capital to help pharma manufacturers harden their supply chains to keep making patient-critical drugs and adapt vaccines to meet the evolving strains of COVID-19.
Formic Technologies Raises $26.5 Million Series A Led By Lux Capital
Formic Technologies, a provider of turnkey robotic solutions to American manufacturers, has raised $26.5 million in a Series A financing led by Lux Capital with participation from Initialized Capital, Correlation Ventures, Lorimer Ventures, One Planet VC and other strategic investors. In addition, Formic has secured access to more than $100 million of debt capital to fund equipment purchases. This financing will enable the company, now valued at more than $100 million, to expand its operations and support the rapid deployment of its Robots-as-a-Service offering for U.S. manufacturers.
Industrial robotics company Exotec raises $335M to ‘improve supply chain resilience’
Exotec, a French robotics company used by some of the world’s biggest retailers and enterprises, has raised $335 million in a series D round of funding at a $2 billion valuation. Founded out of Lille in 2015, Exotec has created autonomous industrial robots called Skypods that move horizontally and vertically, constituting part of a broader “goods-to-person” picking system that promises to improve companies’ productivity while also alleviating human works from physical exertion.
Nuro raises $600 million in Series D funding
This $600 million financing will support the development and deployment of Nuro’s autonomous delivery service in communities across the country. Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president, says: “We’re thrilled to have the backing of these prominent investors and world class companies, and honored that they support our vision of improving communities and revitalizing local commerce. “We believe this investment will allow us to accelerate our commercialization strategy and better everyday life with Nuro’s technology.”
ReelData AI Announces $8M USD Series A Round
ReelData AI (“ReelData”), a company leveraging AI to provide customized data and automation to land-based farmers, today announced it has closed an US$8M Series A funding round led by Buoyant Ventures. Additional investment was also provided by S2G Ventures and The Nest Family Office. Funding will be used to advance the company’s vision to bring the world’s most sustainable aquaculture practices to the mainstream.
ReelData’s first product on the market – ReelAppetite – identifies real-time population appetite and adjusts feed levels accordingly to maximize biomass while limiting waste. This technology has helped save companies up to $2-3 million USD on wasted feed per 10,000 MT annual production – in addition to related savings generated from increased growth rate and reduced production risks.
Releaf Secures $3.3m Funding To Drive Manufacturers’ Profitability
Releaf, a technology company that makes it easier for consumer goods manufacturers in Africa to access high-quality ingredients for their factories, has raised $3.3 million in an oversubscribed Pre-Series A funding round.
The seed funding will enable the development of industrial food processing technology in Nigeria’s smallholder-driven Oil Palm sector while the grant will enable Releaf to provide working capital and other value-added services for smallholders and small-scale processors. Grant funding will support the training, recruitment and retention of more women and youth in Nigeria Oil Palm sector through the creation of both digital and technical jobs.
Worlds announces $21 million Series A1 funding round to scale Industrial Metaverse platform
Worlds Enterprises, Inc., creators of a new 4D infrastructure for building the Industrial Metaverse, announces the successful completion of its $21.2 million Series A1 funding round. The round is led by Moneta Ventures with key participation from existing investors Align Capital, Green Park & Golf Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Piva Capital, PerotJain, and Capital Factory. The funding will be used to continue investing in the Company’s AI platform, expand key go-to-market partnerships, and further expand the adoption of Worlds’ technology by industrial companies.
The Worlds Industrial Metaverse platform brings AI-based automation directly into the ground floor operations of large industrial companies. IoT sensors, people, and processes all come together inside a live digital twin that organizations can use to measure and reimagine their operations in ways that were previously impossible.
Citrine Informatics Raises $16M in Series C Financing
Citrine Informatics, the leading provider of artificial intelligence software for materials, chemicals, and manufactured product development, announced the successful close of a $16 million Series C funding round. The round was led by Prelude Ventures and Innovation Endeavors, with participation from Drive Catalyst (Far Eastern Group), Alumni Ventures, ISAI Cap Venture, Presidio Ventures, and others.
This latest round of funding will be used to further accelerate the growth and development of Citrine’s AI-driven materials and chemical design platform, which is already in use by leading companies across materials, chemicals, formulated products, and manufacturing industries to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their product development processes.
Foxglove Raises $3.7M to Build Better Developer Tools For Robotics
Developing and debugging robots today can be difficult, manual, and painfully time-consuming. At Foxglove, we’re on a mission to accelerate robotics development by bringing powerfully flexible, user-extensible, and fully integrated developer tools to the industry.
Today, we’re excited to announce that Foxglove has raised $3.7M in seed funding led by Amplify Partners. These funds will help our team make valuable progress towards our long-term mission – accelerating development for all the potentially world-changing robotics projects out in the wild today.
Seven-figure investment for NODE Robotics.
The first round of financing and thus a decisive step on the way to autonomous intralogistics at NODE now has been completed. In order to guarantee the further growth of the company a team was put together with FTTF, Schauenburg Ventures, Plug and Play Tech Center as well as other private investors that will take the next steps with NODE towards the factory of the future.
For example, the networks on the industry and finance side should continue to be expanded in order to be able to accelerate growth even more. In addition, the right mix of operational support and strategic input and, of course, the money needed to be able to secure the financing of the staff expansion in the next quarters is being relied on for the current challenges.
Samotics Completes Series A Funding Round to Lead Fight Against Industrial Energy Waste
Samotics, a leading provider of real-time actionable insights to eliminate industrial energy waste and unplanned downtime, has completed a EUR 14.5 million Series A funding round. The round was led by 83North, a global venture capital firm with a proven track record in building category leaders across multiple domains including Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.
Announcing our $14m Series A
This funding will allow us to significantly grow our team and accelerate the development of the ION platform. More workflows to support complex manufacturing and assembly coordination. This includes managing and understanding equipment and tools used in operation as well as connecting parts with barcode scanning. Connect the supply chain – from parts planning, purchasing, inventory management, and traceability into operations. We will continue rolling out ION Autoplan to more manufacturers as a data-driven solution for supply chain planning. Empower engineers with APIs and SDKs. We believe that the future of the factory will be connected with automation and code, and we are going to empower developers to extend the factory to be more connected, automated, and data-powered.
ArcelorMittal expands partnership with carbon capture and re-use specialist LanzaTech through US$30 million investment
ArcelorMittal (‘the Company’) today announces it has made a US$30 million investment in carbon recycling company, LanzaTech through its XCarb™ innovation fund, the fourth investment the Company has made through the fund since its launch in March 2021.
The investment further expands ArcelorMittal’s relationship with LanzaTech, which commenced in 2015 when the Company first announced plans to utilise LanzaTech’s carbon capture and re-use technology at its plant in Ghent, Belgium. The €180 million Carbalyst® plant – ArcelorMittal’s flagship carbon capture and re-use technology project - is currently under construction, with commissioning expected before the end of 2022. Also known as the Steelanol project, funding has been obtained from various sources, including from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program, the European Investment Bank and the Belgian and Flemish governments.
Claroty Advances Mission to Secure All Cyber-Physical Systems with $400 Million Funding and Acquisition of Medigate
Claroty today announced the next step forward in its mission to secure all cyber-physical systems (CPS) across industrial, healthcare, and enterprise environments – the Extended Internet of Things (XIoT) – by raising $400 million in Series E funding and entering an agreement to acquire Medigate, a leading healthcare IoT security company. The round brings the company’s total funding to $635 million, making it the most well-funded cybersecurity company in the industrial (OT), healthcare (IoMT), and enterprise IoT sectors.
NavVis adds fresh funding to fulfill its mission to digitize commercial buildings and assets
NavVis is a global leader in end-to-end solutions for reality capture and digital twins. The company is on a mission to bridge the gap between the physical and digital world by enabling immediate access to building information, anytime, anywhere. The NavVis product offering includes the world’s most advanced reality capture solution, which allows for rapid digitization of buildings and assets, and cloud-based digital twin software for the manufacturing and construction sector.
NavVis announced today that they have received 25€m of fresh equity funding that complements the recent 20€m debt funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB), raising the total investment to 85€m. The round was led by Cipio Partners, with additional capital from previous investors, BayBG, MIG, Target Partners, Digital+ Partners, and Kozo Keikaku Engineering, making NavVis one of the best-funded deep tech startups in Europe.
Spoiler Alert Raises $11 Million to Accelerate Waste Prevention Efforts in the CPG Industry
Spoiler Alert will use this latest round of funding to continue expanding its team and solution offering. This includes investments in platform enhancements to move more inventory through diversified channels, as well as go-to-market efforts to support product category diversification. “Many Americans continue to depend on discount retail to fight food and hygiene insecurity,” said Ricky Ashenfelter, Spoiler Alert’s co-founder and chief executive officer. ”I am very proud of what our team has built so far, and we look forward to empowering brands and retailers to continue building loyalty with cost- and climate-conscious consumers.”
Sierra Space Secures Record $1.4 Billion Series A Growth Investment and Achieves $4.5 Billion Valuation
Sierra Space aims to build the future of space transportation, commercial space destinations and infrastructure, and enabling technologies that will help to build a vibrant, growing commercial space economy. As the LEO economy reaches a critical inflection point – driven by the convergence of the increasing commercialization of space, renewed public interest and defense considerations – Sierra Space is developing foundational infrastructure to support this growing ecosystem. By opening up affordable access to space, Sierra Space hopes to enable existing businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers and governments to create exciting breakthroughs that can empower humanity to begin new civilizations in space and benefit life on Earth.
Machina Labs Exits from Stealth with Series A, Bringing Total Raised to $16.3 Million
Machina Labs, a pioneer in advanced manufacturing through robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), today emerged from stealth and announced it has closed a Series A round of financing, bringing the total raised to $16.3 million. Innovation Endeavors led the round with participation from Congruent Ventures and Embark Ventures. The funds will be used to significantly grow Machina’s team in Los Angeles and to expand its R&D and manufacturing capacity to meet rapidly increasing customer demand.
“Manufacturing must be reinvented to keep up with the pace of change in this highly competitive market,” said Edward Mehr, Machina Labs CEO and co-founder. “We’re excited to finally reveal Machina Labs’ manufacturing platform, which combines the latest advances in robotics and AI to democratize access to rapid manufacturing so that anyone with a great idea can manufacture parts quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. These software-defined, robotic facilities are the factories of the future, and we’re thrilled to have our investors on board to help us get there.”
Our Series A Funding: What It Means for Our Partners, Customers, and SVT Team
The need for flexible supply chains, now more than ever, has created a market that intensely needs automation - and a way to rapidly integrate and orchestrate it. This Series A funding ensures we’ll continue to provide a tailwind for software companies, robot companies, retailers, manufacturers, and integrators to bring their products to market and embrace more technologies more quickly and with less risk.
Gradiant Raises $225 Million to Accelerate Business Expansion
Gradiant, a leading global end-to-end cleantech water treatment solutions provider and projects developer, today announced it has raised over $100 million in Series C funding. The round was led by financial and strategic partners Warburg Pincus and Schlumberger New Energy and was oversubscribed from its initial target of $65 million. The round brings Gradiant’s total funding to date to over $200 million since inception.
The funding will enable Gradiant to further expand into strategic markets and industries; finance the equity contribution into new project assets; accelerate the deployment of Gradiant’s innovation and technology offerings; and strategically acquire complementary and synergistic companies in cleantech water and sustainability. The company plans to grow its business in key sectors such as food and beverage, microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, and mining, from its already established geographies in the Asia Pacific, the United States, and the Middle East.
Augmentir Raises $7.5M in Oversubscribed Series A to Advance AI-based Performance Support for the Industrial Workforce
Augmentir, Inc., the world’s only artificial intelligence-based connected worker software provider, today announced that it has secured $7.5 million in Series A financing. This new funding will enable Augmentir to grow its team and to expand its leadership position in delivering performance support for industrial frontline workers. The Series A was led by Gardner Lewis Asset Management along with other key investors Lerer Hippeau, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and HOLT Ventures.
The company will use funds to expand its leadership position in AI-based performance optimization and workforce development for the industrial frontline workforce.
Landing AI Secures Funding to Unlock Power of Small Datasets, Unleashing Next Era of AI
Landing AI, led by artificial intelligence visionary, Andrew Ng, developed LandingLens™, a fast, easy to use enterprise MLOps platform. It applies AI and deep learning to help manufacturers solve visual inspection problems, find product defects more reliably, and generate business value.
“You don’t always need big data to win with AI. You need good data that teaches the AI what you want it to learn,” said Ng, Founder & CEO of Landing AI. “AI built for 50 million data points doesn’t work when you only have 50 data points. By bringing machine learning to everyone regardless of the size of their data set, the next era of AI will have a real-world impact on all industries.”
The data-centric approach of Landing AI is also key to making LandingLens fast and easy-to-use. The process of engineering the data, instead of the AI software, gives an efficient way for manufacturers to teach an AI model what to do. Domain experts, not just AI experts, can now build an AI system, and take it to production. For example, rather than needing to write pages of code to train a neural network, a domain expert can do it with a few mouse clicks. This no code/low code data-centric platform enables new users to build advanced AI models in less than a day. Vision inspection projects that used to take over a year can be executed in just weeks using LandingLens.
SimScale raises €25M for its SaaS engineering simulation platform from Insight Partners, Draper Esprit, others
David Heiny, co-founder and CEO of SimScale, explains, “Our vision is to make engineering simulation a standard tool in every engineer’s tool kit, and accessible early in the design stage, throughout the entire R&D cycle, and across teams, applications and industries. With hundreds of thousands of users and millions of simulation jobs carried out, we’ve made significant progress towards it in recent years.”
However, Heiny continues, “there are still entire industry sectors that we haven’t started addressing yet, and billions of dollars in CAE market value left untapped. This additional investment allows us to double-down on our strategy and accelerate our pace at which we extend SimScale’s offering.”
Soli Organic™ Announces $120 Million Financing Arrangement with Decennial Group to Expand Certified Organic Controlled Environment Agriculture
Soli Organic Inc. (“the Company”), formerly known as Shenandoah Growers, Inc., the nation’s only soil-based, controlled environment agriculture company delivering 100% USDA certified organic produce to more than 20,000 retail stores nationwide, today announced a $120 million financing arrangement with leading real estate development firm Decennial Group.
The arrangement with Decennial Group is a key component of the Company’s strategy to further expand production capacity to meet growing demand. The Company intends to build eight new farms, in addition to its seven farms in operation today. The Decennial Group financing will support construction of three of the eight planned facilities. Each 100,000 square foot facility will have an annual production capacity of 5 million pounds. The Company recently broke ground on the first facility financed through Decennial Group, which is located in Anderson County, South Carolina, and is anticipated to be operational by Q2 2022.
Augury Raises $180M To Become One of the First Industry 4.0 Unicorns
The new investment and valuation is a validation of the emerging Machine Health category, of which Augury is the pioneer and leader. Machine Health uses the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence to predict and prevent industrial machine failures and improve machine performance. Machine Health allows manufacturers to reduce downtime, increase production capacity and productivity, optimize the cost of industrial asset care and accelerate their digital transformation.
Augury’s customers include some of the world’s top manufacturers, including Colgate-Palmolive, PepsiCo, Hershey’s, ICL and Roseburg. The company’s Machine Health solutions deliver an ROI of 3x-10x for customers, with programs paying for themselves within months.
SafetyChain Software Receives $50 Million Strategic Growth Investment from JMI Equity
SafetyChain Software, the leading cloud-based plant management software solution for manufacturers, today announced that it has received a $50 million minority growth investment from JMI Equity (“JMI”), a growth equity firm focused on investing in leading software companies. With the additional capital SafetyChain will continue to advance its market leadership positions in food and beverage and consumer packaged goods while also accelerating the growth of several key expansion initiatives.
RightHand Robotics raises $19M for robotic piece-picking
The new funding will likely be used to help scale RightHand’s business. In April 2021, RightHand introduced its RightPick 3 item-handling robot. Designed from the ground up, RightPick 3 features a modular, industrialized hardware design, software APIs and international compliance. The system is designed to be used in a variety of applications, including AS/RS, sorter induction, auto-bagger, kitting and more.
UnaBiz Raises US$25 Million in Series B Funding Led by SPARX Group
UnaBiz, Singapore-based massive Internet of Things (IoT) service provider, has raised over US$25 million in its Series B funding round led by SPARX Group. The round was oversubscribed, with participation from CDIB, G K Goh and Thaioil.
The fresh funds will be used to strengthen the scaleup’s foothold in strategic regions such as Japan, South-East Asia and EMEA via local offices and M&A operations, and to sustain the growth trajectory of UnaConnect, the company’s latest data platform offering that aims to bridge the glaring gap between fragmented IoT data collection technologies and enterprise systems.
Shapeways is officially a Publicly-Traded, AM Company via Merger with Galileo Acquisition Corp.
Following the business combination and related PIPE investment, Shapeways will receive $103 million of gross proceeds, including a $75 million fully-committed common stock PIPE anchored by top-tier investors including Miller Value, XN, and Desktop Metal. The PIPE also includes investments from existing Shapeways investors Lux Capital, Union Square Ventures, INKEF Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. Proceeds will be used primarily to accelerate the Company’s additive manufacturing capabilities, accelerate the rollout of its SaaS offering, expand its material and technology offerings to extend market reach and grow customer share of wallet, as well as to provide additional working capital.
Hai Robotics picks up $200M for its warehouse robot
Hai Robotics, a Shenzhen, China-based warehouse robotics startup that develops autonomous, case-handling robotic (ACR) system, announced it has raised $200 million. The funding comes from two separate equity rounds, a Series C and Series D, which are being disclosed simultaneously.
Its Series C funding was led by 5Y Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital China, Source Code Capital, VMS, Walden International and Scheme Capital while the Series D round was led by Capital Today along with existing investors including Sequoia Capital China, 5Y Capital, Source Code Capital, Legend Star and 01VC.
The latest fundings, which come after its $15 million Series B+ round in March this year, will be used to bolster its robot fleet with technological upgrades, penetrate further to the global market, hire talent and support its supply chain management.
LuxWall Receives Funding Led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Prelude Ventures
LuxWall, Inc., a provider of vacuum insulated glass (VIG) solutions designed to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the built environment, today announced completion of a company financing. Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Prelude Ventures led the round with participation from Baruch Future Ventures.
Battery Resourcers Secures $70 Million in New Funding
Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company, today announced the closing of its latest mid-round funding totalling $70 million. The company will use this latest funding round to advance and expand the industry’s most sustainable, cutting-edge closed loop material production technology that accepts mixed input of scrap batteries and end of life batteries to produce cathode material. In response to increased demand for sustainable battery production, Battery Resources will also expand commercial plants that will be operational in the U.S. and in Europe by the end of 2022.
Hitachi Ventures became the newest investor to join the world-class syndicate of strategic and financial investors already backing Battery Resourcers’ approach and technology. Existing investors include Orbia Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, Doral Energy, At One Ventures, TDK Ventures and Trumpf Ventures.
Evolve Additive Solutions Secures Additional $30M in Funding
Evolve Additive Solutions (“EAS”) announces that 3D Ventures and its affiliates have agreed to a $30 million growth equity financing in the company. EAS will use these funds to accelerate commercial sales of its SVP (scaled volume production) platform in the U.S., Europe, and Canada. This fundraising follows a period of growth in which Evolve has meaningfully expanded its product portfolio over the past 6 months.
In 2018 Evolve received $25 million in investment capital from Stanley Black and Decker, The LEGO Group and Stratasys. 3D Ventures broadens Evolve’s portfolio of partners to include both strategic and financial groups.
aPriori Raises $30 Million Series D Investment to Further Capitalize on Strong Demand for Digital Manufacturing Solutions
aPriori Technologies, the leading provider of digital manufacturing software featuring design for manufacturability (DFM) and cost (DTC) solutions, announces today that the company has recently completed a Series D investment round of $30 million. Co-led by Bruce Clarke of PBJ Capital and Gaurav Tewari of Omega Venture Partners, the investment brings the valuation for the company to $280 million.
“Cost Insight Design and Cost Insight Generate are just the first in a series of collaborative cloud-based applications that we are bringing to market. This new investment will be used to hire additional staff to further accelerate the development of this suite of role-based cloud applications for engineering, sourcing, and supplier teams,” said Stephanie Feraday, aPriori President and Chief Executive Officer. “The investment will also help to expand the company’s sales and marketing organizations to enable broader penetration of the global manufacturing market, their supply chains, and government organizations such as the Department of Defense.”
Fractory Raises $9M to Rethink Manufacturing Supply Chain Metalworks
Founded in Estonia but now based in Manchester, England — historically a strong hub for manufacturing in the country, and close to Fractory’s customers — Fractory has built a platform to make it easier for those that need to get custom metalwork to upload and order it, and for factories to pick up new customers and jobs based on those requests. Fractory’s Series A will be used to continue expanding its technology and bringing more partners into its ecosystem.
InUse Raises €2.4 Million in Series A
Founded in 2015 by Laurent Couillard, the company’s managing director, and Etienne Droit, the president, InUse is a startup specialized in the manufacturing sector. Publisher of an IoT SaaS platform, this solution allows manufacturers to meet two fundamental challenges that are the performance optimization of their industrial equipment and the reduction of the environmental impact of their plants. Indeed, thanks to the real-time collection and interpretation of data from the machines, the integrated IoT platform delivers information that allows to control production performance, identify malfunctions, anticipate breakdowns and reduce the waste of materials and natural resources. It is an eco-efficient solution. Today, InUse has more than 20 customers and the platform is deployed in 150 plants in Europe, North America and Japan.
Green Tech Start-Up ColloidTek Raises 2.8M€ Of Venture Funding To Help Factories Optimize Their Liquid Processes
Collo improves the performance of industrial liquid processes by helping the customer to make smarter decisions with up-to-date, easy-to-understand and real-time information of the process liquid. The Collo analyzer is installed directly into the process line, where it measures the process liquid continuously, bringing eyes inside the process. The Collo technology creates a real-time electromagnetic fingerprint of the measured liquid with high sensitivity to changes in the chemical composition or phases in the liquid. By accurately measuring the real-time state of the liquid, the companies can see exactly when a process step is ready or when the right amount of chemicals has been added, eliminating excess waste of resources.
The funding will enable ColloidTek to increase sales in Europe, build a foothold in the American market, and grow the Collo team with new talent. “Our liquid performance platform offers not just arbitrary data, but actionable parameters for easier and more comprehensive process control”, says Matti Järveläinen, the CEO of ColloidTek. “We are developing our analytical system into an even easier-to-implement solution that improves the efficiency of any liquid process.”
Kleiner Perkins, Tiger Global Lead Series B Investment in Rapid Robotics
Rapid Robotics, creator of the first ready-to-work robotic machine operator, today announced $36.7M in Series B funding led by Kleiner Perkins and Tiger Global, with existing investors NEA, Greycroft, Bee Partners and 468 Capital also participating. The latest round is Rapid’s third in less than a year, bringing its total funding to $54.2M. Since emerging from stealth in late 2020, Rapid Robotics has quickly established itself as a must-take meeting for American manufacturers, as they grapple with a crippling labor shortage that COVID-19 turned into a full-blown crisis.
Tulip Interfaces Announces $100M Series C Led by Insight Partners to Help Frontline Industries Bring Their Operations to the Cloud
Tulip Interfaces announced today that it has raised $100 million in Series C funding led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm, Insight Partners. New investors Pitango Growth and Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures joined the round, as well as existing investors DMG MORI, NEA, and Vertex Ventures US.
With Series C funding, Tulip plans to expand its international operations to better support its hundreds of global enterprise customers like Terex, Delta Faucet, and Outset Medical; spanning more than 35 countries. Tulip intends to double its headcount, expanding operations in Boston, Munich, and Budapest; and establish a new APAC HQ in early 2022. The company plans to invest in new product features, and further apply AI and data science features to commonly used customer workflows. Tulip will dedicate additional resources towards its growing user community and Frontline Operations Marketplace.
Varda Raises $42MM Series A, to build humanity’s first Space Factories
Varda Space Industries, a company building space factories, announced a $42mm Series A. The company — founded just 8 months ago — has raised over $53mm to date, showing the appetite for Varda’s near-term, pragmatic, and commercially viable approach to space manufacturing. The company produces an assortment of materials that are only possible to make in the zero-gravity environment of space and brings them back to customers on Earth. The company will launch its first space factory in Q1 2023 and return a first batch to Earth a month later.
Path Robotics Raises $100M
Path Robotics, producer of the world’s first truly autonomous robotic manufacturing system, today announced it received $100 million in pre-emptive Series C financing led by Tiger Global. Existing investor Addition also participated in the round, along with Silicon Valley Bank.
“Most robots merely repeat what they are told, with no ability to improve themselves. The future of manufacturing hinges on highly capable, flexible robotics. Robots that can truly see and learn,” said Andrew Lonsberry, CEO of Path. Path’s autonomous robots solve the world’s hardest manufacturing challenges, with no programming required. For local manufacturers struggling to find skilled laborers, this is powerful. “Path is laser-focused on partnering with manufacturers to empower them to thrive in the resurgence of this critical industry,” says Lonsberry. Through computer vision and artificial intelligence, Path’s system today can see what is in front of it, understand what it is supposed to do, and with the push of a button, execute a weld.
The new funding will expand production of the Inkbit Vista in the U.S. and beyond
Inkbit, the company that built the first 3D printing system driven by vision-based feedback control, today announced the closing of $30M in its Series B round of financing. The new funding, led by Phoenix Venture Partners LLC (PVP), will boost production of the company’s additive manufacturing system, Inkbit Vista, and grow the commercial team to support expansion into the APAC and EMEA regions.
Since spinning out of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT in 2017, Inkbit has raised a total of $45M in equity investments from investors such as Stratasys, DSM Venturing, Ocado, 3M, IMA and Saint-Gobain.
Gearflow Raises $3M Seed Round to Accelerate Construction Parts Procurement
Gearflow.com, the first online parts marketplace built for the construction industry, has raised $3M in seed funding to streamline parts procurement by enabling equipment owners to quickly buy the parts they need from suppliers they can trust. The round was led by Watchfire Ventures, with participation from Newark Venture Partners, Liquid2 Ventures, Path Ventures, and Harvard Business School Angels.
CoreTigo Raises $13M Series B Round led by Cardumen Capital and Verizon Ventures
CoreTigo, the industrial wireless connectivity solutions provider, today announced the close of its $13 million Series B financing round, bringing total financing raised to date to $27 million. Strategic investor Verizon Ventures joined CoreTigo’s portfolio of distinguished investors, including Cardumen Capital, which led the round, and existing investors Lenovo Capital, Magma Venture Partners, Meron Capital, Qualcomm Ventures LLC and Sierra Ventures.
Anduril Raises $450 Million in Series D Funding
Defense technology company Anduril Industries today announced $450 million in Series D funding and a post-money valuation of $4.6 billion, more than double the company’s previous valuation in July 2020.
Anduril’s Lattice AI software platform, hardware products, and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the UK Ministry of Defence, as well as other agencies. Lattice uses computer vision, machine learning, and mesh networking to fuse real-time sensor data to create a single, autonomous operating picture and command and control platform. Lattice ties together Anduril’s family of site security solutions deployed along the southwest border to provide situational awareness, and on military bases in the U.S. and abroad to autonomously detect, track, and interdict intrusions by people, drones, and other vehicles. Lattice is also the operating system that enables Anduril’s autonomous unmanned aircraft, such as the new Ghost 4 sUAS, to perform their missions.
MachineMetrics Announces $20M Series B Funding Round
MachineMetrics, an industrial data startup that elevates manufacturing performance through autonomous machining, announced today it has raised $20 million in Series B financing. The company will use the funding to scale its platform globally and democratize access to the machine insights that power manufacturing operations.
“Manufacturing is on the brink of a digital renaissance. The intersection of software, big data and physical machinery is the next frontier for manufacturing and a proven solution for overcoming the production and labor shortages we are experiencing right now,” said Bill Bither, co-founder and CEO of MachineMetrics. “Today’s industrial machines are inefficient because they require significant human intervention to operate. MachineMetrics makes it easy to harness data from these machines and lays the foundation for the factory of the future where machines operate autonomously and with predictability.”
Relativity Space Raises $650M to Scale Terran Production
Relativity Space, the first company to 3D print an entire rocket and build the largest metal 3D printers in the world, today announced it closed a $650 million Series E equity funding round. The round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC with participation from investors including Baillie Gifford, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Centricus, Coatue, K5 Global, Soroban Capital, Tiger Global, Tribe Capital, XN, Brad Buss, Mark Cuban, Jared Leto, and Spencer Rascoff, among others. Following the announcement of its fully reusable, entirely 3D printed rocket, Terran R, the company’s latest round of funding enables the scaling of the Terran R program and long-term infrastructure development.
Realtime Robotics Completes $31.4 Million Series A Funding Round
Realtime Robotics plans on applying the new funds to accelerating its product rollouts and continuing its investment in innovative enhancements and solutions. The company will deepen its reach in the warehouse automation industry, while continuing to serve global automotive manufacturers and their supply chain. Working closely with long term partners and customers, Realtime will also continue to perfect its “holy grail” collaborative system, which incorporates its proprietary real-time planning technology with other certified system components to enable industrial robots to proactively adapt their motions and avoid unwanted contact with humans, while continuously accomplishing their intended tasks.
MacroFab Announces a $15M Series B round led by Edison Partners to Accelerate Growth for Manufacturing-as-a-Service Platform for Electronics
MacroFab today announced $15 million in new funding. The round was led by Edison Partners, with prior investors including ATX Venture Partners participating. Altium Limited, a leader in the electronics design software space, joined the round as a strategic investor aligned with the MacroFab mission of digitizing electronics production from earliest design stages to prototype development and commercial production.
Formlabs Doubles Valuation to $2 Billion with Close of $150 Million Series E Led By SoftBank Vision Fund 2
Formlabs, a leading 3D printing company, today announced it raised a $150 million Series E led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2*, doubling its valuation to $2 billion. Formlabs will use the funds to continue to grow its portfolio of 3D printing technologies, enabling greater mass production and customization, as well as grow its team across its seven offices worldwide.
Cognite Secures $150 Million Investment from TCV to Accelerate Digitalization of Global Industries
Cognite, a global leader in industrial software innovation, announced today that it has signed an investment round of $150M with leading global growth equity firm TCV, valuing the company at $1.6B. This investment marks one of the largest funding rounds for a SaaS company in Europe and confirms industrial digitalization as a global megatrend. The new valuation round constitutes unicorn status for Cognite.
“Cognite is on a strong trajectory to help transform industry, and since our founding four years ago, we have managed to attract top global talent, and partner with top industrial companies to accelerate modern industrial data management worldwide,” said Dr. John Markus Lervik, CEO and co-founder of Cognite. “The partnership with TCV allows us to amplify our software solutions to empower asset-intensive businesses to improve their sustainability and profitability of operations, and perfectly complements the extensive industrial knowledge brought in by our majority shareholder, Aker.”
CognitOps Raises $11M Series A Funding Led by FirstMark Capital and Announces New Austin, TX HQ
CognitOps will use the funds to expand internationally, increase sales capacity, and expand product development. Although global supply chains have invested over $10 billion in warehouse management solutions (WMS) over the past five years, operators are still struggling to adapt to labor shortages, accelerated service levels, and disrupted supply bases. The CognitOps platform empowers supply chain leaders to make better, faster decisions to manage complexity, reduce cost, and improve cycle time without the need to upgrade or replace their existing investments.
FourKites Secures $100M Series D Funding from THL, Qualcomm Ventures, Volvo Group and Zebra Technologies
FourKites, the #1 real-time supply chain visibility platform, today announced a new $100 million Series D financing round. The growth financing is led by Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”), with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, LLC, Volvo Group Venture Capital AB and Zebra Technologies, as well as existing investors August Capital, CEAS Investments, Hyde Park Angels, Hyde Park Venture Partners and Bain Capital Ventures, bringing total capital raised to over $200 million. The funding heralds the advent of a new era in supply chain management, where automated, interconnected and collaborative global supply chains — spanning transportation, warehouses, stores, trucks and more — are powered and optimized by real-time visibility data and machine learning.
Australian lidar firm Baraja raises $31 million in funding
Australian lidar firm Baraja said on Wednesday it had raised $31 million in a new funding round from investors including Blackbird Ventures and Hitachi Construction Machinery.
Baraja, which did not disclose its valuation after the round, said the funds will be used for hiring and to accelerate the development of its lidar technology.
Flex Logix Raises $55M Series D Financing As It Accelerates Market Adoption of AI Inference and eFPGA Solutions
Flex Logix® Technologies, Inc., supplier of the fastest and most-efficient AI edge inference accelerator and the leading supplier of eFPGA IP, announced today the close of a $55 million oversubscribed Series D funding round. Mithril Capital Management led the financing with significant participation by existing investors Lux Capital, Eclipse Ventures and the Tate Family Trust.
Flex Logix’s inference architecture is unique. It is optimized for low latency operation required by edge megapixel vision applications. It combines numerous 1-dimensional tensor processors with reconfigurable, high bandwidth, non-blocking interconnect that enables each layer of the neural network model to be configured for maximum utilization, resulting in very high performance with less cost and power. The connections between compute and memory are reconfigured in millionths of a second as the model is processed. This architecture is the basis of Flex Logix’s InferX™ X1 edge inference accelerator which is now running YOLOv3 object detection and sampling to lead customers.
North Vancouver-Based Robotics Company Novarc Technologies Raises $2.6 Million Growth Financing From BDC Capital
BDC Capital has provided $2.6 million in growth capital to North Vancouver-based robotics company Novarc Technologies through its new intellectual property (IP) Backed Financing Fund. Their cutting-edge Spool Welding Robot (SWR) allows pipe fabrication companies serving the oil & gas, building construction, and shipbuilding industries to be more competitive when bidding on projects by dramatically increasing the productivity and quality of their pipe welding operations.
They will use the proceeds of this transaction to increase the company’s technical capabilities, expand their team with strategic hires across sales, marketing, finance and R&D, as well as support their growth plans.
Symbio emerges from stealth with $30 million to automate industrial assembly
Emeryville, California-based industrial robotics startup Symbio Robotics today emerged from stealth with $30 million in funding. The company says the capital will be put toward further developing its technology as it looks to sign new customers. Symbio, which was founded in 2014, claims its software can help by allowing factory-floor robots to “learn” what to accomplish. The company’s middleware lets developers use modern programming languages like Java, Ruby, and Python to create instructions for single or whole fleets of robots. The platform self-optimizes over time, letting robots improve on tasks they’ve been assigned.
Physna raises $20 million for AI that analyzes and digitizes 3D objects
Physna, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based startup developing an AI-powered 3D modeling platform for industrial engineering, today announced that it raised $20 million. The company says the funds will be used to grow its team and increase development as new customers sign on.
It’s often difficult to search using the 3D model of a physical part, such as a CAD model or a 3D scan — especially when the part is a component of something larger (e.g., matching a screw to an assembly). Traditionally, solutions have been costly and time-consuming, impacting processes not only during engineering procurement but parts identification. It’s estimated that while over 70% of the economy is centered around physical goods, less than 1% of software is capable of handling 3D data.
Swapp Raises $7 Million Seed Round Led by Point72 Ventures and Entrée Capital
Swapp, an AI-powered construction planning company, announced today that it raised $7 million in Seed funding, led by Point72 Ventures and Entrée Capital with the participation of existing investors. The investment will support Swapp’s continued market expansion for its construction-planning platform and expand its AI capabilities.
By streamlining the conception, architectural design, and engineering processes, Swapp’s AI platform helps real estate developers and construction companies maximize their property investments and realize the full potential of their sites and projects by enabling them to directly control every phase of their project planning process.
AMP Robotics raises $55 million for AI that picks and sorts recyclables
AMP Robotics, a Denver, Colorado-based startup creating robotic systems that sort recyclable material, this morning announced it has closed a $55 million series B funding round led by XN. The startup says it will use the funds to scale its business operations and develop AI product applications that integrate into materials recovery facilities to increase recycling rates for its customers.
AMP Robotics claims its platform delivers higher pick rates (80 items per minute) than manual processes, as well as holistic monitoring of material streams without retrofitting. It is modular in design, enabling facilities managers to adapt it to existing workflows, and it’s tailored to individual brands and SKUs of recyclable objects. AMP Robotics’ products can sort not only metals, batteries, capacitors, plastics, PCBs, wires, cartons, bottlecaps, cardboard, cups, clamshells, lids, aluminum, and thin film by color, clarity, and opacity, but also materials made of metal, mixed wood, asphalt, bricks, concrete, and mixed plastics (e.g., .polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene).
Robot AI Startup Omnirobotic Raises $6.5m to Transform Industrial Manufacturing
Omnirobotic, a robotics automation startup, announced today that it has closed a seed round of $6.5 million CAD ($5 million USD) to further develop and commercialize its AI Platform for Factory Robots. Fonds de solidarite FTQ (the “Fonds”) and Export Development Canada (EDC) led the round with participation from Real Ventures and a joint venture including the company’s current employees. This funding enables Omnirobotic to continue building autonomous robotic capabilities for high-mix production environments, allowing industrial robots to see, plan and execute high-value-added processes like painting, welding and machining with limited human oversight.
Augury Raises $55 Million Series D Funding to Sustain Rapid Growth, Announces New Global Partnerships and Capabilities
The company also announced new partnerships and capabilities to help its global customers gain the benefit of prescriptive diagnostics and machine insights, no matter where in the world they operate. These include:
- Building a network of delivery partners to supplement Augury- and Customer-led installations, including ProPap in Germany, Caverion in Finland and Pluriservice in Italy, Fuse IoT to cover Latin and South America, and 42 North Solutions who provides additional coverage for North America;
- Expanding language support for the Augury platform, both for the platform itself and the key alerts that customers receive;
- Broadening the range of country-specific certifications to enable deployment of Machine Health in more geographies than ever before.
Praemo Raises CAD $4.5 Million from McRock, Caterpillar Venture Capital and BDC Capital’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund
“We are excited to be working with Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc. and BDC Capital Inc.’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, and to expand our relationship with McRock. This group of investors speaks to the value Praemo brings to industrial operators; McRock as a leader in the industrial IoT technology space, BDC Capital as a key shareholder providing the capital needed to drive this next wave of advancement, and Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, engines, turbines and locomotives.”, said Michael Martinez, co-founder and CEO at Praemo. “This additional funding allows us to accelerate our technology roadmap while sharing our customers’ successes more broadly across the industrial marketplace.”
Senseye secures investment from two giants of Japanese industry
Senseye, an industrial Asset Performance Management company, has secured new investment from NTT DOCOMO Ventures and Sony Innovation Fund. The investment, also supported by existing investors, will drive Senseye’s expansion into the Japanese market and expand its research activities for its proprietary Artificial Intelligence solutions.
Simon Kampa, CEO of Senseye, comments: “We look to Japan for inspiration in manufacturing excellence. Indeed, we derived Senseye from the Japanese word Sensei to highlight that connection. We are therefore pleased and proud to receive this new investment from two leading Japanese businesses.”
Zymergen Takes Aim at $3 Trillion Chemical & Materials Industry With $300 Million in New Funding
Science and material innovation company Zymergen today announced $300M in new investment to accelerate its delivery of revolutionary, high performance materials. The investment includes initial Series D funding led by Baillie Gifford, joined by Baron Capital Group and one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, as well as additional growth financing from Perceptive Advisors. A number of current investors are also returning, and Zymergen expects to raise additional capital in Q4 as part of a Series D round.
This infusion of capital powers Zymergen’s charge into the $3 trillion chemical and materials industries, speeding the manufacture of their groundbreaking Hyaline film, as well as the commercialization of additional breakthrough products across electronics, agriculture, consumer care and healthcare. The investment announced today helps to bring the revolutionary Hyaline product to market more quickly, and accelerates Zymergen’s development of all-natural pesticides and other bio-derived crop protection products, as well as a bio-based insect repellent. These product innovations are supported by a powerful platform and technology infrastructure, protected by a strong and growing data set.
DeepX raises $15M to accelerate machine automation business
Since its establishment in April 2016, DeepX has been driving the development of general-purpose AI technologies for the automation of various machinery and field operations in a wide range of industries. The raised funds will be used to invest primarily in engineering and computational resources to accelerate the commercialization of construction equipment automation, in-factory work automation, and the provision of automation modules. In particular, we will pursue a robustness, transferability, explainability and sample efficiency in recognition and control technologies for the real world.
MakinaRocks raises $10M in Series A
MakinaRocks, an industrial AI solutions startup aiming to revolutionize the world of manufacturing, announced today that it has successfully raised $10 million in Series A funding from prestigious global investors. MakinaRocks expects to use the funds to expand the company’s portfolio and develop a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform built on the existing on-premise solutions to secure domestic and international customers. The company is actively hiring skilled individuals in data analysis, AI development, and business development.
Airbus leads major €8m investment in energy harvesting chip designer
This funding round was led by existing investors Airbus Ventures and French venture capital fund Partech, with KBC Focus Fund, W.IN.G, Noshaq Ventures, LeanSquare, Nivelinvest and Vives also contributing and brings the total investment to $13.2m.
The company sees tens of billions of connected IoT and edge computing devices starting to be deployed and activity will keep on ramping up in the decades ahead. Reliance on disposable batteries in this context is simply impractical, with heavy network maintenance costs being incurred (as depleted batteries will need replacing periodically), along with huge damage to the environment.
RIOS Secures $5M in Venture Funding
RIOS, developer of dexterous AI-powered robots for automating assembly lines, came out of stealth mode today and announced it has raised $5 million in venture funding. RIOS, which spun out of Stanford University and was founded by former Xerox PARC engineers, helps global customers automate their factories, warehouses, and supply chain operations by deploying a new class of highly-dexterous robots that handle hard-to-automate tasks in unstructured environments. RIOS not only automates individual lines, but also builds “lights out” factories by partnering with its network of systems integrators.
Instrumental Inc. raises $20M to close the loop on $1 Trillion of economic waste in electronics manufacturing
Instrumental Inc., creator of the manufacturing optimization software category, has secured $20 million in Series B financing to accelerate development of its manufacturing optimization platform. This first-of-its-kind solution enables hardware teams to accelerate time to market, reduce rework, derisk ramp, and increase yields by providing unprecedented real time remote visibility into assembly and product data.
Element Raises $18 Million to Enable Data-Driven Transformation of Industrial Enterprises
Element, an Industrial Data Hub provider, today announced it has closed an $18 million Series B financing co-led by new investors Activate Capital and Forte Ventures that also included participation from other new and existing investors. As part of the investment, Element is adding to its board of directors David Lincoln, managing director of Activate Capital, and Louis Rajczi, partner at Forte Ventures. The funding comes as Element gains customers in the chemical, power, agriculture and oil/gas markets, and as it expands enterprise-wide deployments.
Apprentice.io Gains Funding for AR & AI-Driven Software Platform to Meet COVID-19 Pharma Demands
Bringing a drug to market is an incredibly complex process that requires many stakeholders. The ability of these stakeholders to collaborate in the lab or manufacturing suite has been exceptionally difficult due to the pandemic. Apprentice site deployments have increased 6x since March due to their ability to provide a secure platform for pharma teams, subject matter experts, suppliers, FAT-SAT sites and contracted partners to connect and troubleshoot remotely, moving product development along efficiently.
Keelvar, the Industry Leading Sourcing Software Provider, Raises $18 million in Series A Funding
Cork-based Keelvar, an industry-leading strategic sourcing software company, has announced that it has raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Elephant and Mosaic Ventures with participation from Paua Ventures. The investment will support Keelvar’s expansion plans for Europe and the US, amid the rapidly-growing need for supply chain automation solutions, which has been further accelerated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Velo3D Raises $28 Million in Series D Funding Round, Paving the Way for Product Expansion
Digital manufacturing innovator Velo3D announced today that it has raised $28 million in a Series D funding round. New investors Piva and TNSC joined the round, along with existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Playground, and Khosla Ventures. This brings Velo3D’s total funding to $138 million. Velo3D plans to use the new capital to expand its product portfolio to include more machine options, compatible alloys, and enhanced software and hardware capabilities. The company anticipates that the injection of fresh capital will help them reach sustainable profitability by mid-2022.
scoutbee raises $60M Series B investment in mission to transform industries with AI-driven supplier discovery
scoutbee Inc. (https://scoutbee.com), the world-leading supplier discovery platform, today closed a $60 million Series B round from new investors, led by Atomico with participation from Lakestar and Next47, and including existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, 42CAP and Toba Capital. The investment establishes scoutbee as the fastest growing global SaaS procurement platform and, as part of this investment round, Atomico Partner Hiro Tamura will join the company’s board. This investment round brings scoutbee’s total venture capital funding to date to $76 million.
Headquartered in Berlin and Washington D.C., scoutbee’s smart procurement technology is already utilized by major multinationals including Audi, Airbus, Caterpillar and Bosch, as well as 75+ other companies worldwide, to provide them more confident strategic sourcing and purchasing decisions.
aPriori Secures $26.8M Series C Financing Round
aPriori, the leading provider of enterprise product cost management (PCM) software featuring design for manufacturability (DFM) and cost (DTC) solutions, announces today that the company completed a $26.8M series C financing round. Autodesk led the investment round with participation from other new and existing investors including NewSpring Capital, PBJ Capital, Oyster Angel Fund, Sigma Partners, Sigma Prime Ventures and Gutbrain Ventures. The funds will be used to accelerate the development of a suite of target applications for engineering, sourcing, and manufacturing teams, providing a consistent view of costs and a platform for working together.
Litmus Secures $7 Million Series A Financing From Mitsubishi Corporation
Litmus Automation, an Industrial Edge Computing platform provider, today announced it has completed a $7 million Series A round of financing led by Mitsubishi Corporation. The investment brings Litmus Automation’s total funding since launching its secure Industrial Edge Computing platform to $12.6 million and will help the company quickly ramp up sales and marketing efforts to meet the demand for companies ready to move to Industry 4.0.
Carbon Raises Over $260M in Growth Funding Round, Paving the Way for Global Expansion of its Digital Manufacturing Platform
Carbon, the world’s leading digital manufacturing platform, today announced it has raised over $260 million in growth funding co-led by Madrone Capital Partners and Baillie Gifford. New investors Temasek and Arkema joined the round with participation from existing investors including Sequoia Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), Fidelity Management & Research Company, adidas Ventures, and JSR Corporation. This brings Carbon’s total fundraising to more than $680 million.
Carbon plans to use this new capital to expand R&D efforts, establishing its first Advanced Development Facility (ADF), and to fuel international growth and expansion in Europe and Asia. The ADF will enable Carbon’s engineering teams to improve Carbon’s platform and workflows in scaled-up manufacturing environments to better support its customers and partners. These strategic areas of investment will allow Carbon to continue delivering on the promise of 3D printing by enabling its customers in industries including healthcare, automotive, and consumer goods to accelerate product innovation and create breakthrough products that are digitally manufactured at scale.
Tempo Automation raises $45 million to rapidly prototype printed circuit boards
Tempo’s connected factory enables customers to upload their gadget designs to machines that can be used to build up to 15 different products a day. It offers conveniences like automatic quoting and native CAD files, plus real-time feature extraction and bill of materials validation to prevent production and sourcing issues. Additionally, Tempo’s platform autonomously scans design files for manual entry errors before sending them to machines, and it integrates with component and fabrication partners to cut down on turnaround time.
Augury Secures $25M Series C to Grow Impact on Machine Health, Completes Acquisition of Alluvium
“As the market continues to evolve rapidly on its journey to digital transformation, more enterprises seek to uncover blind spots in their operations with AI-based machine health solutions,” said Saar Yoskovitz, Co-Founder and CEO, Augury. “Over the course of the last year, we have made substantial gains in the market and look forward to deepening our partnerships in the year ahead. With this funding, we will continue to innovate and support our partners on a global scale.”
News of the financing round comes in tandem with the company’s completed acquisition of Alluvium – a startup whose computing platform provides simple, real-time machine insights to support safe, stable, and efficient industrial operations. Through Alluvium, Augury becomes the first industrial analytics company to provide both mechanical and operational insights on a unified platform to provide a holistic view of an operation. Not only does this acquisition enhance Augury’s analytics capabilities, but also incorporates Alluvium’s team to Augury to further drive innovation.
RightHand Robotics raises $23 million from Menlo Ventures, Google
With its reinforced bank account, Somerville, Mass.-based RightHand plans to expand its business and technical teams and broaden its suite of product applications, the firm said. “The funds will be used to support our growth and in hiring people as fast as we effectively can,” Martinelli said. “We’re getting follow-on orders and we need to support those orders and extend the product line, both for projects in the U.S. and in Europe and Japan.”
MachineMetrics Announces $11.3 Million Series A Funding Round
MachineMetrics, which equips factories with the digital tools needed to increase productivity and win more business, announced Tuesday it has raised $11.3 million in Series A financing. MachineMetrics is a pioneer in Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) technology. Its system is designed so that customers can install it themselves without the need for expensive and time-consuming customization.
Tola Capital led the round with participation from existing investors Hyperplane Venture Capital, Long River Ventures, Mass Ventures, Hub Angels and Firebolt Ventures. With the new funds, the company will expand its data science and product development teams while accelerating global sales.
Oden Raises $10M Series A to Fuel the Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
Oden Technologies, an Industrial IoT company that provides manufacturing data analytics, today announces that it has closed a $10m (£7.6m) Series A round led by Atomico, with participation from existing investors including EQT Ventures and Inbox Capital, and seed investors. Atomico CEO, and co-founder of Skype, Niklas Zennström will join the company’s board.
Manufacturing – a $12tn sector globally, accounting for 16.6% of global GDP – is on the brink of a new machine age in which the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and cloud analytics are set to transform existing production processes, slash waste, drive efficiencies and increase output. Today, manufacturing industry is plagued with inefficiencies as high as 30 – 60 percent. The adoption of data analytics to drive efficiencies combats the shortage of in-house data engineering talent and lengthy project roll-outs. While industrial automation incumbents, such as Rockwell Automation, can take 12 – 18 months to roll out its analytics tools, Oden’s cloud-based data analytics platform can be live 10 times faster and immediately deliver actionable insights.
Falkonry Secures Series A Funding to Optimize Industrial Throughput, Quality and Yield With Operational Machine Learning
Falkonry, Inc. the leading provider of operational machine learning for Global 2000 industrial companies, today announced that it has raised $4.6 million in a Series A funding round. This round brings the total funding raised by Falkonry to $10.9 million. The Series A round is led by Presidio Ventures, the early stage venture capital arm of Sumitomo Corporation. Fortive Corporation, a diversified industrial growth company, has also joined the round as a strategic investor. The early seed stage investors will enhance their existing investment positions in Falkonry, and include Basis Set Ventures, Polaris Partners, Start Smart Labs and Zetta Venture Partners.
e-peas raises €3.5m for energy harvesting power management
E-Peas first device, the AEM10940 energy harvesting IC, is already in the market, and the company has been working closely with solar cell developer Lightricity. E-Peas said it would use the latest funds to expand the engineering workforce and global business development. The money would also allow the company to explore product propositions and partnerships in application areas including industrial monitoring, home automation, smart agriculture, assets tracking, healthcare, smart metering and wearables, it said.
Augury Secures $17 Million Series B Funding Round to Power the Future of IIoT
“We are building a long-lasting company with the goal of diagnosing everything that has moving parts, effectively creating the mechanical nervous system of the IIoT,” said Saar Yoskovitz, CEO of Augury. “Equipment manufacturers and other market leaders in the industrial sector are increasingly turning to PdM as a critical component for their IIoT strategy. This funding will enable Augury to become a driving force towards the connected era of tomorrow.”
Imaging Specialist Wooptix Secures US$3.3 Million in Series-A Funding, Led By Bullnet Capital and Intel Capital
Wooptix, the first spin-off company from Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain, has today announced a Series A funding of US$3.3 million. The funding will be used to develop Wooptix’s Natural3D software to provide advanced imaging capabilities for smartphones and other devices at full resolution.
Hardware Startup Augury Nails $7 Million Series A Round
The company, with offices in New York and Haifa, Israel, makes a small device that can be used by maintenance personnel. A technician places the device on a machine, such as a chiller or pump, connecting the two via a magnet. The device, which contains ultrasonic sensors, records the vibrations and other sounds the equipment makes. It then sends the information to Augury’s servers that analyze it and spit back a diagnosis, such as that the machine needs more oil or a bearing replacement, to a smartphone app.
Augury will have to persuade customers that it is worth investing in its service that helps identify problems early. It is unclear how willing they would be. The poor state of infrastructure overall in the U.S. speaks to the low levels of willingness, in general, by society in investing in preventive maintenance.
Here we go
After two years of bootstrapping, we’ve decided it’s time to ramp up our team and start running. When we first started working on Augury, we wanted to prove the technology works and to validate that there is a real business opportunity for Augury before bringing in outside investors. This decision gave us complete freedom to navigate the Customer Development waters, set up experiments, fail fast and change directions. Towards the end of last year, we felt like we’d achieved problem/solution fit and proven our technology – so we hit the road.