Kleiner Perkins
Assembly Line
Juna.ai wants to use AI agents to make factories more energy-efficient
At its core, Juna.ai wants to help manufacturing facilities transform into smarter, self-learning systems that can deliver better margins and, ultimately, a lower carbon footprint. The company focuses on “heavy industries” — industries such as steel, cement, paper, chemicals, wood and textile with large-scale production processes that consume lots of raw materials.
The Berlin-based startup said that it has raised $7.5 million in a seed round from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, Sweden-based Norrsken VC, and Kleiner Perkins’ chairman John Doerr.
Juna.ai’s software integrates with manufacturers’ production tools, like industrial software from Aveva or SAP, and looks at all its historical data garnered from machine sensors. This might involve temperate, pressure, velocity, and all the measurements of the given output, such as quality, thickness, and color.
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).
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.