Funding Event
Assembly Line
Saronic Raises $175 Million in Series B Funding, Valuing Company at $1 Billion
Saronic, a defense technology leader that designs and manufactures autonomous surface vessels (ASVs), announced a $175 million Series B raise placing the company’s valuation at $1 billion. The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from both new and existing investors, including 8VC, Caffeinated Capital, Elad Gil, and NightDragon, among others.
This new investment will accelerate Saronic’s growth both domestically and internationally. At home, it will allow further expansion of Saronic’s in-house manufacturing capabilities and enable increased production of all its ASV models. Additionally, it will advance the research and development of new autonomous capabilities for naval and maritime forces, including increased technology and payload integration with government and commercial partners. Internationally, this investment will support Saronic’s expansion to more fully serve U.S. allies and partners in key markets.
Nearfield Instruments secures €135 million in landmark deep-tech funding round
Nearfield Instruments, the developer of state-of-the art Metrology & Inspection (M&I) solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, announced the successful closure of a €135 million Series-C funding round. The oversubscribed funding round is led by two new major investors, Walden Catalyst, an industry leading US venture capital firm helping the next generation of category-defining businesses in deep-tech, and Temasek, a global investor that also looks into opportunities in emerging technologies to solve complex and high impact challenges, and address market inflections. M&G Investments, a leading global asset manager, through its Catalyst strategy, is acting as a co-investor. The success of this round is further underscored by the participation of existing investors Innovation Industries, Invest-NL, and ING.
The growing complexities in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, driven by the surge in demand for higher performing and lower energy consuming chips, are addressed by Nearfield’s innovative process control solutions. These include the QUADRA 3D metrology system that provides non-destructive, high-throughput, and high-resolution metrology capabilities. Nearfield is deeply engaged with most major chip manufacturers globally, and QUADRA is fully validated and deployed in high-volume manufacturing.
Marathon Fusion Closes $5.9m Seed Round to Process Fuel for Fusion Energy
Marathon Fusion, a startup developing fuel processing technology for the fusion industry, announced a fundraise led by 1517 Fund and Anglo American, with participation from Übermorgen Ventures, Shared Future Fund, Malcolm Handley and other leading investors. Alongside a CREATE award from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E, these investments bring Marathon Fusion’s total funding to $6.9M.
Since its founding in 2023, Marathon Fusion has been dedicated to making improvements to fuel processing efficiency. Its technology allows fusion power plants to operate with less tritium inventory, enabling smaller facilities and improved operational expenses. Now working to commercialize this technology to enable rapid, efficient and high-throughput processing of fusion fuel, Marathon aims to reduce onsite tritium inventories and improve plant economics, helping to ensure that fusion has a path to scale to its full potential.
The new funding will allow Marathon Fusion to accelerate the development and deployment of its fuel processing technology in fusion power plants. The company has signed Letters of Intent with Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Helion Energy, two leading fusion startups aiming for the near-term deployment of fusion power plants.
EneCoat Technologies Raises Series C Round, Totaling 5.5 Billion Yen
EneCoat Technologies, a leading developer of perovskite solar cells (“PSC”), announced a 5.5 billion yen Series C funding round led by Toyota’s growth fund, Woven Capital and joined by INPEX and Mitsubishi HC Capital. Existing investors Mirai Creation Fund III and Kyoto University Innovation Capital participated in the round, bringing the total funding raised to over 8 billion yen.
The new capital will be used to expand operations with a production facility, and continue to progress its PSC technology that can diversify solar supply chains, support a broad range of IoT devices and advance new mobility applications. Michiko Kato, partner at Woven Capital joins EneCoat’s Board of Directors.
Didero is using AI to solve supply chain management at mid-market companies
Didero announced a $7 million seed investment. While it was at it, the startup also announced it was emerging from stealth and making its product generally available. The round was led by First Round Capital with participation from Construct Capital, AI Grant, Box Group, Company Ventures and Conviction. Industry angels also contributed.
The company uses a variety of AI models, including OpenAI and Google Gemini, depending on the task or requirement, and they are continually experimenting to see which model is best suited to what they are trying to accomplish. “We’re using a lot of foundational models and APIs that are out there. We’re not creating our own foundational models, but we’re doing a lot of fine-tuning of some of the existing models,” company CEO Tom Petit said.
Again raises $43M from Google Ventures and others to turn CO2 into green chemicals
Again, a Danish climate tech startup, which turns carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals, has raised $43 million in Series A funding. The investment round was co-led by Google Ventures (which invested in ClimateX and StatusPRO) and HV Capital. Kompas VC, EIFO – Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, ACME Capital, and Atlantic Labs also participated in the round. With this round, the total funding raised by Again accounts for $100 million, including a $47 million Horizon Europe grant for the PyroCO2 project.
The new funding will be used to build additional facilities to combat the climate crisis at scale. It will be used to build additional production capacity to deliver green chemicals to customers, and R&D to expand Again’s product portfolio and bring more molecules to market.
STAX Engineering Secures $40M to Bring the 3 Largest Shipping Vessel Classes into California Air Resources Board Compliance
STAX Engineering, a pioneer in maritime emissions capture and control, closed a $40M funding round led by Upper90, a leading provider of hybrid growth capital. Upper90 has provided flexible capital to finance the build out of STAX’s fleet of mobile emissions capture and control barges; the expansion will accelerate over the next six months to meet increasing demand across container and auto carrier classes as well as broaden coverage to include tankers. As California Air Resources Board regulations expand to include tankers beginning in January 2025, this concerted push from STAX will best position the organization to service the newly regulated class.
STAX’s patented, flexible exhaust capture system is designed to fit all ships without modification, even in the most congested ports. Once the exhaust is captured and funneled into the STAX system, it is filtered. STAX removes 99% of particulate matter (PM) and 95% of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) before being released as purified gas. To date, STAX has treated 83 at-berth vessels for a cumulative of 4,000 hours and controlled 31 tons of pollutants—and counting.
VARM bags €5.7M to insulate Europe’s homes
VARM, a Berlin-based insulation startup, has secured €5.7 million in seed funding. The round was led by Emerge and Pale Blue Dot (invested in Climate X and Ember), with additional support from noa (formerly A/O), Foundamental, and previous angel investors. This investment will advance VARM’s mission to decarbonise Europe by revolutionising the insulation industry.
The recent €5.7 million seed funding sets the stage for significant growth in Europe’s insulation market. By addressing the insulation skills gap and offering affordable, efficient solutions, VARM is poised to make a substantial impact on reducing CO2 emissions. It’s training academy and business-in-a-box model will expand the workforce, driving widespread adoption. With a clear vision and innovative approach, VARM is well-positioned to lead in household decarbonisation efforts.
Blue Earth Capital leads €25m growth funding round in Quatt, a leader in smart heat pumps
Quatt, an Amsterdam-based scale-up specializing in smart heat pumps, announces €25 million in a growth equity funding round led by Blue Earth Capital, with participation from Seaya Andromeda and existing investor Impact Equity Fund.
Quatt has experienced rapid growth over the past two years, installing over 7,500 smart heat pumps throughout the Netherlands, and the organization has seen significant expansion. “Due to its quick payback period, more and more Dutch people are opting for our heat pump,” says Marijn Flipse, CEO and co-founder of Quatt. “In the three years since our inception, we have secured a leading position in the heat pump market thanks to our consumer-centric approach, smart software and attractive design. By focusing on product development, sales, and installation all in-house, we deliver an excellent customer experience at a very competitive price. This is now recognized by international investors as well.”
ACEL Power Secures $10M in Series A Funding to Drive Sales and Advance Renewable Energy Solutions in the Marine Industry
ACEL Power, a trailblazer in marine electric innovation, has closed their oversubscribed Series A round with US$10M in funding. The funding was led by Tau Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based private venture capital firm committed to supporting advancements in science and technology for a positive impact on the world.
GrowUp, the UK’s best-selling vertical farm, receives £38 million investment from Generate Capital to produce locally grown, pesticide-free greens
Generate Capital, a leading sustainable infrastructure investment and operating company, and GrowUp, the UK’s best-selling vertical farm, announced a £38 million investment to meet growing demand for GrowUp’s popular ready-to-eat salads.
Generate Capital’s investment will help expand capacity at GrowUp’s Kent vertical farm, accelerate GrowUp’s leadership of the UK salad category, support the Unbeleafable and Fresh Leaf Co. brands, drive R&D at GrowUp’s Leaf Lab site in Cambridge, and increase GrowUp’s influence as a certified B Corp.
This funding extends Generate Capital’s existing partnership with GrowUp, following an initial financing in 2021 that enabled GrowUp to prove its energy-efficient growing system and start converting a five-acre brownfield site into the equivalent of 1,000 acres of grade 1 farmland in Kent. GrowUp is the first vertical farm to have supplied branded, bagged salads to the country’s largest supermarket chain, Tesco, and to Iceland, SPAR, as well as other major food service customers.
Peak Energy on Track to Rapidly Scale Sodium-Ion Battery Manufacturing in the U.S. to Secure Future of Renewable Energy
Peak Energy, a U.S.-based company developing low-cost, giga-scale energy storage technology for the grid, announced it has secured its $55M Series A to launch full-scale production of its proven sodium-ion battery technology. Xora Innovation, an Early-Stage deep tech investing platform of Temasek, led the round, with significant participation from existing investor Eclipse, strategic partner TDK Ventures, and new investors Lachy Groom, Tishman Speyer, TechEnergy Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures and DETV-Scania Invest.
Sodium-ion is a stable and proven battery chemistry that offers advantages in cost, supply chain security, scale, and safety over lithium-ion, the industry’s current default battery storage choice. With the shift to sodium-ion technology underway worldwide at giga-scale, Peak Energy has emerged as the company best suited to deliver utility-scale sodium-ion storage in the U.S. The Series A financing from Xora Innovation, Eclipse, TDK Ventures, and other new strategic investors marks a pivotal inflection point in the clean energy transition and secures the future of the U.S. grid with domestically produced storage.
As Peak Energy moves fast to industrialize sodium-ion, the company is already experiencing significant demand for its battery systems. With access to meaningful new capital, Peak Energy enters the next phase of growth, launching the first full-scale production of sodium-ion storage in the U.S. The company’s sodium-ion batteries will deploy to a select group of six premier customers participating in its pilot program as early as next year. The roster includes three of the top five largest Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and electric utility companies in the country.
Cloverleaf Infrastructure raises $300 Million from NGP and Sandbrook Capital
Cloverleaf Infrastructure announced that it has secured capital commitments totaling over $300 million from private equity investors NGP and Sandbrook Capital, alongside contributions from its management team.
Cloverleaf is a recently-formed developer of large-scale digital infrastructure sites powered by low-carbon electricity. The company is led by a team of seasoned executives with backgrounds from renowned independent power developers such as Pattern Energy and ConnectGen, as well as major data center operators such as Microsoft. Building on this extensive expertise in the power and data center sectors, Cloverleaf collaborates with regional US utilities and data center operators to deliver scalable clean electricity through strategic investments in transmission, grid interconnection, land, onsite power generation and electricity storage.
doinstruct raises €7.6M to address frontline-worker skills shortages
Europe is facing a jobs crisis driven by skills shortages and aging populations. Millions of people start a new job every year in key industries with inadequate onboarding and training. doinstruct announces that it has secured €7.6m in a funding round led by Creandum, an early backer of Spotify, Klarna and Pleo, to address these challenges.
doinstruct has built a mobile-first onboarding and training platform with the real needs of deskless workers front of mind. There is no app to download, no password to remember and no email required. All of the training content is continually updated in partnership with regulators and certifiers and currently available in more than 16 languages.
Syntetica raises €4.2 million to scale nylon recycling for the global clothing market
Syntetica, an innovative nylon recycling startup helping to solve the pollution problem in the fashion industry, has successfully raised €4.2 million in a seed round led by EQT Ventures with participation from the family offices of Peugeot and ETAM, Volta Circle (Indorama Ventures’ shareholders family office), Better Angle, Pareto Holdings, Athletico Ventures, Bear Flag Capital and high-profile angels 2-time Formula-E champion Jean-Éric Vergne, IDEC Group CEO Patrice Lafargue, and former tennis player Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Syntetica will use the fresh capital to build out the team’s existing expertise with additional technical talent and begin producing the first fully recycled nylon materials for fashion and automotive clients with the aim of reaching a pre-industrial stage by mid-2026.
Infinitum Secures $35 Million Series E Extension Amid Rapid Growth
Infinitum, creator of the sustainable air-core motor, announced it has extended its Series E with $35 million in funding from Marunouchi Innovation Partners and Rice Investment Group. The additional funding brings the company’s total Series E funding to $220 million, and will be used to scale the company to meet customer demand and drive decarbonization.
Infinitum’s air-core motor systems can sustainably power energy-intensive applications used in data centers, hospitals and buildings, as well as logistics, manufacturing and industrial facilities with less electricity, carbon emissions and waste.
When compared to traditional motors, the Infinitum motor system consumes 10-65% less energy, is 50% smaller and lighter and uses 66% less copper. Infinitum’s motor systems have an integrated variable frequency drive and can be customized to meet an application’s specific power and torque requirements to reduce strain on the electric grid by drawing less power. Infinitum motor systems use fewer raw materials in manufacturing and modular design allows for motors to be easily serviced, repaired, remanufactured or recycled to keep motors in service and out of landfills.
eLstar Dynamics Announces Two Million Euros in Series A Funding
eLstar Dynamics, a leading developer of dynamic glass, has secured a two-million-euro investment from the Dutch family office Panthea. The funds will help complete the development of eLstar’s dynamic glass product, designed to meet the booming demand for sustainable and energy-efficient solutions for buildings and vehicles.
eLstar has raised a total of 13 million euros to date from Wafloma and Panthea BV, two Dutch family offices with strategic interests in eLstar’s sustainability-focused technology.
Falfurrias Management Partners Makes Growth Investment in Gravitate
Gravitate, a leading provider of AI-enabled fuel management and energy logistics software announced a significant growth investment from Falfurrias Management Partners, a Charlotte-based investment firm focused on growth-oriented, middle-market businesses. The investment is a testament to Gravitate’s innovative approach to optimizing fuel supply for retailers, refiners, wholesalers, and carriers. With Falfurrias’ support, Gravitate is poised to continue its growth trajectory and mission of transforming the energy logistics landscape through AI-enabled cutting-edge technology.
Gravitate’s fuel management software offerings address the fuel value chain across the secondary fuel logistics market serving refiners, wholesalers, carriers, and retailers. The company, founded in 2011, has established itself as a leader in this market, historically characterized by outdated and manual solutions. Customers leverage Gravitate’s suite of solutions to manage and optimize fuel supply and logistics, optimize rack and customer pricing, and provide fuel customers with online channels for dynamic fuel purchasing. Notably, Gravitate’s Supply & Dispatch product is the only AI-integrated optimization and dispatch solution for supply and logistics decisions in the fuel industry. This product, along with others in their portfolio, can deliver a 40% or greater reduction in overhead in dispatching departments and a 5-10x ROI through supply and asset optimization. As part of the transaction, Gravitate has been spun-out of its parent company, capSpire, which also received a growth investment from Falfurrias.
Halo Industries Closes $80 Million Series B Funding Round Led by Thomas Tull’s U.S. Innovative Technology Fund
Halo Industries, Inc., the creator of a laser manufacturing technology platform for the semiconductor industry, announced it raised up to $80 million in its oversubscribed Series B funding round. Led by Thomas Tull’s U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (USIT) with participation from 8VC and SAIC, the funding will help Halo Industries scale the commercialization and reach of its technology and advance its mission to establish the new gold-standard of silicon carbide substrate production.
Halo Industries’ proprietary laser-based tools and processing technologies enable efficient, precise and high-quality manufacturing that minimizes the cost, waste and environmental impact associated with traditional manufacturing methods. The company manufactures several materials used for semiconductor production, including silicon carbide (SiC) wafers, which serve as the building block of efficient high voltage power electronics. Leveraging SiC wafers for power devices enables greater power output and system performance while being smaller, lighter, and more robust than traditional materials. SiC is a hard, brittle material that is challenging to cut without losing meaningful amounts, and Halo Industries’ proprietary laser-based slicing tools significantly increase yield and quality of SiC while minimizing waste and production cost.
Earthshot winner 44.01 raises $37M Series A
Climate tech 44.01 has raised $37M Series A funding for its mineralisation technology which aims to eliminate CO2 safely, permanently and at scale. The funding will enable 44.01 to continue to refine its technology, develop commercial-scale projects, and expand its deployment internationally. The round is led by Equinor Ventures with Shorooq Partners in the UAE, as well as Air Liquide Venture Capital, Alumni Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Climate Investment, Innovation Development Oman, Planet A Ventures, Salica Oryx Fund, Siemens Financial Services, Sumitomo Corporation and several other investors. Existing investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures have also recommitted to 44.01’s technology by participating in the round.
44.01 eliminates CO2 by turning it into rock. The company’s pioneering technology accelerates the natural process of CO2 mineralisation to remove captured CO2 permanently in less than twelve months. Mafic and ultramafic rock formations capable of mineralising CO2 are found on every continent making 44.01’s mineralisation technology a truly global climate solution. Mineralisation projects can be built quickly and modularly, offering a cost-effective alternative to conventional geological carbon storage.
Coldcart Announces $6.5M Seed Round to Eliminate Perishable Parcel Shipping Inefficiency and Complexity
Coldcart, the first orchestration and optimization platform for frozen and refrigerated parcel logistics, announced that the company closed an oversubscribed $6.5 million seed financing. The round was led by Collide Capital and includes previous convertible note investments led by Material. Great North Ventures, Behind Genius Ventures, Feld Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Service Provider Capital also participated.
Coldcart’s platform reduces perishable logistics costs by 15-50% per shipment and refundable shipments by 40-60%.
With this new funding, Coldcart will grow its installed base of perishable shippers and logistics providers. The resulting network effects will further increase operational efficiencies created by their platform.
Heimdall Power raises $25 Million USD Series B to Accelerate Power Grid Optimization Globally
Heimdall Power, the global leader in power grid optimization, announced a $25 million USD capital raise in a Series B financing. The round was co-led by the international energy company Orlen, Nordic cleantech fund NRP Zero, and the Steinsvik Family Office. Existing shareholders, including Investinor, Eviny, Hafslund, Lyse, and Sarsia Seed, participated in the round with a combined $8.5 million USD.
Founded in 2016, Heimdall Power delivers software and sensors for the monitoring of overhead power lines. The technology enables electric utilities to increase transmission capacity in their high-voltage power grids by 40% on average, while simultaneously improving the safety and efficiency of their operations. Heimdall Power’s solutions allow utilities to optimize existing power grid assets, reducing or delaying the need for expensive infrastructure upgrades, while making utilities better prepared to meet the growing electricity demand fueled by the ongoing energy transition.
Naked Energy Announces £17m Of New Equity In Series B First Close, Led By E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions
British solar heat and power scale-up Naked Energy announced that it has secured £17m of new equity as part of a Series B first close to supercharge its global expansion and the adoption of its cutting-edge solutions to decarbonise heat. The round was led by E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions (E.ON EIS), a provider of integrated, sustainable energy solutions for cities and industries. E.ON EIS is part of the E.ON Group, one of Europe’s largest operators of energy networks and infrastructure, and a strategic partner to Naked Energy.
The investment is a strong endorsement of Naked Energy’s growth plans, enabling the company to accelerate the international distribution of its award-winning solar heat and power technology with the adoption of innovative new business models.
HammerTech Secures US$70 Million Growth Investment Led by Riverwood Capital to Modernize Construction Site Safety and Efficiency Globally
Construction safety software company HammerTech is set to accelerate business expansion and product innovation following a US$70 million (A$105 million) growth investment from US-based Riverwood Capital, one of the leading investment firms solely dedicated to technology growth and scalability.
The new capital will spur growth and accelerate research and development. This includes the integration of AI and other technologies into HammerTech’s safety intelligence software platform for general contractors and trusted by more than a million workers globally.
Alvys Raises $20+ Million to Transform Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Alvys, the next-generation logistics operating platform for logistics and supply chain management, announced it has raised $20.5 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Titanium Ventures (formerly Telstra Ventures), with new investor Picus Capital and existing investors RTP and Bonfire.
The successful achievement of this round solidifies Alvys’s position as a leader in logistics and supply chain management. The company is experiencing rapid customer growth, and this capital enables Alvys to accelerate its development efforts and to recruit top talent to solve complex issues within the industry.
Imperial and BASF spinout SOLVE to digitally transform chemical manufacturing
Pandemic-beating drugs could enter production more quickly and agrichemicals such as fertilisers could be produced with fewer toxic raw materials thanks to technology from the new company SOLVE. The spinout has been launched by Imperial and global chemical company BASF under an innovative partnership model, with funding from BASF subsidiary Chemovator in a pre-seed round led by venture capital firm Creator Fund.
It is using innovative chemical processing techniques to build up large sets of data on chemical reactions, which it will use to train machine learning models to rapidly predict the optimal ways to manufacture high-value chemicals. The company is building up experimental data sets using novel techniques in flow chemistry, an advanced form of processing in which reactions are carried out in a continuous flow rather than in batch vessels. The technology is designed to enable chemical companies to scale manufacturing of new chemicals more quickly and to optimise manufacturing processes.
Arkion raises $4M for its energy infrastructure inspection platform
Swedish grid inspection company Arkion (formerly known as Skyqraft) has raised $4 million, bringing its funding to over $10 million. Subvenio Invest led the round with participation from existing investors such as Neptunia Invest, Antler as well as new investment from several business angels. The funds will be used in continued product development to increase technical scalability and market presence in response to growing demand.
Arkion provides faster, more accurate, and more sustainable energy infrastructure inspections in response to the challenges posed by increasing energy consumption and securing grid reliability and longevity.
Italy-based Exein raises €15M to lead the charge in embedded IoT cybersecurity
Roma-based Exein, an embedded IoT cybersecurity company, announced that it has raised €15M in a Series B round of funding. The round was led by an investor in cybersecurity and infrastructure software, 33N, and supported by Partech, along with existing investors United Ventures, eCAPITAL, and Future Industry Ventures (a Redstone/SBI fund).
The funds will support Exein’s global expansion into Europe, the US, and Asia, with a new office in Taipei. The company also plans to double its workforce within the next year.
Standard Bots Secures $63M in Funding to Propel American Manufacturing Forward with AI-Driven Robotics
Standard Bots, a pioneer in robotics automation, announced it has raised $63 million in total funding, with its recent Series B round led by General Catalyst with participation from Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Samsung Next. The company has already successfully launched its RO1 robotic arm and is now preparing to bring its new AI-powered robots to market, unlocking use cases and industries untouched by traditional robotics, such as complex assembly, food preparation, or dishwashing.
Standard Bots designs and assembles collaborative robotic arms in the United States to transform industrial sectors such as manufacturing. The company is also developing a transformer-based model that leverages the power of AI to enhance robotic capabilities. By observing human demonstrations, Standard Bots empowers robots to master intricate tasks from loading complex welding fixtures to folding clothing with unprecedented precision, marking a pivotal moment in the industry and unlocking a realm of new possibilities previously deemed by many to be beyond robotic reach. Standard Bots’ RO1 and RO2 robotic arms are currently in production and are designed for high variability and challenging real-world applications, a stark contrast to traditional, pre-programmed robots that often cannot navigate unpredictable conditions such as dynamic or cluttered environments and unexpected obstacles.
Jacobi Robotics raises $5M for motion planning software
Traditional industrial robot programming can take weeks to months. If you are a software programmer for a systems integrator, your schedule is often squeezed at the end of the project development cycle for your customer, after the hardware build and implementation delays hit the project schedule. Jacobi Robotics is trying to solve these issues for robot programmers with its new AI-powered motion planning software that it claims can deploy robot arms in days and requires 1000x less computation time.
The startup has made its software platform available to the general market, raised $5 million in seed funding, and released Jacobi Palletizer, the first in a series of AI-powered solutions that leverage Jacobi’s motion planning technology. Pallet-based logistics represents more than $400 billion worth of U.S. trade exports annually, driving a rapidly growing demand and deployment for robotic palletizers that stack cases onto pallets for storage and shipment.
The company was formed by a group of roboticists from the Berkeley AI Research Lab and came out of Berkeley professor Ken Goldberg’s AI lab. The company believes industrial robotics has reached an inflection point. Robots in production use cases are now being reprogrammed every six months instead of every six years. Shorter production runs and new use cases enabled by advancements in AI require robots that adapt to changes. In production deployments, Jacobi’s pilot partners have already seen a 95% reduction in deployment time and a 24% savings in overall project costs after deploying Jacobi.
Dynelectro secures €11 million for 1-MW Dynamic Electrolyser Unit
Dynelectro, a pioneering company in sustainable energy solutions, announces the successful closing of an €11 million investment round. This funding will enable the company to build its innovative 1-MW Dynamic Electrolyser Unit (DEU) technology, facilitating broader deployment into the green hydrogen market. Complemented by €9 million in grants from the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP), plus other regional programs, Dynelectro will utilise the funds for the development of DEUs from 150-kW prototypes to the commercial-scale fully modular 1-MW units.
Dynelectro’s technology focuses on next-generation solid-oxide electrolysis (SOE) and offers unparalleled system performance and longevity. SOE aids decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors by efficiently producing hydrogen and utilising industrial waste heat. It supports heavy industries and chemical production by providing on-site hydrogen, reducing emissions, and generating synthetic fuels and enabling the green energy transition in these sectors. SOE is poised to revolutionise the energy sector by enhancing energy efficiency, reducing costs and to facilitate broader renewable integration.
Booz Allen Fuels Automation in Space Firm Quindar
Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) announced that its corporate venture capital arm, Booz Allen Ventures, LLC, has made a strategic investment in Quindar, an early-stage commercial space technology company focused on automating and democratizing satellite operations. This investment is aligned with the firm’s VoLT business strategy—centered on velocity, leadership, and technology—and highlights the urgency of integrating mission-critical technologies across the space domain to increase awareness, security, automation, and data collection for decision advantage on a global scale.
This collaboration further demonstrates the power of dual-use technology and the need for partnership between the federal and commercial arenas. It also reflects the growing need in the space domain to scale and integrate efforts for mission success, with a focus on automation and secure, open architectures.
AI-Driven Seismos and Edison Partners Team to Drive Energy Industry’s Digital Future
Seismos and Edison Partners announced a new $15 million growth investment to enable and accelerate the energy industry’s shift from analog-focused exploration and production to technology-driven, digital infrastructure and autonomous production operations. This growth equity investment will support Seismos’ expansion across its existing oil and gas industry base and into new verticals, such as geothermal and mining that are similarly embracing modern digital infrastructure solutions.
Tools and practices historically used in oil and gas production are facing their natural limits in generating relevant, real-time information which results in suboptimal cost structures, production numbers and safety standards. The new, autonomous, digitized oil and gas field requires next-generation automation and optimization. With its AI-powered Acoustic Sensing, Seismos is revolutionizing the energy sector with efficient, innovative technology that delivers real-time, actionable intelligence. The company’s proprietary AI technology enables rapid, continuous insights and predictive monitoring for quality control that can create up to 10x production improvements and cost savings for operators.
epilot raises €10M to accelerate the green energy transition
epilot, a Cologne-based platform transforming the energy sector with its cloud-based software, has raised €10 million from Expedition Growth Capital, a software specialist growth equity firm, with offices in London and Boston, which backed headless CMS Kontent.ai.
The new funding will enable epilot to significantly expand its about 100-strong team, including expanding the product engineering team, to develop new products and solutions for the platform and extend its AI capabilities.
X-Bow Raises More Than $70 Million Series B to Accelerate Expansion of Hypersonic and Solid Rocket Motor Technologies
X-Bow Systems Inc. (X-Bow), the nation’s leading non-traditional producer of advanced manufactured solid rocket motors (SRMs) and hypersonics technologies, announced the successful completion of the initial close of its Series B financing, raising over $70 million. This private capital will accelerate the rapid growth of its hypersonic-capable vehicles, strategic and tactical scale solid rocket motor programs, and completion of its Luling, TX gigafactory campus. The company will also be expanding its engineering and R&D facilities across New Mexico. The round was led by National Security technology-focused growth equity firm Razor’s Edge, with additional participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, Boeing Ventures, Crosslink Capital and Balerion Space Ventures.
With this funding now secured, X-Bow will accelerate its growth trajectory as the nation’s third supplier of Solid Rocket Motors and continue in its quest to rapidly innovate and deliver agile, affordable solutions for SRMs, hypersonics and associated adjacent markets.
Skild AI Raises $300M Series A To Build A Scalable AI Foundation Model For Robotics
Skild AI, an AI robotics company building a scalable foundation model for robotics, announced it has closed a $300M Series A funding round. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, SoftBank Group, and Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions), with participation from Felicis Ventures, Sequoia, Menlo Ventures, General Catalyst, CRV, Amazon, SV Angel, and Carnegie Mellon University. The funding brings the company to a valuation of $1.5B. The capital will be used to continue scaling the company’s model and training datasets for future commercial deployment of its technology, in addition to hiring for roles across AI, robotics, engineering, operations, and security.
Skild AI is building intelligence that is grounded in the physical world. The company is breaking the data barrier in robotics, training its model on at least 1,000X more data points than competing models. As opposed to vertically designed robots that are built for specific applications, Skild’s model serves as a shared, general-purpose brain for a diverse embodiment of robots, scenarios and tasks, including manipulation, locomotion and navigation. From resilient quadrupeds mastering adverse physical conditions, to vision-based humanoids performing dexterous manipulation of objects for complex household and industrial tasks, the company’s model will enable the use of low-cost robots across a broad range of industries and applications.
Mantle Secures $20 Million in Series C Funding to Expand Breakthrough Metal 3D Printing Technology for Precision Tooling
Mantle, the leader in metal 3D printing technology for precision tooling, announced it has reached a significant milestone by securing $20 million in Series C funding. The Series C funding round will be critical in supporting Mantle’s rapid market expansion, scaling manufacturing to meet demand, and developing new capabilities and materials. Led by Schooner Capital, a Boston-based private investment firm, the round was also joined by the company’s largest existing investors, including Fine Structure Ventures, Foundation Capital, Corazon Capital, 11.2 Capital, and Build Collective.
Mantle’s innovative technology has played a crucial role in producing millions of end-use parts, ranging from medical devices and deodorant packaging to industrial components. By focusing on printing tools for mass production rather than the parts themselves, the company has tackled the longstanding issues of high costs and lengthy production times associated with tool creation for mass production. This strategic shift has resulted in cost reductions for customers exceeding 65 percent and accelerated manufacturers’ development cycles by up to 90 percent.
Active Membranes Receives Initial Round of Seed Funding
Active Membranes, developer of revolutionary, award-winning electrically-conducting membranes used in desalination, has closed its initial round of Seed Funding to further develop its game-changing desalination technology. This investment will facilitate Active’s further corporate growth, technology scale-up, and commercialization, as well as the execution of several extended field pilot tests, all of which are co-funded by various US federal and state government agencies. The funding round includes investments from Natural Ventures, Echo River Capital, and Pacifica Water Solutions, one of Active Membranes’ co-founders.
Active Membranes brings a new and entirely different approach to desalination membrane technology. Its membranes utilize the company’s patented technology that incorporates tunable electrical potential into a spiral wound desalination membrane module to make it actively resistant to scaling and fouling during the desalination process.
With their anti-scaling, anti-fouling properties, these membranes require minimal pre-treatment and minimal usage of chemicals and consumables. They also operate at a higher recovery rate and significantly simplify operation. This results in a much lower footprint, lower capital costs, and reduced operating costs. In so doing, Active Membranes transforms desalination into a technology of choice rather than a technology of last resort.
65 Equity Partners has made an investment of SGD 100 million ($74.06 million) in Hi-P International
Temasek-backed global investment firm 65 Equity Partners has made an investment of SGD 100 million ($74.06 million) in Singapore-headquartered regional advanced manufacturing service provider Hi-P International Pte. Ltd. (Hi-P).
The fresh capital injection was made through 65 Equity Partners’ Local Enterprise Fund, which is a joint SGD 1 billion ($741 million) fund with the Singapore Government, led by the Ministry of Trade & Industry, with the goal of developing Singapore champions. According to the statement, Hi-P will work with 65 Equity Partners to develop plans for a new strategic focus and leadership succession for growth acceleration and sustainability.
ZwitterCo Secures $58.4m in Series B Funding Led by Evok Innovations
ZwitterCo, which is transforming water treatment through advanced membrane technologies, announced the successful close of its Series B funding round led by Evok Innovations. Evok was joined by DCVC, BHP, Munich Re Ventures, Siteground, HG Ventures, and Blue Horizon Advisors. The oversubscribed $58.4 million round will accelerate ZwitterCo’s mission to unlock the potential of unconventional water sources, such as industrial wastewaters and more challenging surface waters or process streams, to meet the massive water demands of industries that underpin a low-carbon future.
While membranes are ubiquitous in water treatment, there had been no breakthrough innovations in the field for half a century until ZwitterCo introduced membranes with novel zwitterionic chemistries. ZwitterCo’s technology creates unprecedented immunity to organic fouling, enabling ZwitterCo’s membranes to continue working efficiently and sustainably long after traditional membranes would have clogged.
AE Industrial Partners Closes Fund III with $1.28 Billion in Capital Commitments
AE Industrial Partners, LP (“AEI”), a private equity firm specializing in national security, aerospace and industrial services, announced the close of its third flagship private equity fund, AE Industrial Partners Fund III, LP (“Fund III”), with total capital commitments of $1.28 billion.
Reflecting the firm’s strategic focus on its three key target markets, Fund III will make control investments in the critical “toll gates” across the aerospace and defense supply chains and support key industry suppliers as they scale up production to meet ongoing and increased demand from their respective end markets.
Commitments to Fund III came from a diverse mix of institutional investors in the U.S. and around the world, including leading endowments, charitable foundations, public and corporate pensions, financial institutions, funds of funds, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds.
Polystyvert secures $16M to revolutionize polystyrene recycling, enabling the global deployment of innovative technology for sustainable polystyrene production from plastic waste
Polystyvert, an innovative company specializing in recycling technologies and the circular economy of styrenic plastics (polystyrene and ABS), announces the closing of a first tranche of a Series B funding for over $16 million. This investment represents another step for the company towards the construction of its very first commercial plant in Québec, dedicated to recycling highly contaminated polystyrene waste. With funding from European and North American investors, Polystyvert will further solidify its position as a leader in the field of styrenic plastics circularity, thanks to its patented dissolution and purification technology. Other investors will participate in the second tranche of this financing to enable the Series B round to raise up to $30M. Polystyvert is grateful to the investors in the Series B round who are supporting the company in a new era in the circularity of highly contaminated styrenic plastics. Infinity Recycling led the round, followed by SWEN Blue Ocean, and Earth Foundry, an existing shareholder.
Remaining true to its roots as a technological innovator, part of this funding will also be dedicated to further diversify Polystyvert’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio, which already includes over forty patents with worldwide coverage.
Germany-based alcemy secures €9.25M to decarbonise the cement and concrete industry
Berlin-based alcemy, a deeptech startup, has secured $10M (approximately €9.25M) in funding to expand its cement decarbonisation solution. This funding follows alcemy’s partnership with Spenner, Germany’s fifth-largest cement manufacturer. Together, they have developed a commercial-grade low-clinker, low-carbon cement mixture, a first for the industry globally. The round, led by Norrsken VC, aims to advance alcemy’s research and development efforts and facilitate entry into new markets in 2024, including the United States.
Using machine learning and control technology, alcemy predicts cement and concrete quality properties. This approach provides real-time insights across the entire value chain, transforming traditional materials into data-driven high-tech products. alcemy’s solution enhances product quality, reduces production costs, and achieves CO2 reductions of up to 65 per cent.
Altrove closes €3.7 million to develop sustainable alternatives to critical materials
Altrove, a deep tech startup creating sustainable alternatives for critical materials, has raised €3.7 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Contrarian Ventures, Emblem and strong angel investors like Thomas Clozel (CEO Owkin), Julien Chaumond (CTO HuggingFace) and Nikolaj Deichmann (3Shape). The funding will accelerate the development of their core technology, currently focusing on substitutes for rare-earth compounds used in transition technologies, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics. The company was founded in early 2024 by Cambridge alumnus Dr. Joonatan Laulainen and second-time founder Thibaud Martin at Entrepreneur First.
Unlike recent AI materials startups, Altrove does not stop at predicting what new materials could exist but focuses on finding the optimal recipe to manufacture alternative materials at scale. Altrove developed a proprietary characterization technology to iteratively learn from each experiment, accelerating the discovery process up to 100 times.
Stellantis Invests Additional $55 Million In Archer Following Recent Flight Test Milestone
Stellantis N.V. and Archer Aviation Inc., a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced Archer has received an additional $55 million investment from Stellantis under the companies’ strategic funding agreement following the achievement of its transition flight test milestone last month.
Archer remains on track to complete construction of its high-volume manufacturing facility in Georgia later this year. This first phase of the build out is a ~350,000 square foot facility on an ~100 acre site designed to support production of up to 650 aircraft annually, which would make it one of the largest manufacturing facilities by volume in the aircraft industry. Archer’s goal with this facility remains to establish a factory that can support its planned commercial ramp up by leveraging the expertise of Stellantis as its contract manufacturer.
Phaidra Raises $12 Million to Help Data Centers Increase Compute Infrastructure
Phaidra, an AI-based control system that helps mission-critical facilities like data centers improve energy efficiency and increase compute infrastructure, announced $12 million in new funding led by Index Ventures, bringing their total capital raised to $60.5 million. The new funding will allow Phaidra to accelerate expansion of its autonomous control systems, which use reinforcement learning to help data centers optimize their power usage while improving reliability. The announcement comes at a time when rapid AI innovation relies on scaling compute. This, combined with a shortage of power and skilled labor needed to support mission-critical facilities like data centers, is contributing to a global crisis where AI innovation is constrained by a lack of compute infrastructure.
Phaidra’s AI control platform turns industrial facilities into intelligent, self-learning systems that combine the precision of manual methods with the scalability and efficiency offered by AI. It seamlessly integrates into existing building management systems to capture real-time data, feed that data into its cloud-based reinforcement learning agent, and autonomously alter the settings on the individual components to achieve optimal performance of the entire system. And unlike traditional control systems, which slowly degrade and require regular manual programming updates, Phaidra automatically learns and gets better over time. Phaidra’s early customers have seen efficiency improvements amounting to millions of dollars in cost savings, which translates to increased power availability for revenue-generating services.
Sensorita uses digital twins to help waste management companies streamline construction waste
The company is coming out of stealth with $3.25 million in venture funding. The round was led by construction-focused VC Brick and Mortar Ventures with participation from Telenor, a large telecomm player. The firm has raised a total of $6 million, with about a third coming from grants.
The Oslo-based startup puts its sensors into construction waste bins and uses radar and machine learning technology to create digital twins of each bin. Waste companies can then use Sensorita’s software to get updates from where their bins are and how full they are and use that data to better plan pickups.
Lien said Sensorita plans to use the funding to build out its team and continue investing in its technology. She added that they have really strong traction in Norway and are looking to expand out of the region. The company is developing their sensor technology to be able to determine what type of material is in a given garbage bin. They also hope to be able to create a virtual assistant for the waste management industry.
Sustainable grain-based leather startup UNCAGED Innovations secures $5.6M funding
UNCAGED Innovations, a biomaterials startup that creates sustainable leather, has raised an oversubscribed $5.6 million seed investment. This follows the $2 million in a pre-seed funding round raised back in 2023. The round was co-led by Green Circle Foodtech Ventures and Fall Line Capital, with participation from Ponderosa Ventures, Golden Seeds, and existing investor InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of JLR, which invested in Energy Source and Carmoola.
This investment will support UNCAGED’s commercial launch and allow the company to continue to increase production and expand its team, including growing the manufacturing team.
AI robotics startup Pivot Robots raises funding from NuVentures
US-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Pivot Robots, which develops software for robotic arms, has raised an undisclosed amount of money from early-stage venture fund NuVentures. The funds will be used for team expansion, particularly in the areas of motion planning and computer vision. It will also be used for supporting the testing of more robots and the establishment of an office space, cofounder Siddharth Girdhar told ET.
Pivot Robots, founded in 2023 by Carnegie Mellon University graduates Siddharth Girdhar and Vignesh Rajmohan, leverages AI vision control software to automate industrial robots. It assists manufacturers in automating their most labour-intensive tasks. The company’s initial product focuses on the grinding of metal parts.
Strohm secures €30M to reduce carbon footprint in pipeline infrastructure
Netherlands-based Strohm, a company specialising in developing and manufacturing pipelines for conventional and renewable energy sectors, has secured €30M in equity funding led by SENCO, a hydrogen-focused investment firm in Germany. The round also saw participation from existing shareholders, including Chevron Technology Ventures, Evonik Venture Capital, HydrogenOne Capital, ING Corporate Investments, and Shell Ventures.
The funding aims to accelerate Strohm’s growth trajectory, particularly in hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) applications.
Thiozen Announces $3.2M in Funding from Provincial Government for Project in Alberta
Thiozen, the first company ever to produce clean hydrogen from “sour gas” waste streams, announced it has received a total of $3.2M in funding for a clean hydrogen project in Alberta, Canada. Administered by Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) and Alberta Innovates, the funding is part of an overall $57 million commitment by the Government of Alberta to support 28 projects that advance the hydrogen economy, reduce emissions, and create jobs in Alberta.
Thiozen will use ERA funding to install its proprietary technology at a gas processing site in Alberta. The Thiozen platform will facilitate the “de-souring” – or removal – of hydrogen sulfide from the sour natural gas streams while simultaneously generating zero-emission hydrogen.
Sila Raises $375M to Deliver Titan Silicon™ for Auto Series Production
Sila, a next-generation battery materials company, announces it has raised $375 million in a close of its Series G round led by existing investors Sutter Hill Ventures and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., with participation by new outside investors as well as existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue, Perry Creek Capital, and others.
The funding will secure the completion of the company’s Moses Lake plant in Q1, 2025, enabling the delivery of its Titan Silicon anode material to auto customers in Q4, 2025. Mercedes-Benz and Panasonic, as well as three additional customer contracts yet to be publicly disclosed, have been secured and will be fulfilled through Sila’s Moses Lake manufacturing facility.
Titan Silicon was the first commercial next-generation silicon anode technology to enter the market in 2021. Today, it delivers up to a 20-25% energy density improvement over the industry’s best performing graphite cells, enabling automakers to deliver unmatched EV performance, dramatically increasing vehicle range and reducing charge times – pivotal to addressing consumer concern in switching to electric. Future releases of Titan Silicon will drive improvement of up to 40%, recharge times to less than 10 minutes, and lower the $/kWh cost of batteries.
Li Industries Closes $42M in Series B Funding, Announces New Investors
Li Industries announced the successful closing of its Series B funding round with an additional $6 million commitment from investors. The new investors include General Motors (GM) Ventures, DNX Ventures, and Tech Energy Ventures. This latest investment brings the total size of the Series B round to $42 million and increases Li Industries’ total funding to date to over $50 million.
Li Industries plans to expand its 10,000 tonne recycling facility and further develop its cutting-edge recycling technologies. The company is dedicated to addressing the environmental challenges posed by end-of-life batteries and production waste, transforming them into valuable resources in a cleaner and more cost-effective manner.
Aether Fuels Secures $34 Million in Series A Financing
Aether Fuels (Aether), an advanced climate technology company, announced that it has secured $34 million in Series A financing from a syndicate of global investors. AP Ventures led the round, which also includes Chevron Technology Ventures, CDP Venture Capital and Zeon Ventures. Series Seed lead investor Xora Innovation and other existing investors TechEnergy Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Foothill Ventures and JetBlue Ventures also participated.
With this financing, Aether plans to accelerate the scale-up of Aether Aurora™, the company’s proprietary technology to create sustainable fuels for the aviation and ocean shipping industries. Aether Aurora, which leverages technology licensed from Aether’s strategic partner GTI Energy, delivers breakthrough economics via a transformed Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process by combining innovations in chemistry (catalysts), equipment (reactors), and process flows to slash plant investment and operating costs, while simultaneously driving up yield. It is also highly flexible, enabling the conversion of a wide range of abundant waste carbon feedstocks into jet fuel and other liquid hydrocarbons and therefore overcomes the supply constraints faced by many other sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production processes.
Axelera AI Raises $68 Million Series B Funding to Accelerate Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence
Axelera AI, the leading provider of purpose-built AI hardware acceleration technology for generative AI and computer vision inference, announced its successful close of an oversubscribed $68 million Series B financing round, bringing the total amount raised to $120 million. In just three years, Axelera AI has built a world-class team of 180+ employees (including 55+ PhD’s with more than 40,000 citations), launched its Metis™ AI Platform which achieves a 3-5x increase in efficiency and performance, and has visibility into a strong business pipeline which exceeds $100 million. This success has attracted diverse, global funding from venture capital, sovereign wealth and pension funds.
Axelera AI’s Series B funding round is Europe’s largest oversubscribed Series B funding round in the fabless semiconductor industry. It is backed by major institutional investors, including Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, the European Innovation Council Fund, Innovation Industries Strategic Partners Fund (backed by Dutch Pension Funds PMT and PME, administered by MN) and Samsung Catalyst Fund, along with existing investors Verve Ventures, Innovation Industries, Fractionelera and the Italian sovereign fund CDP Venture Capital SGR. The new capital adds to previously raised funds, including the innovation credit from RVO, and equity investment from Bitfury, CDP Venture Capital, Federal Holding and Investment Company of Belgium (SFPIM), imec, imec.xpand and Innovation Industries.
This new capital enables Axelera AI to grow its high demand AI inference solutions based on its proprietary digital in-memory computing and RISC-V technology.
Momenta leads Series A investment round in SprayVision, revolutionizing industrial coating operations
Momenta, the leading Industrial Impact® venture capital firm, has led the Series A investment round in SprayVision, an Ostrava, Czechia-based leader in process control and simulation of paint coating operations. Momenta invested along with the participation of J&T Ventures. This strategic funding will accelerate the company’s global operations, creating an even greater industrial impact.
SprayVision’s intelligent coating solution enables dynamic process control and optimization of paint lines. Their innovation significantly reduces time, scrap, paint waste, and emissions. With a simulation prediction accuracy of over 98%, SprayVision empowers customers to accelerate the transition from automation to autonomous operations. The company’s solutions support customers from digitizing manual processes to enhancing automation environments where human-robot collaboration is integrated into fully autonomous operations.
Vertus Energy closes €8.75M to generate renewable energy from waste
Vertus Energy, an Austrian Waste-to-X (treating waste as a resource) industrial biotech startup, has closed €8.75 million in seed funding round. It was led by global investors Energy Capital Ventures, joined by Blackbird, which backed Partly, the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, and Aussie Angels, alongside existing investors.
The startup will use the fresh capital to scale its flagship product, BRIO, into pilot projects. The flagship product, BRIO, creates the platform for Vertus to control the bacteria within anaerobic digestion plants by retrofitting their modular hardware unit that can generate 60% more energy, 3 times faster. Vertus Energy is determined to democratise access to sustainable energy through its advanced BRIO technology and its purpose of delivering energy justice for all.
Feon Energy Secures $6.1M Seed Round for Electrolyte Innovation and Achieves UN 38.3 Certification for Li-Metal Batteries
Feon Energy, an advanced battery electrolyte startup spun out of Stanford University, announced the recent closing of a $6.1 million seed round that will enable the development of next-gen batteries. The round was led by Fine Structure Ventures, with participation from Eight Roads, Foothill Ventures, MassVentures, EPS Ventures, and Valkyrie Fund.
The new funding will allow Feon to expand its world-class R&D team, scale up its high-throughput molecular discovery platform, and accelerate commercial engagement with leading battery and automotive players.
Feon Energy is pioneering a platform approach to create new electrolyte molecules and formulations purposefully designed for advanced battery chemistries like lithium-metal and cobalt-free ultra-high-voltage lithium-ions. Their non-flammable liquid electrolyte solutions enable advanced batteries with higher energy density, improved safety, lower cost, and more supply chain resilience than today’s lithium-ion batteries.
e-Zinc Secures USD $31M in Series A2 Funding to Advance Commercialization Initiatives
e-Zinc, the company enabling sustainable, long-duration energy storage with its zinc-air battery, announced it has raised an additional USD $31 million in follow-on funding to its $25 million Series A round. This oversubscribed Series A2 round was led by Evok Innovations, with additional investments from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Export Development Canada (EDC), and Ultratech Capital Partners. e-Zinc’s existing shareholders also participated, including Toyota Ventures, Eni Next, Anzu Partners, BDC, and Graphite Ventures. e-Zinc plans to use this financing to accelerate product development and complete the construction of its 42,000 sq. ft pilot manufacturing facility in Mississauga, Ontario.
This funding will accelerate e-Zinc’s establishment of a manufacturing base that will enable commercialization of its long-duration energy storage solution, which promises lower cost and increased safety compared to conventional batteries.
e-Zinc is partnering with Toyota Tsusho Canada Inc. and the California Energy Commission to demonstrate how e-Zinc’s energy storage systems can reliably provide long-duration energy storage at commercial scale. By using this new investment to carry out these field demonstration projects, e-Zinc will validate that its zinc-air batteries have the capability to store 24 hours of energy, which is approximately 10x that of traditional batteries.
Bright Machines Raises $126M Series C Funding to Propel Manufacturing Into Software-Defined Era
Bright Machines, an innovator in intelligent, software-defined manufacturing, announced it has raised $126M in Series C funding, with $106M in equity led by investment from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and participation from NVIDIA, Microsoft, Eclipse, Jabil and Shinhan Securities, and with $20M in venture debt from J.P. Morgan. This brings the company’s total amount raised to more than $400M. The capital will be used to launch product innovations, expand its software stack for increased assembly flexibility, and grow strategic relationships with ecosystem partners.
Formic Raises $27.4 Million to Bring Automation to More Manufacturers
Formic, a provider of Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) automation for U.S. manufacturers, announced it has raised another $27.4 million in Series A financing led by Blackhorn Ventures with participation from Mitsubishi HC Capital America, NEC, Translink Capital, Alumni Ventures, FJ Labs, Lux Capital, Initialized Capital and Lorimer Ventures. This new funding brings the total Series A round to more than $52 million since January 2022.
With the new financing, Formic plans to:
- Expand its fleet of standardized equipment to provide more automation to more manufacturers, offering rapid deployment and shorter lead times (75% of Formic customers are automating their material handling processes for the first time)
- Increase its network of support experts across the U.S., enabling even faster customer response while continuing to uphold industry-leading maintenance service level agreements (SLAs)
- Enhance its equipment-agnostic robotic automation software that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) for motion planning, predictive maintenance and system design, as well as more intuitive customer interfaces and dashboards
Travertine secures $8.5 million to reduce waste and emissions in mining, fertilizer, and cement production
Travertine Technologies, Inc. announced the closing of its $8.5 million financing to commercialize a novel electrochemical platform that enables carbon-negative production of fertilizer and critical elements like lithium and nickel while eliminating chemical waste. The financing was co-led by Holcim MAQER Ventures, with participation from the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and venture capital firms Clean Energy Ventures and Bidra Innovation Ventures.
Travertine has successfully upcycled sulfate waste from major fertilizer and mining companies across the globe in its fully-integrated, continuous-flow pilot and is currently focused on engineering and scale-up for a first commercial demonstration plant.
LanzaJet Announces Strategic Investment from MUFG
LanzaJet, a leading sustainable fuels technology company and sustainable fuels producer, announced an investment from MUFG, one of the world’s leading financial groups with total assets of approximately $2.9 trillion. The investment enables LanzaJet to continue building its capability and capacity to deploy its proprietary ethanol to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) process technology.
MUFG’s investment is part of LanzaJet’s current $100 million growth equity funding round, with support from leading companies across industries and around the world. In the last few months, LanzaJet has announced investments from Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Groupe ADP, and now MUFG. While SAF production continues to scale, LanzaJet maintains its role in developing the industry by continuing its work building the ecosystem required to decarbonize aviation through SAF. LanzaJet continues to be at the forefront by commercializing its next generation ethanol-to-SAF technology and opening its fully-funded LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels biorefinery – the world’s first commercial-scale ethanol-to-SAF plant. Located in the United States, the historic plant will produce SAF and renewable diesel from low-carbon and sustainable ethanol and achieve International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC).
Prewave Raises €63M Series B to Revolutionise Supply Chain Risk Management with AI-Driven Superintelligence Platform
Prewave, the AI-enabled sustainability, risk and compliance platform, has raised €63m in its Series B funding round, led by the global investment firm Hedosophia, with participation from existing investors Creandum, Ventech, Kompas, Speedinvest and Working Capital Fund. The new funding will be used to drive Prewave’s next phase of global growth and to support further product R&D on its proprietary AI technology to deliver the world’s only supply chain superintelligence platform.
Prewave’s end-to-end solution differentiates the company as a category leader. While many providers still rely heavily on manual inputs or legacy technology, Prewave’s next gen platform automatically maps, scores and monitors millions of supply chain nodes. Built on a decade of R&D and data training, Prewave’s academic-bred AI engine accurately identifies risk signals from vast and fragmented data sets made up of news and social media content across 400+ languages; company certifications and annual reports; government and NGO data feeds; and sanction and Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists.
Prewave then generates real-time predictive and reactive alerts, along with recommended actions for customers’ supply chains, risky suppliers, and sub-tier networks. By integrating all supply chain risk use cases and enabling effective end-to-end risk management throughout the lifecycle (including identification, tier-n mapping, prioritization, mitigation, and reporting and control), Prewave reduces businesses’ workload by a factor of 40 compared to manual, questionnaire-based compliance approaches.
Wave Photonics Secures $5.8M to Enable Widespread Deployment of Light-Based Chips
Wave Photonics, a Cambridge-based deep tech startup, has received £4.5 million ($5.8 million) to develop on-chip photonics designs for quantum technologies, sensors, and data center applications. The UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures led the round, with participation from Redstone QAI Quantum Fund, Kyra Ventures, Parkwalk’s University of Cambridge Enterprise Fund IX (UCEF IX), and Deep Tech Labs. The investment round was complemented by non-dilutive funding via EIC and Innovate UK grants, taking the company’s total funding to date to £5.4 million ($6.9 million).
This investment will enable the company to take its technology from a research manufacturing line to a commercial foundry, with a particular focus on solutions for frontier applications such as quantum technologies and biosensing.
Wilya Secures $4 Million in Seed Funding Led by Ironspring Ventures to Bring Flexibility to the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Workforce
Wilya, formerly known as Gig and Take, an innovative B2B SaaS company transforming traditional HR practices in the manufacturing and supply chain sectors, announced the successful close of a $4 million seed funding round. The round was led by Ironspring Ventures, with participation from Schematic Ventures, Plug & Play Ventures, Iron Prairie Ventures, Motivate Ventures, and 25Madison. This funding milestone underscores both the growing recognition of Wilya’s cutting-edge approach to flexible work and skills digitization, and the company’s rapid commercial growth.
With this new injection of capital, Wilya will accelerate the development and deployment of its software solutions, further expand its market reach, and add product features to address the unique human capital challenges in the supply chain.
German satellite launch service company Isar Aerospace extends Series C by €65M+
Munich-based Isar Aerospace, a space technology company that offers launch solutions for satellite constellations, announced that it has expanded its Series C funding round by more than €65M, reaching a total of more than €220M. This extension includes investment from the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), a VC fund backed by 24 NATO Allies. With over €1B at its disposal, the NIF supports deep tech companies focused on addressing challenges in defence, security, and resilience. This is NIF’s first direct investment in a satellite launch provider.
The round also saw participation from several new investors, including the European family office G3T and 10x Group, Besant Capital, Finadvice Med HOLDINGS, and LP&E. Existing investors such as Lakestar, Earlybird, Airbus Ventures, Bayern Kapital, and UVC Partners also contributed to the extension round.
Vecna Robotics Closes $100 Million in Series C Funding to Streamline and Automate Warehouse Workflows
Vecna Robotics, the leader in flexible material handling automation solutions, announced the close of its Series C round at $100 million, with $40 million in new funding including equity and debt, that nearly doubles the company valuation from the previous round. Tiger Global Management, Proficio Capital Partners, and IMPULSE participated in the round.
The cash infusion will be used to fund new workflow-specific innovations that enable the company to deliver rapid ROI to cost conscious warehouse operators served by the $165 billion pallet-moving autonomy market. To support its rapid expansion, the company also announced the appointment of Michael Helmbrecht as Chief Operating Officer.
Over the past year, the company has combined cloud software updates and investments in its PivotalTM Command Center to help customers like GEODIS, FedEx, Caterpillar, Shape, and others, realize upwards of 70% performance improvements in ground-to-ground warehouse workflows like case picking, packaging, and cross-docking. In addition to these improvements, the cash infusion will support the launch of innovative, next-generation platforms that will help the company provide more deployment flexibility and reach into new workflows that are in high demand, while being able to continue delivering operator cost savings from day one.
GrayMatter Raises $45M Series B to Accelerate its Unique AI-Powered Robotics Solutions for Manufacturing's Hardest Problems and Unique Challenges
GrayMatter Robotics, an AI-powered robotics leader empowering humans with intelligent automation, announced $45 million in Series B funding. Wellington Management led the round, which also included NGP Capital, Euclidean Capital, Advance Venture Partners, SQN Venture Partners, and other existing investors 3M Ventures, B Capital, Bow Capital, Calibrate Ventures, OCA Ventures, and Swift Ventures.
With the new capital, GrayMatter, founded in 2020 by SK Gupta, Ariyan Kabir, and Brual Shah, is actively hiring for a wide range of roles to meet customer demands, expanding its Los Angeles headquarters, and accelerating the development and deployment of its next-generation AI-powered robotic solutions.
GrayMatter’s technological advancements continue to set new industry standards. Its proprietary GMR-AI™ technology enables robots to self-program and adapt to high-mix manufacturing environments, providing consistent quality and reducing cycle times. Over the past two years, GrayMatter Robotics has deployed robots across North America in aerospace, defense, specialty vehicles, marine, recreation, and general manufacturing industries, processed over 7.5 million square feet of product surface area, and holds ten patents.
M2X Energy Announces $40 Million Series B Financing to Accelerate Commercial Operations
M2X Energy Inc., an end-to-end developer of modular, transportable gas-to-liquids systems that economically produce low-carbon methanol from stranded methane, announced a $40 million Series B financing round led by Conifer Infrastructure Partners. Also participating in the round are the existing Series A investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Eni Next, Add Ventures by SCG, and Autodesk Foundation.
The funds will be used to accelerate the in-house manufacturing and deployment of M2X’s first commercial fleet of low-carbon methanol production systems. Prior to the Series B funding round, M2X successfully conducted multiple field deployments, which de-risked its patented chemical process technology, and demonstrated the benefits of replacing economies of scale with mass manufacturing and automation to rapidly mitigate methane emissions from otherwise stranded, highly distributed sources. M2X has already established 10,000 square feet of turnkey manufacturing space capable of constructing multiple systems in parallel, and initiated equipment orders to accelerate go-to-market and fleet expansion. On the commercial front, M2X is actively sourcing biogas feedstocks to produce biomethanol, which aligns with regulatory certification schemes and customer demand. M2X expects to deploy its first commercial systems and deliver low-carbon methanol, including biomethanol, under long-term offtake agreements in early 2025.
Molten Industries Raises $25M Series A to Produce Clean Graphite and Hydrogen and Onshore Battery Supply Chains
Molten Industries, a fast-growing American start-up that converts natural gas into clean graphite and hydrogen, has announced the successful close of a 25 million dollar Series A financing round. The raise was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), with new participation from Sozo Ventures, Mark Heising, and Steelhead Capital. Existing investors also participated in the round, including Union Square Ventures, 50 Years, J4 Ventures, Moai Capital, UVC Partners, Jane Woodward, and Peter Attia. Molten will use this funding to build its first modular commercial reactor in Oakland and become a leading producer of graphite for lithium-ion batteries and clean hydrogen to decarbonize the chemical and steel industries.
Maxterial Raises nearly $8 Million in Series A Funding
Maxterial, a technology company dedicated to pioneering advancements in material science including the commercialization of advanced coatings, has announced the successful closure of its Series A funding round, raising nearly $8 million. This milestone underscores Maxterial’s rising influence in disruptive material science technologies and its commitment to reshaping traditional industry norms with dynamic and environmentally responsible solutions.
The Series A funding round, led by Helios Climate Ventures, with participation from global corporation QEMETICA (formerly Ciech) and the Mott Corporation, solidifies Maxterial’s position as a leader in climate-conscious innovation. This capital enables Maxterial to accelerate its R&D efforts, including large-scale trials, expand its products, and scale operations in North America and Europe.
Delft-based Qblox secures €24.2M to help quantum computer builders reach industrial applications
Qblox, a provider of scalable and modular quantum control stacks, announced that it has secured $26M (approximately €24.2M) in a Series A funding round led by Quantonation and Invest-NL Deep Tech fund. Others, including QDNL participations and the European Innovation Council (EIC), also participated in the round.
The recent capital injection will enable the Dutch company to expand its research and development efforts, accelerate product development, and further strengthen its market position. Additionally, the funds will be used to expand its team to meet growing demand and drive future growth.
South Korea’s bitsensing cements $25M to drive growth in radar technology
bitsensing, a South Korean company developing advanced radar solutions, has secured $25 million in Series B funding. This investment round, led by prominent venture capital firms and strategic investors, underscores bitsensing’s potential to revolutionise various industries with its radar technology.
The fresh capital will be used to bolster bitsensing’s operations in several ways. The company plans to: scale its workforce, enhance its existing product portfolio, explore new market opportunities, and establish strategic partnerships. This multi-pronged approach aims to accelerate bitsensing’s global growth and solidify its position as a leader in the radar technology sector.
Kinetic Announces $21 Million Series B Funding Round, Led by Menlo Ventures
Kinetic, an automotive infrastructure company that delivers digital maintenance and servicing for EVs and AVs through its network of service centers, announced it has secured $21 million in Series B funding, led by Menlo Ventures. Other participants in the round include returning investors Lux Capital, Construct Capital and Haystack Ventures along with new investors Allstate Strategic Ventures and Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures. Kinetic will use the new funding to accelerate its business growth and continue to add top technology and engineering talent to its team.
Kinetic currently operates four service hubs across the nation—in Las Vegas and in Orange County, San Bernardino and Lake Elsinore in California—and plans to launch four additional hubs in the coming months to meet the growing demand for repair of the digital systems that power modern vehicles. The company offers scanning, programming and calibration of all modern vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) via its Kinetic Hubs, which are staffed by certified technicians, and through revenue-sharing agreements with traditional collision repair centers, dealerships and rental fleets.
Floating Wind Startup Aikido Technologies Raises $4M in Seed Financing
Aikido Technologies, a floating wind startup whose technology lowers costs, reduces fabrication timelines and brings serial production to the floating wind sector, announced the successful close of its over-subscribed $4 million Series Seed investment round. The financing was led by Azolla Ventures with participation from Propeller Ventures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, Cisco Foundation, Anthropocene Ventures, and others. Aikido will use this capital to advance its technology for offshore deployment, build its team, and develop a commercial pipeline. The company is currently supported by Breakthrough Energy Fellows, which is funding Aikido’s first pilot deployment, the Aikido One.
The core of Aikido’s technology is a platform for floating offshore wind turbines that slashes project costs and enables floating offshore wind projects to become economic. Key features of the platform include a) pin joints that enable serialized production of its 13 major steel components; b) a unique design that allows it to fold up during assembly, occupying 2/3 less space in a shipyard or quayside port facility; c) a fit-for-purpose, re-usable assembly structure that enables the quick placement, alignment, final assembly, and transport; and d) an upending procedure that only requires water ballast.
LD Carbon Closes $28M Investment to Scale Production of Sustainable Carbon Black and Pyrolysis Oil
LD Carbon, a leading producer of recovered carbon black, closed a $28M Series C funding round led by Toyota’s growth fund, Woven Capital, with participation by Meritz Securities, Investwith, Industrial Bank of Korea, Hyundai Motor Group ZER01NE, Elohim Partners and New Main Capital. LD Carbon will use the investment to scale operations to recycle end-of-life tires and material from end-of-life vehicles into recovered carbon black and pyrolysis oil through pyrolysis and material recovery technology, which in turn can be used to create new automotive parts and tires. The investment will advance LD Carbon’s mission of accelerating the circular economy while delivering material cost and carbon savings to global customers.
Manufacturing carbon black is a highly polluting process, generating 25 million metric tons of CO2 annually, while another 1.6 million metric tons come from the 28% of all waste tires that are burned — the combined CO2 equivalent of more than 9M passenger vehicles. LD Carbon’s pyrolysis and material recovery process uses patented recovered carbon black manufacturing technology to provide nearly 100% recovery of waste tires, providing an environmentally safe option for recovered carbon black (“rCB”) and developing pyrolysis oil.
Liquid Instruments secures $12M in funding to expand manufacturing
Liquid Instruments, a leading innovator of reconfigurable test instrumentation, announced that it has secured a new round of funding totaling $12 million, led by a $10 million investment from Breakthrough Victoria, with other investors including Lockheed Martin Ventures, Acorn Capital, and Powerhouse Ventures. This funding will enable Liquid Instruments to significantly expand its manufacturing operations in Australia, establish a new office in Melbourne, and scale its global operations while supporting regional economic growth.
Founded in Australia in 2014, Liquid Instruments develops reconfigurable test and measurement devices to support and accelerate critical scientific research and development in a range of applications, from optics and photonics to aerospace and defense. The company’s flexible Moku platform leverages the processing power and versatility of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to integrate a complete suite of test instruments — from bench essentials like an oscilloscope to advanced tools like a lock-in amplifier — into a single, compact device. Liquid Instruments’ technology is rooted in decades of fundamental research at leading Australian universities, as well as the Australia-based ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the United States.
CesiumAstro Secures $65M in Oversubscribed Funding Round
CesiumAstro Inc., a leading provider of space communications technology, announced the closing of a $65 million Series B+ funding round. The round was led by Trousdale Ventures, with matching participation from Development Bank of Japan Inc. and Quanta Computer, Inc. Renowned investors, including Kleiner Perkins, Lavrock Ventures, L3Harris Technologies, InMotion Ventures (JLR’s investment arm), Matter Venture Partners, MESH Ventures, and Assembly Ventures, also joined the round.
This investment validates CesiumAstro’s innovative approach to space communications technology, as exemplified by their industry-leading Vireo multi-beam Ka-band active phased array payload and provider-agnostic Skylark SATCOM terminal, which are disrupting the space communications landscape.
Nota AI®, Leading AI Optimization Company, Secures $19.9 Million Series C Funding to Pioneer On-Device Generative AI
Nota AI, a leading South Korean startup specializing in AI optimization and lightweighting technology, has successfully raised $19.9 million (25.8 billion KRW) in its Series C funding round. This brings the total investment raised since its founding to approximately $42.6 million (53.2 billion KRW). The round was led by STIC Ventures and LB Investment, with new investments from STIC Ventures, Korea Development Bank, and Mirae Asset Securities. Existing investors Stonebridge Ventures, LB Investment, InterVest, and DS Investment Partners also contributed additional funds, alongside a key AI semiconductor CVC participating as a strategic investor.
Alpen Closes $18 Million Capital Raise
Alpen High Performance Products (Alpen), the leading American manufacturer of high-performance window and door technologies, announced a combined $18 million funding raise designed to help scale its award-winning window, door, and glass businesses. The funding is anchored by a $5.9 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) that was awarded as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Recovery Act (BIL/IRA). The DOE grant catalyzed an additional $12.1 million of private capital.
SewerAI Raises $15 Million Series B to Modernize Sewer Inspection using AI
SewerAI, a global leader in AI and cloud-driven sewer condition assessment, announced the completion of a $15 million Series B funding round. The round was led by Innovius Capital, with additional funding from Emerald VC, Epic Ventures, Suffolk Technologies, Bentley Systems, Burnt Island Ventures and notable individual investors including Zachary Bookman, founder and CEO of OpenGov, and the CEOs of several elite AI and computer vision companies.
CuspAI raises $30M to create a GenAI-driven search engine for new materials
The modern method of coming up with new materials is to make something and then use a computer to work out whether the material came out correctly. But what if you flipped that around, using generative-AI-driven software to design the material in the first place? That’s the premise behind Cambridge, U.K.-based CuspAI, which has now secured $30 million in a seed round led by Hoxton Ventures, with significant participation from Basis Set Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
The company says its platform functions like a search engine for materials, enabling the fast evaluation of a “vast number of novel structures.” An area where CuspAI thinks AI-designed materials could have a significant near-term impact is carbon capture and storage.
Princeton NuEnergy Closes $30 Million Oversubscribed Series A Funding
Princeton NuEnergy (PNE), a leader in lithium-ion battery direct recycling furthering America’s circular economy, closed a Series A funding round with a strategic investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, Samsung’s corporate venture arm, investing in breakthrough technologies across industries and from Helium-3 Ventures. Investor demand for this 50% oversubscribed round brought PNE’s Series A total to $30 million. Samsung Venture and Helium-3 join the round’s previous investors, including Honda Motor Co. Ltd., LKQ Corporation, SCG Group, Traxys Group, and Wistron Corporation.
The funds will support construction of PNE’s first standalone, full-scale direct battery recycling advanced manufacturing facility, which will be announced later this month. In total, the company has raised over $55 million, including multiple U.S. Department of Energy grants totaling $18 million and a $7.9 million seed & angel round.
TIER IV secures additional $54 Million in Series B funding: Deploying Level 4 autonomous driving systems across Japan
TIER IV, a pioneer in open-source software for autonomous driving systems, proudly announces the successful extension of its Series B funding round, securing an additional US$54 million (¥8.5 billion). This brings the total Series B funding to US$132 million (¥20.7 billion) and the company’s overall funding to US$243 million (¥38.1 billion).
The latest funds are earmarked for launching the production of Level 4 autonomous driving systems, leveraging TIER IV’s advanced software platforms and reference designs. The funds will also boost our efforts to develop safety assessment methods that tightly integrate processes and tools.
During the Series A round, TIER IV expanded beyond developing the open-source software Autoware to commercialize comprehensive software platforms that encompass communication, insurance, and risk management features for autonomous driving systems. The Series B round has further enhanced our software development capabilities, particularly in advocating the concept of reference designs. TIER IV was also selected for the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO) Green Innovation Fund Project, participating in a substantial US$162 million (¥25.4 billion) R&D initiative aimed at introducing scalability to autonomous driving systems.
DataMesh Concludes New Funding Round
DataMesh, an innovator focused on Industrial Metaverse platforms, announced the successful closure of a new funding round, joined by KDDI Open Innovation Fund 3, the corporate venture capital fund of the Japanese telecom giant KDDI, Singtel Innov8, the corporate venture capital fund of Singtel, along with esteemed funds having business partnerships with DataMesh. The funds raised will expedite the research & development efforts and market expansion of DataMesh’s Industrial Metaverse platform, further driving digital transformation across the industrial sector, particularly through the application of XR and digital twin technologies.
Echion raises £29 million in Series B investment round
The world’s leading developer of niobium-based, fast-charging battery materials, Echion Technologies, has successfully completed its Series B funding round, raising £29 million in investment capital. The round was led by specialist battery and energy storage technology investor Volta Energy Technologies (Volta), with participation from existing investors CBMM, BGF, and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures.
The investment will enable Echion to execute its go-to-market strategy to see its innovative niobium-based XNO® anode material utilised in real world applications, at volume. Echion is Volta’s first investment into a European headquartered company and having Volta as the lead Series B investor highlights Echion as a rising British battery technology business within the crucial global energy storage industry.
Echion’s longstanding partnership with the world’s leading producer of niobium, CBMM, will see the opening of a 2,000 tonne per year XNO® manufacturing facility this year. This provides Echion with the manufacturing capacity to satisfy the large and growing demand for XNO® across its global customer base comprised of major cell manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
UNIGRID Battery announces $12 Million Series A round
UNIGRID Battery, a San Diego-based startup developing advanced sodium-ion batteries, announced a successful close of an oversubscribed $12 Million Series A funding round. The financing was Co-led by Transition VC and Ritz Venture Capital and joined by new investor Union Square Ventures and existing investor Foothill Ventures. The investment will accelerate and scale-up UNIGRID’s battery production to fulfill MWh-scale customer orders in the electric mobility and stationary storage markets.
A key strength to UNIGRID’s technology is its drop-in compatibility with conventional Li-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure, along with off-the-shelf availability of materials in the existing supply chain. As such, the team currently works with battery manufacturing partners to immediately scale its products, avoiding the need for highly customized equipment or the redesigning of tools, which has been a barrier for various next generation battery technologies. This has resonated well with customers and system integrators looking for immediate alternatives to Li-ion batteries.
Aepnus wants to create a circular economy for key battery manufacturing materials
Aepnus recently raised an $8 million seed round to ship more pilot-scale electrolyzers and develop the commercial-scale version. The round was led by Clean Energy Ventures with participation from Gravity Climate Fund, Impact Science Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Muus Climate Partners and Voyager Ventures.
Aepnus was founded to modernize the century-old chloralkali process, which splits salts like sodium sulfate back into the acids and bases that created them. The company uses electrolyzers to zap the salts, coaxing them into splitting. Other companies do the same thing, but they might use pricey metals to help speed the reactions. “We don’t use any expensive catalysts in our electrolyzers,” Akuzum said. The startup has over 15 customers at various stages, ranging from feasibility studies to testing the pilot-scale equipment.
Black Semiconductor closes €254M for next-gen graphene-based chip tech
Germany’s Black Semiconductor, a startup in the next-generation chip technology sector, has announced €254 million in Series A funding. This is one of the largest funding for a deep tech company manufacturing chips in Europe to date. Of this, €228.7 million in public funding from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia over the next 7 years under IPCEI ME/CT. Alongside the public funding, the company has secured an additional €25.7 million in equity funding.
The round was led by Porsche Ventures and Project A Ventures, with participation from leading venture capital firms, corporates, and industry leaders including Scania Growth, Capnamic, Tech Vision Fonds, and NRW.BANK, joining the seed round investors Vsquared Ventures, Cambium Capital, and Hermann Hauser’s Onsight Ventures.
With the fresh capital, Black Semiconductor will accelerate its R&D initiatives and establish pilot line manufacturing capabilities in Aachen, Germany, an important step towards fulfilling its long-term goal of producing and implementing high-quality graphene in Europe. The company plans to inaugurate a pilot manufacturing facility in Aachen by 2026, demonstrating the seamless integration of graphene into electronic chips.
Apex Raises $95M in Series B Funding to Increase Productized Satellite Bus Manufacturing
Apex, a Los Angeles-based spacecraft manufacturing company, announced its $95 million Series B funding round. The funding round was led by XYZ Venture Capital, an early investor in the company, and co-led by CRV, alongside new investors Upfront, 8VC, Toyota Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Mirae Asset Capital, Outsiders Fund, GSBackers, existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Shield Capital, J2 Ventures, Ravelin, angels Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, and Avalon Capital Group, private investment company founded by Ted Waitt, co-founder of Gateway, Inc.
As the only producer of truly productized satellite buses, Apex is dedicated to helping customers rapidly advance space capabilities. Traditional buses are custom built for every spacecraft, adding months or years to the process of getting payloads on orbit. Apex allows customers to get to space faster, without the need for a bespoke bus for every launch with their productized platform. The fundraise, which allows them to increase production to meet customer demand, follows the successful launch of Apex’s first bus in March and a growing number of customers.
Swift Solar Announces $27 Million Series A Funding Round
Swift Solar, a pioneering American solar technology company, announced the close of its $27 million Series A financing round. This milestone is a major step forward for U.S. manufacturing of advanced perovskite solar technology.
The round was co-led by Eni Next and Fontinalis Partners. Eni Next, the corporate venture capital arm of Eni, invests in high-growth start-ups with the most innovative, disruptive, and scalable technologies to accelerate the energy transition toward a zero-carbon future. Fontinalis Partners is a mobility and deeptech VC firm that invests in early-stage companies enabling efficient and sustainable movement of all forms. Also joining the round are new and existing investors including Stanford University, Good Growth Capital, BlueScopeX, HL Ventures, Toba Capital, Sid Sijbrandij, James Fickel, Adam Winkel, Fred Ehrsam, Jonathan Lin, and Climate Capital.
The improvements in efficiency and durability enabled by Swift Solar’s perovskite technology would transform traditional solar markets while creating new possibilities for solar integration. Electric vehicles, for example, could gain 15 miles of range or more per day with perovskite solar roofs. Satellites could benefit from a 10x cost reduction and improved radiation tolerance for solar arrays. The company is actively testing its perovskite technology in space.
CargoSense Raises $8M in Series A to Accelerate Software Automation in Supply Chain
CargoSense, the ‘Visibility OS’ platform for driving transformative supply chain automation using visibility data, announced an initial close on an $8 million Series A investment round, led by Lanza techVentures. Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (MGHIF) joined the round as a strategic investor, along with Chicago-based venture firm SmoothBrain, channel partner The Pallet Alliance, and other previous private investors in CargoSense.
The investment will enable CargoSense to execute on expanding its partner ecosystem of integrated management systems, data sources, and industrial IIoT platforms available to digital agents running on the Visibility OS. This will empower CargoSense’s global customers with the tools to automate and simplify additional aspects of their supply chain operations.
Tenderd secures $30M in Series A funding led by A.P. Moller Holding to supercharge heavy equipment operations using AI
Tenderd, a global leader in digital transformation for heavy equipment management and operations, has closed a $30 million Series A funding round. The round was led by A.P. Moller Holding, a $32 billion investment company and parent company of the A.P. Moller Group, which includes A.P. Moller - Maersk. New investors in the round included Quadri Ventures and Saurya Prakash, a product leader at Stripe. Existing investors Wa’ed Ventures, Nakhla Ventures, SOMA Capital, and Liquid 2 Ventures have also re-invested, reinforcing their continued confidence in Tenderd’s growth. Tenderd’s existing backers include Peter Thiel, Paul Graham, and Y Combinator.
The capital infusion will fuel technological innovations and enable Tenderd to further expand its global footprint in its mission to integrate AI with physical operations in the construction, mining, and industrial sectors. The backing from partners across logistics, ports, energy, construction, and technology underscores the broad applicability of Tenderd’s technology and its unique global position within sector-specific data to develop industry-focused AI models, setting Tenderd apart from general models in driving industry transformation.
Mitsubishi Electric, ME Innovation Fund Invests in Pente Networks Inc.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced that its ME Innovation Fund has invested in Pente Networks Inc., a U.S.-based startup company that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) to promote the introduction of private LTE/5G networks for enterprises. This is the seventh investment that the fund has made to date.
Mitsubishi Electric plans to combine its 5G core network with Pente Networks’ Orchestrator and Service Portal to create business opportunities using private networks.
Quantica increases Series A to €19.7 million to fuel growth of its additive manufacturing tech
Quantica, an advanced additive manufacturing technology company based in Berlin, announced the increase of its Series A funding to a total of €19.7 million. The extension was led by a new investor, British private equity and VC firm West Hill Capital, as well as participation from a family owned company in the dental industry, Quantica management, and Korean VC Big Bang Angels.
Founded in 2018, Quantica operates as an IP-driven deep technology company with offices in Barcelona (Spain) and Cambridge (UK). The company aims to advance additive manufacturing with its two landmark printing system solutions: the NovoJet™ OPEN printing system and the NovoJet™ JetPack. The NovoJet™ OPEN is designed for ultra-high viscosity, multi-material printing of 2D and 3D applications, serving as an open printer capable of using new materials for inkjet process and application development. The JetPack™ is an R&D tool empowering researchers to optimize and validate new materials for the NovoJet™ printheads.
Isar Secure $20M in Growth Debt from US-based ATEL Ventures
German launch provider Isar Aerospace has secured $20 million (€18.39 million) in growth debt from California-based ATEL Ventures.
Munich-based Isar Aerospace is developing its two-stage Spectrum rocket, which is designed to deliver payloads of up to 1,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. According to reporting from industry consulting firm Euroconsult, the company is also planning a larger version of the rocket, currently being referred to as Spectrum 2. This larger vehicle will be capable of delivering up to 4,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit.
ATEL Ventures announced the completion of the growth debt agreement with Isar on 4 June, stating that the company would use the facility to purchase “state-of-the-art equipment used in the production of its launch vehicles.” ATEL’s deal with Isar is not its first foray into the launch market, having previously invested in a US-based launch startup, Stoke Space.
Sware Raises $6M to Accelerate Life Sciences Innovation by Automating FDA-Mandated Software Validation
Sware, provider of the most complete software validation solution for innovative life sciences companies, announced that it raised $6 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raised since inception to $26 million. The round was led by First Analysis, which joins a syndicate of existing investors that includes LRVHealth, New Stack Ventures and Insight Partners. The funding will be used to bolster research and development of Sware’s computer systems validation (CSV) platform, Res_Q, to further streamline processes with artificial intelligence (AI), and to expand the company’s sales team so it can bring the platform to more organizations struggling with validation debt, the unpaid cost of release, testing, GxP, and business requirements. As a result of the funding, Matt Nicklin, managing director at First Analysis, will join the company’s board of directors.
iCOMAT raises $22.5M financing led by 8VC and NATO Innovation Fund to automate composites manufacturing
iCOMAT, a pioneer in advanced composite manufacturing, announced the successful closure of its Series A funding round, securing $22.5 million in capital. The round was led by 8VC, and co-led by NATO Innovation Fund. Other investors joining the round include Syensqo Ventures and existing investors Velocity Partners VC.
iCOMAT’s automated and scalable manufacturing technology, the first of its kind, is delivering lighter, stronger and more sustainable structures for aerospace and automotive vehicles. iCOMAT’s technology leverages a breakthrough in composite materials and carbon fiber. Unlike conventional methods, which produce components by stacking multiple straight fiber layers, iCOMAT has developed the world’s first production technology that enables fiber steering – the ability to steer the fibers to optimise the properties of a structure at any point. This innovative technology can help reduce weight by 10 to 65 percent compared to the state-of-the-art commercial solutions, and can increase production rates by 10x.
SiTration Raises $11.8 Million for Critical Metals Recovery
SiTration, a materials recovery company serving the mining and metals industries, announced it has raised $11.8 million in seed capital. The financing round was led by 2150 with participation from BHP Ventures, Extantia, and Orion Industrial Ventures. Previous investors Azolla Ventures and MIT-affiliated E14 Fund also participated in the oversubscribed round. The funding will be used to scale the company’s novel solution for the recovery of critical metals and minerals and to deploy pilot systems with commercial partners.
Founded as a spinoff from research conducted at MIT, SiTration is working to address the demand for critical materials needed to manufacture technologies that are key to the clean energy transition, including electric motors, wind turbines, and batteries. The company’s innovative solution lowers both the cost and the resource intensity of extracting and recycling materials, contributing to the overall push towards a circular economy.
Coboworx secures €11.4M to provide robotics to SMEs
German B2B robotics startup coboworx has secured €11.4M to help companies integrate robotics into their digital architecture without prior robotics expertise. The funding will be used to expand coboworx’s team of robotics experts and software engineers, enhance its product offerings, and enter new markets. Additionally, the company plans to open an office in Munich later this year.
Botsync completes a $5.2 million Series A round of financing.
Botsync, the Singapore-based developers of integrated automation solutions for Asia Pacific (APAC) and beyond, has on Wednesday announced the completion of a $5.2 million Series A round of financing. The round was led by Capital 2B and Betatron Venture Group, with participation from IvyCap Ventures, AppWorks, Iterative, Wong Fong, ZB Capital, Nalin Advani, and Ascend Angels, Botsync said in a statement.
The firm plans to aggressively expand deeper into Southeast Asia and India, as well as enter Australia and Middle Eastern markets. With this round of financing, Botsync will increase the range of supported automation integrations on the syncOS platform, as well as invest into product development to further automate and simplify the syncOS platform and simplify the automation onboarding process.
restor3d Announces Successful Closing of $70 Million Financing
restor3d, the leader in 3D printed, personalized orthopedic implants, announced the successful closing of a $55 million Series A funding round led by private investors including Summers Value Partners and existing investors plus an additional $15 million in debt financing led by Trinity Capital.
restor3d is a world leader in 3D printed patient specific musculoskeletal implants and driven by the belief that every patient deserves personalized care. The company holds proprietary expertise and intellectual property in 3D printing of osseointegrative materials, AI-based planning and design automation tools, and digital health solutions to provide seamless data-backed care to optimize individual patient outcomes. Alongside its customers, restor3d is reimagining the musculoskeletal reconstruction landscape.
HyperSpectral Announces $8.5M Series A Funding to Accelerate Deployment of Spectral Artificial Intelligence Software
HyperSpectral, the world’s first AI-powered spectral intelligence company with hardware-agnostic solutions for particle detection, emerged from stealth with $8.5 million in a Series A funding round. HyperSpectral’s Series A round was co-led by RRE Ventures and Kibo Ventures with participation from Correlation Ventures, and GC&H Investments. The funds will allow the company to ramp up development of the technology, hire key talent, and create wider AI datasets through lab partnerships and testing.
The company has garnered significant interest from multiple industry sectors, with food safety and healthcare being among the most important. In the food safety sector, Case Western Reserve University and the Safe Food Alliance are key partners. This interest has led the company to initiate several pilot programs in these industries. Additionally, the company has secured a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to help develop defense applications for this technology.
Plancraft raises €12M to build Europe’s first contractor operating system
Hamburg-based startup Plancraft has secured €12M in a Series A round of funding led by Creandum, a pan-European early-stage venture capital firm.
Plancraft, which digitises work processes for craftsmen, plans to become the first European contractor operating system with the new funds.
Dive Raises $10 Million Series A Led by the D. E. Shaw Group to Transform How Manufacturers Use Computer Simulation
Dive Engineering Software, Inc. (“Dive”), the pioneering cloud-native and particle-based simulation software company, announced it raised a $10 million Series A led by the D. E. Shaw group, a global investment and technology development firm, to elevate how manufacturing enterprises engineer products through fluid simulation. Additional investors include First Momentum Ventures, Segenia Capital, and Senovo Capital, who participated in the company’s seed funding. The Berlin-based company also announced the opening of a U.S. office in Boston.
Dive helps engineers simulate the mechanics of physical product components to be seamlessly tested in a browser-based platform. The company will use this round of financing to expand its Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation portfolio to support a variety of new simulation use cases. It will also strengthen its data analytics and data governance programs, bolstering its enterprise offering. Additionally, this round of financing will help fuel the company’s growth and expansion in the North American market.
Nucleus RadioPharma Secures Series A Extension Funding with AstraZeneca Investment
Nucleus RadioPharma, the world’s first fully integrated development, manufacturing, and supply chain organization for radiopharmaceuticals, announced the closing of a Series A extension round with new investor AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN). AstraZeneca joins existing investors from GE Healthcare, Mayo Clinic, Eclipse Ventures, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Echo Global Granger Management Mercy Health, and the University of Missouri as Nucleus expands development, supply, and commercial manufacturing capabilities to make targeted radiotherapies and theranostics more accessible to patients globally. Concurrent with the financing, Tyrell Rivers, PhD, Executive Director of Corporate Ventures at AstraZeneca, was named to the Board of Directors.
coboworx grabs €11.4M to simplify robotics automation for SMEs
Germany-based B2B robotics startup coboworx has snapped €11.4 million in funding. The round saw participation from Northstar Family Holdings, SquareOne Venture Capital (invested in Glassfy), Picus Capital (invested in Baselayer and CEEZER), and well-known business angels.
coboworx has announced that it will use the investment to expand its team of robotics experts and software engineers, improve its product offerings, and step into new markets. Furthermore, the company plans to open an office in Munich later this year.
Viaduct Raises $10 Million in Series B Funding Round
Viaduct, a developer of pioneering AI technology that identifies, solves and predicts product failures, announces the close of a $10 million Series B funding. The round was led by FM Capital, a venture capital firm which invests in the people and technologies that are transforming the automotive and transportation industries. FM Capital was joined by Innovation Endeavors, Exor Ventures, Stellantis Ventures and Sumitomo Rubber.
The company will use the proceeds to accelerate both business development and deployments for its solution that helps customers improve product quality, boost customer satisfaction and drive operational efficiency. Viaduct’s patented TSI Engine is the only AI-powered solution that intelligently and automatically analyzes thousands of variables hidden in terabytes of data to discover patterns of health, defects and performance in products across a wide range of industries.
Prevu3D Joins McRock's Portfolio
Our latest investment is breaking the mold and changing the Digital Twin category with some downright cool innovations to help businesses take their first steps into the industrial metaverse. We’re excited to welcome Montreal-based Prevu3D to our portfolio!
Our investment and expertise will assist Prevu3D scale its operations. We’ve been investing and believing in Industrial Software since we launched the firm in 2012. The successes of our first decade stem from applying our deep expertise and can-do attitude to nurture several high-potential industrial SaaS companies from basement startups into international success stories. Companies like Prevu3D don’t come along every day. This kind of innovation will continue to accelerate the Digital Industrial Revolution – with the right support.
Engineering AI Platform Neural Concept Raises $27 Million Series B to Further Accelerate Global Growth
Neural Concept, the leading Engineering Intelligence platform that transforms product design with 3D Deep Learning, has announced that it has raised $27 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Forestay Capital, with the D. E. Shaw group and existing investors Alven, CNB Capital, HTGF, and Aster Group also participating. This round follows the company’s $9 million Series A round in March 2022 and $2 million Seed round in 2020. Funds raised in this latest round will be used to consolidate Neural Concept’s technology leadership in the field, as well as to accelerate its global recruitment and growth to meet strong customer demand across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the US.
The platform combines Neural Concept’s proprietary technology with unique data analysis, MLOps, and application deployment capabilities to make Engineering Intelligence central to the product simulation and development processes. It dramatically improves collaboration across data-science, simulation, and design teams in order to enhance and accelerate innovation. Neural Concept is proven to reduce end-to-end product development times by up to 75%; accelerate product simulation by up to 10x; and improve product characteristics, including efficiency, safety, speed, and aerodynamics, by up to 30%.
Xcimer Raises $100 Million to Put Inertial Fusion Energy on Path to Commercialization
Xcimer Energy Inc. announced that it has raised $100 million in Series A financing led by Hedosophia, with participation from investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Prelude Ventures, Emerson Collective, Gigascale Capital and Starlight Ventures. Xcimer will use this financing to establish a new facility in Denver, where it will build a prototype laser system including the world’s largest nonlinear optical pulse compression system to advance the development of its transformative technology for laser-driven inertial fusion.
Xcimer’s mission is to extend the proven science of inertial fusion to industrial scale by developing the world’s highest-energy laser system and combining it with key technologies and innovations from multiple fields. It has developed an approach to fusion energy that many experts recognize as having the best long-term economics and therefore most viable commercialization prospects of any fusion approach. Xcimer’s laser architecture will produce up to 10 times higher laser energy at 10 times higher efficiency and over 30 times lower cost per joule than the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser system that achieved fusion scientific breakeven in December 2022.
Entroview Raises $1.6M to Revolutionize Battery Diagnostics for Gigafactories and Automotive Companies
Entroview, a pioneering deep-tech startup specializing in battery software diagnostics, announces that they raised $1.6M to revolutionize battery diagnostics for gigafactories and automotive companies. The seed round was led by AFI Ventures - the early-stage impact arm of Ventech, and Rethink Ventures, and marks a significant milestone in the company’s mission to transform the Electric Vehicle landscape with advanced diagnostic software solutions. The funding will be used to expand its team, further develop its software, and scale its operations to meet the growing demand for advanced battery diagnostics solutions. Entroview was also named a finalist in the Grand Prix ACF AutoTech contest, which is judged by some of the most prestigious executives in the automotive industry in France.
Entroview provides deep insight on the internal state of batteries in real-time and provides a unique edge that goes beyond data analysis alone. With this insight, OEMs and cell producers can make informed decisions and drive innovation in battery management. Entroview provides physics-based software solutions that diagnoses batteries through the entire value chain with applications already tested by top gigafactories and automotive companies across Europe.
Field Materials Total Seed Funding Grows to $8.15M to Bring AI to Construction Procurement
Field Materials, the leading AI software to control and verify construction material and equipment spending, raised an additional $3.5M to bring its total Seed funding to $8.15M. The round was led by new investors DivcoWest Ventures, Navitas Capital, Zelda Ventures, and Flyer One Ventures alongside existing investors Blumberg Capital, s16vc, Zacua Ventures, and several prominent industry executives. The company was founded two years ago by Eldar Sadikov and Victor Gane, serial entrepreneurs out of Stanford, with backgrounds in AI and construction. Their previous AI startup was acquired by PayPal in 2018.
Field Materials’ AI capabilities have been the major driver for customer demand. The proprietary technology was built and trained using tens of thousands of vendor quotes, invoices, and packing slips from customers across eight different construction trades. It leverages state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) and can read and interpret new vendor documents that it has not previously seen, without additional training.
CheckProof Secures Investment from Viking Venture to support expansion plans in North America and Europe
CheckProof, a Swedish SaaS company, is thrilled to announce a significant investment and long-term partnership with Viking Venture, the leading Nordic B2B software investor. Viking Venture will be a long-term partner, supporting CheckProof in its ambitious growth plans across North America and Europe. Viking Venture will join Granitor Growth Management AB as a lead shareholder in CheckProof.
CheckProof provides a user-friendly, all-in-one platform for the construction materials industry. The platform digitizes Maintenance & HSEQ Management with tasks including quality and maintenance routines, defects, deviation, and incident reporting.
BioBTX secures over € 80 million to launch world’s first renewable aromatics plant
By converting plastic waste and biomass into renewable aromatics, BioBTX is spearheading the creation of a circular chemical industry, significantly reducing carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. Aromatics, essential for producing every-day products like insulating foams, coatings, PET bottles, batteries, and pharmaceuticals, will now have a sustainable alternative to fossil-based sources, presenting a major opportunity for circular business models.
As a leading technology developer since 2012, Groningen-based BioBTX aims to scale up its revolutionary technology at the PETRA Circular Chemicals Plant in Delfzijl. The PETRA plant will convert 20,000 tons of mixed plastic waste annually into renewable aromatics, replacing fossil resources and recycling low-value plastic waste into high-value chemicals. Once production is proven, the company intends to roll out the technology to chemical industry customers world-wide.
The € 80 million investment round includes € 42 million in equity from new shareholders Invest-NL, Infinity Recycling, and Covestro, alongside existing shareholders Carduso Capital, NOM and Groninger Groeifonds, and others. Additional funding comprises of € 15 million in debt financing from the Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund and € 4 million from the Province of Groningen, a € 14 million grant from the Dutch Government via RVO, and other subsidies. Invest-NL’s investment is partly backed by InvestEU, a European Commission program that supports initiatives aligned with EU policy priorities.
Momenta leads Investment in Luffy AI, Adaptive AI for Industrial Optimization
Momenta, the leading Industrial Impact® venture capital firm, has announced its latest investment in Luffy AI, a Cambridge, UK-based leader in adaptive AI for industrial control. This strategic funding aims to advance industrial processes and enhance operational outcomes.
Luffy’s Adaptive Intelligence Framework, driven by neuroplasticity, offers unparalleled computational efficiency and supports edge deployments of optimized industrial control applications. This innovative technology enables control systems to continuously learn and adapt, making them more resilient and effective than traditional AI models. By integrating simpler digital twin models with self-optimizing neural networks, Luffy’s solution provides numerous benefits, such as reduced maintenance costs, improved explainability, and a heightened ability to manage uncertainty or unexpected events.
Gireve raises €20 million to consolidate as a global leader in EV charging
Gireve, a French player in electric vehicle charging and decarbonisation of transport, announced it has raised €20 million from Partech’s Impact Fund. Under the terms of the agreement, the investor will participate in the company’s capital, reinforced by new capital contributions from existing shareholders.
The deal will further the platform’s expansion in Europe and internationally but also develop new services such as Plug & Charge and Clearing. It will also enable the company to develop its data and consulting solutions further.
WindBorne Raises $15 Million to Scale Its Balloon Constellation and Bring AI Weather Modeling to the Fight Against Climate Change
WindBorne Systems, the world’s largest atmospheric sensing system and most accurate AI weather model, announced $15 million in Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures, which earlier led WindBorne’s pre-seed round in 2019 and will take a board seat. Existing investors Footwork VC, Pear VC, and Convective Capital also participated in the round.
The funding round comes three months after WindBorne unveiled its deep learning-based weather forecast model, named WeatherMesh, which has unseated Google DeepMind’s GraphCast as the most accurate medium-range global forecast model in the world. (WindBorne publishes real-time benchmarks for its model.)
“The emergence of generative AI and WindBorne’s AI-native tech stack will enable us to deliver a new, smarter kind of weather experience that’s bespoke and co-creative in ways that software has never been before,” said Kai Marshland, WindBorne co-founder and Chief Product Officer. “The ability to cost-effectively deliver these insights across any industry and company presents an enormous opportunity to not only reduce emissions through smarter energy use, but also to help every community better adapt to the extreme weather that’s intensifying in the wake of climate change.”
WindBorne Raises $15 Million to Scale Its Balloon Constellation and Bring AI Weather Modeling to the Fight Against Climate Change
WindBorne Systems, the world’s largest atmospheric sensing system and most accurate AI weather model, announced $15 million in Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures, which earlier led WindBorne’s pre-seed round in 2019 and will take a board seat. Existing investors Footwork VC, Pear VC, and Convective Capital also participated in the round.
The funding round comes three months after WindBorne unveiled its deep learning-based weather forecast model, named WeatherMesh, which has unseated Google DeepMind’s GraphCast as the most accurate medium-range global forecast model in the world. (WindBorne publishes real-time benchmarks for its model.)
Helsing raises €450M Series C for AI defence tech
German defence AI company Helsing has raised €450 million in a Series C financing round led by General Catalyst. Elad Gil, Accel, Saab, Lightspeed, Plural, and Greenoaks participated. This brings the company’s funding to over $760 million.
The funds will be used for product development and R&D; a particular focus will be on capabilities to secure European sovereignty including protecting the NATO Eastern Flank.
Neural Concept Raises $27 million Series B to further accelerate global growth
Neural Concept, the leading Engineering Intelligence platform that transforms product design with 3D Deep Learning, announced that it has raised $27 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Forestay Capital, with the D. E. Shaw group and existing investors Alven, CNB Capital, HTGF, and Aster Capital also participating. This round follows the company’s $9 million Series A round in March 2022 and $2 million Seed round in 2020. Funds raised in this latest round will be used to consolidate Neural Concept’s technology leadership in the field, as well as to accelerate its global recruitment and growth to meet strong customer demand across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the US.
The platform combines Neural Concept’s proprietary technology with unique data analysis, MLOps, and application deployment capabilities to make Engineering Intelligence central to the product simulation and development processes. It dramatically improves collaboration across data-science, simulation, and design teams in order to enhance and accelerate innovation. Neural Concept is proven to reduce end-to-end product development times by up to 75%; accelerate product simulation by up to 10x; and improve product characteristics, including efficiency, safety, speed, and aerodynamics, by up to 30%.
The Series B funding news follows the recent unveiling of a close technical collaboration with NVIDIA, allowing Neural Concept to optimize performance of physics-driven deep learning models on NVIDIA GPUs and CUDA software and to jointly push the frontiers of the field.
EthonAI raises $16.5M for Manufacturing AI
EthonAI announced that it has raised CHF 15 million ($16.5 million) in a Series A round of funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst, Earlybird and Founderful.
Founded out of Zurich in 2021 by CEO Julian Senoner and CTO Bernhard Kratzwald, EthonAI can train AI models for specific use cases, for instance in electronics manufacturing where the customer supplies imagery of defect-free products and EthonAI’s Inspector software can then identify surface defects in the products during the manufacturing and assembly process.
Maxa secures Series A funding led by Framework and BDC Capital
Montréal-based startup Maxa has raised $28.7 million CAD ($21 million USD) in Series A funding for its data automation and analytics platform for enterprise resource planning (ERP). The all-equity round was co-led by Framework Venture Partners and BDC Capital’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, with participation from third-time return backers AQC Capital and Graphite Ventures. The round also saw participation from new investors Snowflake Ventures, Amiral Ventures, and NAventures, the venture arm of National Bank of Canada.
Maxa said the new funding will fuel its product development, go-to-market, and customer self-serve capabilities. Alexis Steinman told BetaKit that Maxa had raised around $5 million prior to this round, and that Framework partner Jim Texier and a representative from BDC Capital gained seats on Maxa’s board of directors as a result of the round.
Reibus Welcomes Jared Rowe as New CEO and Chairman of the Board
Reibus International, Inc., the leading independent metals marketplace, announced the appointment of Jared Rowe as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of the Board. Rowe brings over two decades of executive experience in the technology and marketplace sectors and will advance Reibus’ mission to revolutionize the industrial materials supply chain. The company also announced $30 million in new funding in a combination of equity and debt from existing investors, including Canaan and Nosara, with HSBC as its banking partner, to fuel its next phase of growth and innovation.
DataHow secures Series A investment for its AI bioprocessing Solutions
DataHow, a leader in AI-powered solutions for bioprocess development and manufacturing, has successfully closed its Series A investment round led by Momenta, the leading industrial impact venture capital firm. This investment, along with the participation from Rockwell Automation and Zürcher Kantonalbank, will allow the Zurich-based company to accelerate the deployment of its digital bioprocess development and manufacturing platform, DataHowLab.
An ETH spin-off founded in 2017 by a team of experienced researchers with industry experience, DataHow has pioneered the development of hybrid models for bioprocess development, implementing their innovative technologies with many of the biopharmaceutical industry’s largest players. Combining hard-coded process knowledge with data-driven AI algorithms, DataHow’s hybrid models provide process engineers with richer process insight when developing complex manufacturing processes while requiring less data.
Axus Technology Secures $12.5 Million in Capital Funding
Axus Technology, a leading global provider of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) equipment, critical for manufacturing semiconductors and compound semiconductors, announced it has received $12.5 million in capital funding from growth capital firm IntrinSiC Investment LLC. In addition, the company has secured a significant revolving and term line of credit from a leading national bank.
As an established equipment manufacturer with a strong installed base and leadership in advanced silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor processing, Axus Technology has developed a core understanding of technologies related to CMP – specifically, semiconductor wafer polishing, thinning and cleaning. As a result, the company is extremely well positioned to drive toward volume sales of, and enter new markets with, its highly differentiated Capstone® and Aquarius™ platforms. The company will use the equity funds to further these efforts, leveraging its strong capitalization to pursue and fulfill high-volume orders from semiconductor and compound semiconductor manufacturers around the world.
Frore Systems, the maker of AirJet® thermal solutions, accelerates unleashing the performance of AI platforms with $80M Series C fundraising
Frore Systems announced Series C fundraising of $80M, bringing the total money raised by the Company to $196M. The funds will be used to scale operations and expand the product line to meet the rapidly growing demand for AirJet Solid-State Active Cooling solutions that are unleashing the performance of both Edge AI and Data Center AI platforms.
The Series C fundraising is led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. Prosperity7 also made a significant investment in the round, together with all existing investors, Mayfield Fund, Clear Ventures, Addition, Qualcomm Ventures, MVP Ventures, Stepstone Group, Alumni Ventures and others. This support reinforces that Frore Systems, the pioneer in solid-state active cooling, is uniquely positioned to seize the massive opportunity in thermal solutions created by the AI revolution.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Leads Series B Investment in Realtime Robotics
Realtime Robotics, the leader in collision-free autonomous motion planning for industrial robots, announced that it has secured a strategic investment from Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. This is the lead investment in Realtime Robotics’ recently opened Series B round. Mitsubishi Electric was also a participant in the Series A round, and will be adding a senior representative to Realtime’s Board of Directors.
The funds will be used to support the refinement and scalability of the company’s revolutionary robot workcell optimization and runtime solutions, which significantly help engineers and manufacturers reduce costs and increase productivity.
Customers, including automotive manufacturers BMW and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, as well as integrators Valiant TMS and Schaeffler Group, report improved cycle times, reduced downtime, and increased throughput as a result of working with Realtime.
By increasing its stake, Mitsubishi Electric plans to further integrate Realtime’s cutting-edge motion planning technology into 3D simulators and other software to optimize manufacturing through the power of digital twins. Later, Mitsubishi Electric expects to incorporate Realtime’s technology into factory automation (FA) control system devices, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), servo motors and computer numerical controllers (CNCs), to ensure uninterrupted plant operations by responding to needs for expanded automation capabilities, streamlined plant operations for improved efficiency, and fast responses to unexpected events.
Packwise secures funds to scale its industrial tech to North America
Dresden-founded IoT startup Packwise has raised an undisclosed seven-figure amount to drive upcoming internationalisation to North America. This current round of funding comes from TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, together with Hüttenes³ GmbH. Founded in 2017, the company offers an innovative industrial IoT solution that enables customers in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries to gain transparency along the supply chain. Customers include BASF, Merck and Solvay.
The Packwise Smart Cap plug-and-play device creates new insights and records sensor data on the location, level, temperature and movement of mobile liquid containers with high precision in real-time. The accompanying platform visualises and analyses processes for various applications in the supply chain. By creating a digital twin of their industrial packaging, customers of the company gain insight into their entire supply chain and can use the Packwise software platform to map a variety of supply chain processes.
Wavelogix Secures $3M Investment from Rhapsody Venture Partners
Wavelogix, an Indiana-based startup manufacturing novel concrete strength sensors, has secured $3M in Series A funding from Rhapsody Venture Partners, a Cambridge-based venture capital firm that specializes in hard-tech investments.
Wavelogix’ patented REBEL Concrete Strength Sensors, developed at Purdue University, is the world’s first-ever, completely BREAK-FREE™, real-time, in-place concrete strength sensing solution. Once embedded, the sensors are able to measure in-place strength directly, without any information about the concrete mix. This innovation enables construction engineers to make data-driven decisions, optimizing schedules, reducing costs, and improving jobsite safety.
Claros Technologies, Inc. Raises $22 Million to Accelerate PFAS Destruction and Analytical Technologies
Claros Technologies, Inc. (ClarosTech™), the leader in PFAS analytical and destruction technologies, announced that it has raised $22M in new funding co-led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund and American Century Investments. This financing will allow ClarosTech™ to continue scaling the research, development and market penetration of its UV-photochemical PFAS destruction technologies, its durable anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-odor and broad spectrum UVA and UVB bio-based functional materials technologies and its ISO/IEC 17025:2017 analytical laboratory.
Additional investors include Capita3, Children’s Minnesota, Kureha America Inc., Open Door Foundation, F. R. Bigelow Foundation, other corporate investors, several individual investors alongside incumbent investors Groundswell Ventures and the University of Minnesota.
Nextmol successfully completes funding round to drive green and digital transformation in the chemical industry
Nextmol, a pioneering spin-off company from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center that provides computational chemistry solutions to accelerate the R&D of sustainable speciality chemicals, has successfully closed its first funding round. The investment round has been led by ACT Venture Partners with participation from Axon Partners Group, Abac Nest Venture Capital and GROW Venture Partners. This round will boost its product development and sales efforts to better support the chemical industry’s green and digital transition.
Nextmol drives forward R&D teams in the speciality chemicals industry with cutting-edge deep technology, empowering their customers to excel in launching new products into the market. Already collaborating with top-tier customers, with this funding round, Nextmol will continue to invest in the high-quality technology they have been developing, which is based on molecular modelling and AI.
Orca AI Raises $23 Million to Propel Autonomous Shipping
Orca AI, the industry-leading AI-based operational platform for ships, has raised $23 million in new funding, led by OCV Partners and Mizmaa Ventures taking its total raised to nearly $40 million.
Orca AI’s solution is the first step in introducing autonomous features to vessels already on the water. In 2022, it powered the world’s first autonomous commercial ship voyage with NYK and is now working on the second phase of fully autonomous ship technology to be rolled out in 2025.
By detecting and alerting crew to high-risk marine targets, Orca AI optimizes operations to avoid unnecessary maneuvers and speed drops, reducing fuel burn and emissions. The improved navigational decisions enabled by Orca AI resulted in an average $100 – 300k saving in fuel per vessel per year (3-5%) and 172,716 tonnes of CO2 reduction last year.
Fiberwood Raises €7.7 Million for the Development of Ecological Building Insulation and Packaging Materials
A Finnish materials technology startup, Fiberwood Ltd, has raised 7.7 million euros in growth funding from existing investors Metsä Spring and Stephen Industries, together with public financiers. The company is preparing to enter a commercial phase with the aim of international growth.
Fiberwood is a materials technology startup that develops fossil-free insulation and packaging materials from the forestry side streams and other natural fibres. The company unlocks the potential of leftovers by converting them into valuable, recyclable, and carbon-sequestering materials for various applications. Breathable and compostable insulation and packaging materials are ecological alternatives to mineral wool-based insulation and cellular plastic-based packaging cushioning.
CIRCTEC secures €150M to construct Europe’s largest end-of-life tyre pyrolysis recycling facility in the Netherlands
CIRCTEC, a company specialising in pyrolysis for sustainable end-of-life tyre recycling, announced that it has secured €150M in a fresh financing round co-led by Novo Holdings and A.P. Moller Holding. The funding includes a €75M equity investment from Novo Holdings and A.P. Moller Holding, along with €22.5M in grants awarded by the Government of the Netherlands.
The capital will enable CIRCTEC to establish Europe’s largest end-of-life tyre pyrolysis recycling facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. Once operational at full capacity, the facility will be capable of processing approximately 5 per cent of the 3.6M tons of end-of-life tyres generated annually in Europe.
Verse™ Secures $20.5 Million in Series A Funding led by GV to Help Organizations Reduce Electricity Costs & Emissions
Verse, whose software enables organizations to understand, plan, and manage clean energy, has raised a $20.5M Series A funding round. The investment, led by GV (Google Ventures) with participation from Coatue, CIV, and MCJ Collective, will support Verse as it scales commercial operations and develops new product capabilities to help organizations reduce emissions and lower electricity costs.
InfinitForm Emerges from Stealth to Transform Manufacturing with a Groundbreaking AI-Copilot for Mechanical Engineers
InfinitForm is proud to announce the public launch of its innovative software which promises to transform the engineering design process for manufacturing. This software enables mechanical engineers to establish new standards for speed, efficiency, and performance through extensive GPU-accelerated design simulation and optimization tools, improved collaboration features, and an intuitive user interface. InfinitForm raised seed funding led by Schematic Ventures in December 2023 and has swiftly progressed from a beta version to a commercial product.
The existing Design-for-Manufacturing process is challenged by silos, intricate workflows, and time-intensive procedures. This process can take weeks to months, involve a multitude of expensive software tools, workflows, and require highly skilled personnel with cumbersome coordination. InfinitForm’s software reduces the time this complex process takes down to minutes.
Porsche Ventures invests in battery startup South 8 to boost cold-weather EV performance
All cars suffer when the mercury drops, but electric vehicles suffer more than most as heaters draw more power and batteries charge more slowly as the liquid electrolyte inside thickens. Drivers in Chicago found this out the hard way last January after many Teslas failed to charge during a deep freeze.
One startup, South 8 Technologies, says it can make cold-weather charging more reliable by filling batteries with a pressurized, liquified gas electrolyte instead of a liquid one. In the process, it hopes to slash the cost of lithium-ion batteries by 30%.
The company recently attracted new funding from Porsche Ventures in the form of a SAFE note, which will be applied to a Series B round that the company is starting to raise. Stepien said he could not disclose the size of Porsche Ventures’ investment.
Marlin makes majority growth investment in Baxter Planning
Marlin Equity Partners (“Marlin”) is pleased to announce that it has completed a majority growth investment in Baxter Planning (“Baxter” or the “Company”), a leading provider of predictive service supply chain solutions. The Company’s comprehensive BaxterPredict SaaS platform integrates service parts planning, parts order execution and escalation management into a single solution, enabling global customers to have control and visibility across their entire service parts lifecycle. Baxter has continued to invest in innovation, including investments in artificial intelligence (“AI”), as the Company pursues its goal of achieving an autonomous end-to-end planning solution. Polaris Partners, the Company’s majority shareholder since 2017, will retain a significant minority stake, including a new equity investment from the Polaris Growth Fund (“PGF”).
Easy Metrics Secures $31 Million Growth Investment from Nexa Equity to Enhance Operational Efficiency for Warehouses and Manufacturers
Easy Metrics, a leading labor analytics platform for warehouses and manufacturers, has received a $31 million investment from Nexa Equity, a growth-oriented private equity firm focused on partnering with founders to scale B2B software businesses. The funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand organizational capacity, and pursue strategic acquisitions.
Geothermal Innovator XGS Energy Completes Oversubscribed $20M Capital Raise
XGS Energy, an innovator in next-generation geothermal energy technology, announced that it has completed $20 million in additional Series A financing. The final close was led by Valo Ventures and VoLo Earth Ventures, and included financing from new investors B Current Impact Investment, MIH Capital, and individual inside investors, as well as additional funding from existing investor Thin Line Capital. This new financing builds on the $9.7 million round led by Constellation Technology Ventures earlier this year, and the $14M Series A investment led by Anzu Partners.
This financing will support XGS’ first commercial-scale project in California later this year and accelerate deployment of its proprietary water-independent geothermal technology across its global project pipeline. With over $40 million in total funding to date, XGS’s growing investor and partner network reflects the commercial promise of its technology and its potential to contribute to a clean, reliable, and affordable electricity grid.
Expedera Raises $20M Series B Funding Round Led By indie Semiconductor
Expedera Inc., a leading licensor of edge inference artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor intellectual property (IP), announced it raised $20 million in Series B funding led by indie Semiconductor, with participation from prominent repeat and new industry investors. This investment, which includes converting a previous SAFE note, brings the company’s total funding to more than $47M. It will enable Expedera to advance its high-performance, energy-efficient Neural Processing Unit (NPU) IP products and services and expand its global engineering footprint.
Expedera made its mark on the AI industry when it introduced its Origin NPU IP in 2021. Origin IP scales to 128 TOPS with a single engine and features highly efficient processor utilization with market-leading low-power consumption while requiring minimal external memory bandwidth. Expedera has production license contracts with multiple smartphone OEMs and numerous automotive, AR/VR/MR, and consumer device chipset makers. Its Origin IP has been deployed in over 10M devices.
Simr, Formerly UberCloud, Ushers in SimOps to Revolutionize Product Development and Introduction in Manufacturing by Accelerating Computer-based Simulations by an Average of 10X
Simr, formerly known as UberCloud, unveiled Simulation Operations Automation (SimOps), making best practices in computer simulations implemented by the majority of the design engineers at three of the Magnificent Seven companies available to design engineers everywhere. The company also announced that it has secured $20M in Series A funding led by Uncorrelated Ventures, with investments from BMW i Ventures and Earlybird Venture Capital.
Simr, which gives engineers a single platform for using any compute resources with any leading simulation tool, is revolutionizing how engineers design, verify, and test products by automating sophisticated simulations in the cloud. It does so while eliminating the need to specify, procure, implement, and manage complex High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments. The platform enables the implementation of SimOps best practices, boosting innovation and productivity among design engineers while enabling IT and operational control. The company is closely partnered with leading simulation platform providers, including Ansys, Siemens, and Dassault Systèmes.
Danish industrial biotechnology startup Cellugy raises €4,9M to replace petrochemicals in personal care products
Cellugy, a Danish industrial biotechnology startup developing innovative, natural, biofabricated cellulose-based solutions to replace fossil-based materials in various industrial applications, has raised €4,9M in seed funding to scale up production of its EcoFLEXY dry cellulose product to industrial volumes. The round was led by Germany’s ICIG Ventures and Denmark’s Unconventional Ventures, with new, U.S.-based investor Joyance Partners joining the round, along with existing investors PSV DeepTech, The Footprint Firm, and EIFO.
The funding will accelerate the deployment and commercialization of EcoFLEXY, currently in the pilot phase. This involves a substantial production increase, from kilos to several tons yearly. The funds raised will enable Cellugy to expand its manufacturing capacity to commercial production to satisfy extensive and increasing customer demand. The funding will also support further product co-development partnerships to take EcoFLEXY into new application areas and expand the company’s IP portfolio and headcount.
XSQUARE Technologies Secures S$10.5M in Series A
XSQUARE Technologies (XSQUARE), a Singapore-based intelligent warehousing automation company, has successfully raised S$ 10.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Wavemaker Partners–Southeast Asia’s leading VC firm investing in early-stage Enterprise, Deep Tech, and Sustainability startups; with participation from SEEDS Capital—the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore–and Goldbell Corporation. The fresh funds will be used to accelerate XSQUARE’s regional growth and product development efforts.
This latest round of funding marks a pivotal stage for XSQUARE as it embarks on its next phase of growth. The company’s impressive track record, to date, includes building a fast-growing client base of market leaders such as Coca-Cola, GSK and Katoen Natie, as well as forging of strategic global partnerships. Most notably, XSQUARE has recently partnered with Mitsubishi Logisnext (ML), one of the world’s largest material handling equipment companies, to collaborate on the development of a new line of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and the distribution of XSQUARE’s existing products through ML’s global distribution network.
Subeca Raises $6M Series A to Scale Deployment of Low-Cost, Easy-to-Use Water Technology
Subeca, an innovative internet of things (IoT) startup that provides low cost and easy to use water technology, raised $6M in Series A funding. The Series A was led by SUEZ, a global leader in digital and circular solutions in waste and water services, with participation from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Amazon’s sustainability focused corporate venture fund, and Burnt Island Ventures, a leading water sector-focused venture investor.
“The funding will allow Subeca to rapidly scale to meet market demand for our flagship AMI solutions, particularly in small to medium sized utilities and companies that have been underserved by incumbents,” said Patrick Keaney, Chief Executive Officer of Subeca. Subeca’s differentiated end-to-end IoT offerings provide simple, easy-to-deploy options for the more than 40,000 utilities and businesses in the US that have been locked out of the benefits of advanced metering and sensing technology due to the cost and complexity of legacy technology solutions.
CoLab Software raises $21M to help hardware engineering teams accelerate product development
CoLab Software, a technology company building collaboration solutions for mechanical engineering and hardware development teams, announced its fully subscribed Series B round with $21M USD in funding. Global software investor Insight Partners led the round, with participation from existing major investors, including Y Combinator, Killick Capital, and Pelorus VC.
The funding will be used to reach new customers and accelerate development of technology, including artificial intelligence. CoLab will also invest in expanding relationships with existing customers, an effort that has yielded successful results so far with 158% net revenue retention (NRR) in the last 12 months.
CoLab will also use the funds to expand its team, adding 30-40 new roles at headquarters in St. John’s, Newfoundland and remotely across Canada and the United States. This will include three key executive hires: a VP of Sales, a VP of People, and a VP of Customer Success.
Bedrock Materials Secures $9 Million Seed Funding
Bedrock Materials, a pioneering battery technology startup launched out of Stanford University in 2023, announced a successful close of $9 million in seed funding alongside the inauguration of its new Research & Development (R&D) headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The financing round was led by Trucks Venture Capital, Refactor Capital, and Version One Ventures. Additional investment was provided by Hanover Technology Investment Management, SpaceCadet Ventures, Brainstorm Capital, Evergreen Climate Innovations, Expansion VC, Climate Capital, Quest Venture Partners, Meliorate Partners, Valia Ventures, Ritual Capital, and several individual angel investors with strong ties to the electric vehicle and battery industries.
Bedrock Materials specializes in producing essential materials for low-cost, eco-friendly sodium-ion batteries. These batteries are seen as a next-generation alternative to lithium-ion versions, utilizing affordable, widely available materials. Last month, the company began R&D scale production of battery precursor materials at its facility in Near West Chicago. Plans are underway to open a larger, permanent site later this year.
Accenture Invests in Turbine to Accelerate Use of AI-Powered Cell Simulations for Biopharma Research and Development
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has made a strategic investment, through Accenture Ventures, in Turbine, a predictive simulation company that is building a platform for interpreting human biology. Accenture’s investment will help Turbine further extend its capabilities to global biopharma companies that can benefit from Turbine’s ability to uncover hidden biological insights, with the potential to guide and accelerate key drug development workstreams.
Turbine’s core technology, the Simulated Cell™ platform, utilizes machine learning to understand how human cells make decisions. The platform intricately models molecular interactions within and around cells, enabling virtual experiments in volumes that are nearly impossible to achieve in the physical world and revealing mechanisms that drive diseases and response to therapies.
Voxel51 Raises $30M Series B Funding to Make Visual AI a Reality
Voxel51, the leader in visual AI, announced that it has closed a $30M Series B funding round. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from new investor Tru Arrow Partners and existing investors Drive Capital, Top Harvest Capital, Shasta Ventures and ID Ventures. Voxel51 will use this funding to scale up its go-to-market organization, expand its community, invest in AI research and accelerate its roadmap to meet the growing market demand for solutions that unlock the value of visual AI.
Voxel51 offers the antidote to those headaches, transforming the way that AI engineers and teams build visual AI. Voxel51 provides the leading refinery for data and models, where AI builders can simplify and automate their workflows to explore, visualize, curate and test datasets and put them to use to build models and applications. Tens of thousands of AI builders rely on Voxel51’s open source FiftyOne and enterprise FiftyOne Teams offerings to build production-ready visual AI that is dramatically more accurate and robust, improving team productivity by up to 50% and model accuracy by up to 30%. Innovative organizations including LG Electronics, Berkshire Grey, Precision Planting, RIOS Intelligent Machines and Forsight use Voxel51 solutions to help them build innovative visual AI solutions that improve product quality, ensure safety and increase efficiency.
Caeli Wind, the digital platform for wind energy sites, secures €11 million in fresh capital in a Series A funding round
Caeli Wind, the platform for analysing and marketing wind energy locations founded by Ben Schlemmermeier and Heiko Bartels in 2022, announced that it has secured €11 million in growth capital from international investors. The round was led by renowned UK venture capital fund Notion Capital with the participation of Santander Alternative Investments and existing investors such as HTGF.
Caeli has developed an advanced AI-based analysis system and a marketplace to accelerate the expansion of wind turbines. In 2023, the company was able to identify 173 new locations for wind turbines in Germany and allocate them to project developers and energy suppliers. On average, the AI company accelerates the realisation of wind farms by 18 months thanks to its digital analysis and awarding platform.
Caeli Wind raises €11M in growth funding to assess and promote wind energy locations
Berlin-based Caeli Wind, a platform for assessing and promoting wind energy sites, announced that it has secured €11M in a Series A round of funding led by UK-based VC fund Notion Capital. The round was also joined by Santander Alternative Investments and existing investor HTGF.
Founded in 2022 by Ben Schlemmermeier and Heiko Bartels, Caeli Wind is an online marketplace where landowners can find places suitable for wind power. The company has developed an advanced AI-driven analysis system and marketplace to speed up the growth of wind turbines.
cylib raises €55M to scale its lithium battery recycling facility
Aachen, Germany-based cylib, a sustainable end-to-end battery recycling firm, announced that it has raised €55M in a Series A funding round in equity financing. The latest funding was co-led by World Fund, and Porsche Ventures, with participation from Bosch Ventures, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, and NRW.Venture. Existing investors Vsquared Ventures, Speedinvest, 10x Founders, and established business angels, also participated. The round, which is the largest round ever raised by a European battery recycling company, was completed less than 24 months after the company started operations. With a team of over 60 professionals, the company plans to use the funds to make key hires.
The company’s proprietary end-to-end recycling technology was developed over several years of research at the renowned RWTH Aachen University. It enables every component in a lithium-ion battery to be recycled, making it the only company on the market to offer clients a way to recover all elements from production scraps, EVs, or micro-mobility batteries. The company claims to have outperformed long-awaited industry break-even points by reaching a recycling efficiency of> 90 per cent while reducing the environmental footprint (GHG-potential) of the recycling process due to cylib’s water-based Lithium and Graphite recovery by 30% in comparison to competitors.
Greek maritime software Harbor Lab raises €14.7 million to streamline port cost management
Harbor Lab, a maritime software company modernising the outdated accounting practices hampering the $14 trillion shipping industry, has raised a €14.7 million Series A funding round led by European VC Atomico. With participation from existing investors Notion Capital, Venture Friends, SpeedInvest and The Dock, and new investors Endeavor Catalyst and maritime VC TMV, the round follows a seed round of €6.1 million and takes total funding for the Greek startup to some $22.5 million. Atomico Partner Ben Blume will join the board.
There is a longstanding bottleneck at the heart of the shipping industry: a set of outdated, mostly manual accounting methods that many shipping companies still rely on to grapple with the complex web of costs that arise from their vessel’s port calls – the second largest expense for commercial vessels behind fuel, reaching around $2.2 million per vessel per year. This leads to inefficiency, inflated operational costs, and frequent disputes and delays in payments. New environmental legislation and mounting geopolitical crises are further adding to the complications, dangers, and unpredictability in costs of transporting cargo.
AssetWatch® Raises Series B Funding Round to Accelerate Innovation in Predictive Maintenance
AssetWatch, Inc., a leading condition monitoring and predictive maintenance organization, announced closing its Series B financing round of $38M led by Wellington Management, a global independent asset management firm. Series A investors, including G2 Venture Partners, Triangle Peak Partners, Standard Investments, Osage University Partners, and JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund, are investing in the Series B. The funding will accelerate AssetWatch’s ongoing innovation, enabling the company to continually offer new value to its customers. Additionally, it will support the expansion and scale-up of the business, ensuring the sustained provision of outstanding customer service and comprehensive, hassle-free subscription services.
Ndustrial Announces $18.5M Series B
Ndustrial, the AI-powered energy intensity platform for industry, announced the initial close of $18.5 million in a Series B funding round co-led by ABB and GS Energy, joining existing partners such as Clean Energy Ventures and ENGIE New Ventures. The capital will be used to power growth and accelerate innovation to help industrial companies optimize the crucial metric of energy intensity — the amount of energy, emissions and cost required for one unit of production. Ndustrial will also partner with ABB and GS Energy to offer its energy intensity solutions to industrial customers, further advancing its mission to unite hard-to-access energy and production data in real time to deliver transformative economic and decarbonization value.
Nfinite Nanotech closes USD 6.5M Seed financing to revolutionize flexible food packaging with nanotechnology
Nfinite Nanotech, a creator of plastic-alternative nanocoatings, announced the completion of a USD 6.5M SEED round, led by Collateral Good, with participation from Suzano Ventures as a strategic investor alongside investment from FTW Ventures, MaRS IAF, Overlay Capital, Ponderosa, and Republic Capital, including non-dilutive funding from Next Generation Manufacturing Canada.
Nfinite Nanotech is tackling the plastic packaging problem with its advanced material nanocoating that enables the use of truly sustainable packaging at a commercial scale. Nfinite’s nanocoating is an ultrathin and high-performance barrier coating that maintains the recyclability and compostability of sustainable packaging, while also preserving the freshness and shelf life of products.
hexafarms secures €1.3M for AI-optimised commercial food production
hexafarms, an agtech leveraging AI to optimise greenhouses to power the future of food production, has snapped €1.3 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by leading European early-stage investors Speedinvest, which recently invested in QphoX and Necture, with participation from Mudcake and techstars.
This fresh round of funding brings the total capital raised by the company to over €2.5 million. It will enable the company to continue to invest in its AI and machine learning capabilities, increase the accuracy of predictions, and grow its portfolio of crops.
Founded in 2021 by David Ahmed, Huijo Kim, and Felix Kirschstein in Berlin, hexafarms develops software for indoor commercial food production. The company’s SaaS harvests data and leverages AI to monitor, control, and optimise greenhouses and vertical indoor farms in real time. Its AI models can forecast crop yield four to eight weeks in advance with accuracy as high as 95%. Their vision is to empower farms across the globe to run as efficiently as possible.
Nabla Bio Secures $26M Series A Financing and Collaborations with AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb and Takeda for Generative Protein Design
Nabla Bio (aka “Nabla”), pioneers in generative protein design, announced the close of a $26 million Series A financing, led by Radical Ventures with participation from all existing investors, and strategic collaborations with AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb Company and Takeda, worth more than $550 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties.
Nabla develops integrated AI and wet-lab technologies that enable atomically precise drug design and high-throughput measurement of drug function, with an initial focus on antibodies targeting multipass membrane proteins, including for example, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels, and transporte
Novelis Files Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering
Novelis Inc., a leading sustainable aluminum solutions provider and the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common shares. The common shares are expected to be offered by Novelis’ sole shareholder (a wholly owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited). Novelis will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common shares by its sole shareholder.
Novelis intends to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “NVL.”
Princeton NuEnergy (PNE) Raises Additional $10.3 Million in Series A Funding to Advance Lithium-ion Battery Direct Recycling Technology
Princeton NuEnergy (“PNE”), a leading clean-tech innovator specializing in lithium-ion battery direct recycling, proudly announces a successful round of equity financing totaling $10.3 million. Key investors include SCGC (a subsidiary of SCG Group), Tech Council Ventures, and a subsidiary of LKQ Corporation. This recent injection of capital brings the company’s total Series A funding over the past 6 months to $26.4 million.
PNE’s flagship innovation is a low-temperature plasma-assisted separation process (LPAS™), a patented technology that significantly reduces costs, environmental waste, and carbon emissions commonly associated with lithium-ion battery recycling. PNE’s direct recycling approach enables higher critical material recovery rates and superior material performance compared with traditional recycling methodologies.
In addition to this $26.4 million Series A raise and preceding Seed Round of $7 million, PNE has secured multiple U.S. Department of Energy grants for battery recycling research of $18 million, in total. The new Series A funding further solidifies PNE’s commitment to reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign critical materials by securing the U.S. critical material supply chain, fostering domestic manufacturing capabilities, and cultivating high-quality clean energy jobs within the United States.
Active Surfaces Secures $5.6M in Oversubscribed Pre-Seed Funding to Revolutionize Solar Technology
Active Surfaces, an innovative flexible solar panel startup spun out from MIT, announced it has raised $5.6 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Safar Partners, a prominent deep tech venture capital fund. Additional participants—including QVT, Lendlease, Type One Ventures, Umami Capital, Sabanci Climate Ventures, New Climate Ventures, SeaX Ventures, and others—reflect a diverse support base ranging from institutional VCs to corporate backers.
Active Surfaces is pioneering the next generation of solar technology with its lightweight, flexible solar panels that can be integrated into virtually any surface. Unlike bulky traditional solar panels, Active Surfaces’ technologies will seamlessly blend into everyday environments, from small consumer products that can go anywhere to large commercial, office, and industrial buildings.
Mitra Chem Secures Investment from Alpha Wave Ventures
Mitra Future Technologies, Inc. (“Mitra Chem”), a pioneering innovator in North American lithium-ion battery materials, announced an investment from Alpha Wave Ventures as part of the company’s Series B funding round. As part of the investment, Elan Frantz has joined the company’s Board of Directors. Alpha Wave joins other distinguished investors in this round, such as General Motors, Zeon, InQTel, Techmet-Mercuria, and GS Futures.
Alpha Wave joins Mitra Chem amidst several breakthroughs, with Mitra Chem recently announcing its successful synthesis of multi-ton Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cathode powder samples that meet industry-leading electric vehicle (EV) specifications. Mitra Chem aims to achieve mass production of their iron-rich cathodes by 2026, paving the way for widespread adoption of next-generation, IRA-compliant battery technologies.
MetisX, a fabless startup in South Korea, raises $44M in Series A funding
MetisX, a fabless startup based in South Korea, has recently secured $44 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding to over $50 million. The company, established in 2022, focuses on developing intelligent memory solutions using Compute Express Link (CXL) technology, which is seen as the next-generation standard for interconnect technology. MetisX aims to revolutionize traditional CPU-centric computing architectures by introducing a data-centric approach that promises to be smarter, faster, and more cost-effective.
Despite being in the early stages of development, MetisX has attracted significant attention from new investors such as SV Investment, STIC Ventures, LB Investment, and the Industrial Bank of Korea, as well as follow-on investors from the seed round including Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, IMM Investment, SBI Investment, Tony Investment, and Wonik Investment Partners. These firms have made bold bets on the company’s potential, both in terms of its innovative product offerings and the expertise of its leadership team.
€29 million funding boost for Danish flat optics manufacturer to scale manufacturing of high-performance camera lenses
NIL Technology (NILT), a Copenhagen-based flat optics company, has secured €29 million in funding from investors such as the Export & Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), Jolt Capital, NGP Capital, and Swisscanto Private Equity. Established in 2006, NILT specializes in advanced nanostructures, particularly in nanostructured flat optics (meta-optics). The funding will support NILT’s efforts to scale its manufacturing capabilities and organization to meet the growing demand for its technology. This technology is crucial for developing ultra-compact, lightweight optical solutions with minimal power consumption and new functionalities for applications in consumer electronics, automotive, robotics, and more.
With demand for its technology increasing, NILT has matured its meta-optics technology across the value chain from design to prototyping and is now scaling its manufacturing organization and manufacturing capabilities to meet higher-volume customer requests. NILT’s manufacturing strategy by nanoimprint lithography (NIL) allows for more precise and versatile nanostructures that enables unmatched meta-optics performance.
Founders Fund leads financing of composites startup Layup Parts
Scarcely five months after its founding, hard tech startup Layup Parts has landed a $9 million round of financing led by Founders Fund to transform composites manufacturing. Lux Capital and Haystack also participated. Eakin, Layup’s CEO, would still be with Anduril, he says, if not for the idea to found Layup. “It was born out of a need that we had at Anduril — a need that the world has that became poignant during my time there,” he said.
Most areas of manufacturing have changed over the course of Eakin’s career, except composites, he said. Companies like Protolabs, Xometry and Fictiv have innovated processes like CNC-machining, sheet metal cutting and injection molding. These companies (and many others) have developed a frictionless, almost Amazon-like experience to getting hardware manufactured rapidly, and that’s left a permanent mark on the industry.
But there’s been no equivalent innovation in composite parts manufacturing. There are a few reasons for this, Eakin said. The first is that existing composites manufacturers aren’t well leveraged to develop the software tools required to do it well; the other is that composites are more artisanal and less easily automatable in certain steps of the process. So bringing the number of humans in the manufacturing loop close to zero is inherently more tricky.
Li Industries Raises Series B Funding to Expand Next-Generation Battery Recycling Technology
Li Industries announced the successful raise of a $36M Series B funding round to scale up its next-generation lithium-ion battery recycling technologies. The round was co-led by Bosch Ventures, Khosla Ventures and LG Technology Ventures with Formosa Smart Energy Tech Corp., Anglo American Decarbonization Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures coming in as new investors. They join existing investors, Shell Ventures and Myriad Ventures, to back Li Industries’ mission of providing the most circular, cost-effective, and sustainable solution for lithium-ion battery materials, under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Dr. M. Stanley Whittingham. Given investors’ interest, Li Industries plans to expand the round to $42M, which would bring its total private funding to more than $50M.
This new round of funding solidifies Li Industries’ growth trajectory to meet its partners’ growing needs for battery recycling services and battery materials. The capital raised will be used to construct a 10,000 ton recycling facility powered by Li Industries’ proprietary Direct Electrode-to-Electrode (Direct E2ETM) recycling technology. This expansion builds on the company’s Series A funding, which enabled the development of a 500-ton battery recycling facility in Pineville, NC, and a 1,000-ton battery sorting facility in Charlotte, NC.
Hysata raises $111m USD led by bp Ventures and Templewater
Australia-based company Hysata is developing new high-efficiency electrolysers that aim to produce green hydrogen at scale with higher energy efficiency and lower costs than alternative technologies. The company’s technology combines engineering and science in a unique capillary-fed alkaline electrolyser that uses less energy to convert water to hydrogen.
bp Ventures and Templewater led the recent $111.3 million USD investment round in the company, with strong backing from existing major strategic and financial investors IP Group Australia, Kiko Ventures (IP Group plc’s cleantech platform), Virescent Ventures on behalf of Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Hostplus, Vestas Ventures and BlueScopeX. The company also welcomed new major strategic and financial investors POSCO Holdings, POSCO E&C, IMM Investment Hong Kong, Shinhan Financial Group, Twin Towers Ventures, Oman Investment Authority’s VC arm IDO and TelstraSuper.
Hysata will use the funding to expand production capacity at its iconic beachside manufacturing facility in Wollongong, New South Wales and further develop its technology as it focuses on reaching gigawatt scale manufacturing.
Lucid Bots Raises $9M Series A to Scale Productive Robotics Solutions
Lucid Bots Inc., an industry leader in cutting-edge robotics for labor-intensive tasks, announced that it has raised $9.1M in Series A funding led by Cubit Capital, with participation from Idea Fund Partners, Danu Venture Group, and existing investors that include Y Combinator’s Growth Fund and Gratus Capital. Lucid Bots will utilize the funding to advance its portfolio of autonomous robotic solutions, including its flagship Sherpa cleaning drone and Lavo Bot pressure washing robot products, while rapidly scaling its operations and team to better serve its growing customer base and expand its platform into new markets.
Lucid Bots has built a capital-efficient infrastructure encompassing manufacturing, repairs, training, and customer success domestically built in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s solutions are redefining the landscape of autonomous commercial-grade cleaning technology for numerous customers across the commercial, industrial, and municipal sectors.
Momenta Leads Investment in Composabl, Expanding Industrial AI and Autonomy
Momenta leads the seed round for Composabl, a trailblazer in industrial AI and autonomy, joined by Ridgeline Ventures, Exposition Capital, and Hannah Gray Ventures. Composabl’s unique approach empowers engineers to deploy real-time autonomous agents for manufacturing and logistics, supported by Momenta’s investment and industry endorsements.
Composabl’s unique approach to autonomous AI represents a step change in industrial process capabilities and will drive advancements and efficiency for manufacturing and logistics. Built for industrial process engineers, not data scientists, Composabl helps create real-time process optimization AI agents, driving toward autonomous operations. Momenta’s investment will provide Composabl with the resources and support needed to accelerate the growth of its platform and market presence.
This is the sixteenth company receiving investment from Momenta’s Digital Industry Fund III, anchored by Advantech, the world leader in digital industrial solutions. This is also the first company to receive investment from Momenta’s Digital Industry Fund IV, anchored by Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation.
Mycocycle Raises $3.6 Million to Transform Waste into Sustainable Raw Materials with Fungi
Mycocycle, a nature-inspired, woman-owned biotechnology company that uses fungi to transform organic waste into reusable materials, announced an oversubscribed $3.6 million Seed extension. Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group led the round with follow-on investment from the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good and participation from U.S. Venture, Inc. and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity INVENT Fund.
Mycocycle will use the funding to deepen relationships with existing partners for waste materials, further scale its waste-to-value chain, and make key leadership hires for marketing, technology, and operations teams.
FleetPulse spun off from Great Dane, raises $11M for trailer telematics
Trailer telematics provider FleetPulse announced Wednesday it is spinning off as its own company after being incubated under trailer manufacturer Great Dane since 2017. The telematics provider is launching independently with $11 million raised including a $6 million seed round led by Four More Capital.
Reckers explained that now the company is looking to become independent to service the needs of all fleets by becoming OEM-agnostic. The FleetPulse team plans to leverage modern technology to enhance cargo safety, securement, trailer utilization and performance now that it has the independence to align itself with the market and attack its go-to-market strategy more aggressively.
Pascal Raises $8M to Solve the HVAC Industry’s Climate Problem
Pascal, a startup developing high-efficiency climate-friendly heat pumps, air conditioners and refrigerators based on solid refrigerants, introduced its novel technology and announced it has raised an $8 million seed round led by Engine Ventures, with Khosla Ventures and previous investor Blindspot Ventures participating. The funding will be used to productize Pascal’s low pressure, solid refrigerant-based system, conforming to commercial HVAC specifications. The company will also use the capital to expand its Boston-based team of mechanical engineers, chemists, and material scientists.
Pascal’s novel class of solid refrigerants operate at lower pressures than previously possible and can be used across a range of HVAC applications, including heat pumps, air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers. The company believes its systems can be manufactured within the existing industrial ecosystem, using off-the-shelf parts from the conventional HVAC component supply chain. Companies operating in the commercial refrigeration supply chain, and any organization with heating and cooling needs across distributed locations can benefit from Pascal’s technology.
Renegade Plastics closes pre-Seed investment led by Schneider Resources Holding
Renegade Plastics®, a leader in making coated fabrics more sustainable, is excited to announce closing a pre-Seed investment led by Schneider Resources Holding. The investment will help expand Renegade’s team and accelerate growth into new markets that are eager for a non-toxic and more sustainable alternative to vinyl-coated industrial fabrics.
Established in 2021, Renegade Plastics® is addressing the plastic problem by building a circular economy for coated fabrics, based on a proprietary polypropylene-based coated fabric that is non-toxic and able to be recycled, while lower carbon and lighter weight than the vinyl-coated fabrics that currently dominate the industry.
Elementary Secures Strategic Investment from Rockwell Automation to Drive Adoption of AI Machine Vision for Manufacturing
Elementary, an innovator in AI-powered machine vision, proudly announces a significant milestone in its mission to redefine manufacturing automation with its AI-powered vision inspection. Rockwell Automation, a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation, makes a strategic investment, signifying strong support for Elementary’s visionary approach to elevating manufacturing quality standards.
Elementary’s dedication to “closing the loop on quality” has set them apart in the field, leveraging advanced AI algorithms to ensure unprecedented accuracy and consistency in quality assurance processes. This new injection of capital enables Elementary to continue enhancing its product offerings - paving the way for a new era in AI-powered digital transformation within the manufacturing industry.
Space Tech Startup Xona Raises $19M Series A for its Cutting-Edge Satellite Navigation Service
Xona - a company developing a network of small satellites to provide high-precision navigation services - announced an oversubscribed $19 million Series A funding round led by Future Ventures and Seraphim Space. New investors NGP Capital, Industrious Ventures, Murata Electronics, Space Capital, and Aloniq also joined the round.
This funding will be used to accelerate the deployment of Xona’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network as they drive towards commercialization. With this round Xona will begin beta operations of their PULSAR™ satellite service which is aimed at providing the robust precision guidance needed for intelligent and autonomous technologies to scale beyond highly structured environments.
MIT spin-off Rapid Liquid Print raises $7M for 3D printing
MIT spin-off Rapid Liquid Print has raised $7 million in funding for its novel liquid-based 3D printing technology. Boston-based Rapid Liquid Print was founded as an additive manufacturing startup in 2015 as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Germany’s HZG Group led the investment round, joined by BMW i Ventures and MassMutual through MM Catalyst Fund (MMCF).
The name of the company says it all: Rapid Liquid Print is a new 3D printing process developed at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab in Boston. In this innovative process, a liquid object is “drawn” in three dimensions within a gel suspension. A gantry system injects a liquid material mixture into a container filled with a specifically engineered gel, drawing the desired object into three-dimensional space via a nozzle. The gel holds the object in suspension – as if in zero gravity – while the object cures during printing.
The entire printing process takes minutes and requires no additional support structures to be printed. The printed objects can be used immediately without post-processing.
AI robotic arm to tackle labour shortages: Swiss startup mimic grabs $2.5M funding
In the race to develop the first commercially available humanoid robot primarily concentrated in the US, mimic has closed a pre-seed round of $2.5 million. The round was led by early-stage Swiss investor Founderful, which invested in Isospec Analytics, together with participation from German-based fund another.vc, UK-based Tiny.vc, which invested in UltiHash, and a lineup of angel investors.
Spinning out from the research university ETH Zurich, mimic was founded by researchers Elvis Nava, Stefan Weirich, Stephan-Daniel Gravert, and Benedek Forrai in 2024. The founding team was working at the intersection of robotics and AI under Professor Robert Katzschmann’s Soft Robotic Labs when they became increasingly convinced that the latest developments in large-scale generative AI models would upend a multitude of industries, beyond just language and image generation.
As per the company, its solution will enable a robot with humanoid hands to understand and imitate any behaviour, simply by watching a human perform it. This deviates from the conventional robotic solutions and focuses on specific use cases. Since each use case requires expensive ad-hoc engineering and comprehensive pre-programmed movements, robots are only able to complete the narrowly specific task they are designed for. Most use cases are stationary and do not require a full humanoid robot with legs, so they have developed a robotic arm.
Octopus Energy’s valuation increases to $9bn following further commitments from existing investors
Octopus Energy today announces a new valuation of $9bn as existing shareholders Generation Investment Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) increase their stakes in the business. The deal increases the global energy and technology group’s valuation by 15% on the last investment round, totalling $9 billion (£7.2bn).
The investment will increase Octopus Energy Group’s profile in the USA, fuelling the company’s plans to extend its Kraken technology into American markets, having signed the first deal in Texas in 2023. Octopus Energy closed its last funding round in December in which it raised $800 million. Since launching to the market eight years ago, Octopus has raised well over $2bn from global investors and expanded into 18 countries.
Carbon Robotics to Help Revolutionize Farming with AI, Using Investment from NVentures
Carbon Robotics, the leader in AI-powered farming, today announced that it has received an investment from NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm. This underscores the power of AI in transforming farming worldwide, as well as Carbon Robotics’ leadership and innovation in the industry. Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder™ has been proven by top farmers to reduce weed control costs by 80 percent and significantly increase crop yield and quality. By providing farmers with an innovative weeding solution that does not rely on traditional methods of chemical herbicides, hand labor, or soil cultivation, Carbon Robotics is at the forefront of using AI to protect crops, people, and the planet.
Leveraging the power of 24 NVIDIA GPUs, the LaserWeeder processes 4.7 million high-resolution images per hour, offering unparalleled AI-driven plant detection and identification to target and eliminate weeds with lasers. The LaserWeeder can eradicate 5,000 weeds per minute with sub-millimeter precision and utilizes the world’s most diverse and fastest-growing agricultural image dataset, comprising 25 million labeled plants and more than 30,000 crop and weed models. The LaserWeeder also captures real-time metrics on crops and weeds and sends them to the cloud, providing farmers with actionable visual insights into their field farming operations at any time, from anywhere.
Mavarick AI snaps €1.3M to support sustainable manufacturing using AI
Traditional manufacturing management systems often rely on manual processes and legacy technology. This is where Irish startup Mavarick AI brings a paradigm shift in the industry. Using AI to analyse real-time data, the company enables sustainable manufacturing through AI.
In a recent development, Mavarick AI, which supports sustainable manufacturing, has raised €1.3 million in pre-seed funding. The investment round was led by Act VC and supported by a collection of successful founders.
The company plans to deploy the funding to expand its team, enhance its platform, and scale its operations to meet the growing demand for AI-driven manufacturing solutions. Also, it is actively recruiting talent to join its mission of shaping the future of manufacturing.
Wayve raises more than $1B in Series C
Wayve has raised $1.05 billion in its Series C funding round, the company announced. The artificial intelligence-powered autonomous driving company plans to use the new funding to bolster its goal of reimagining autonomous mobility through embodied intelligence - which is meant to extend past generative AI and large language models.
The company out of London received the funding from a group of investors led by SoftBank Group, with input from Nvidia, a new investor, and Microsoft, an existing investor.
Niobium Secures $5.5 Million in Venture Financing to Commercialize FHE Accelerator Chip
Niobium announced the completion of a $5.5 million seed fundraising round, marking a substantial step towards its future growth and development. This achievement is accompanied by the expansion of its Board of Directors, further strengthening the company’s leadership and strategic capabilities.
Niobium, a leading custom silicon provider, is revolutionizing the field of Zero Trust Computing with its innovative cryptography hardware. A fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) hardware accelerator is at the forefront of its product portfolio. This cutting-edge technology allows for computing on encrypted data, providing a mathematical guarantee of data privacy. Niobium’s purpose-built hardware acceleration for FHE is performance-led for the fastest FHE acceleration, unlocking new possibilities for the data economy.
Niobium is a spin-out from Galois, a consultant group leading advanced cryptography and privacy research and development. The Niobium founders built a dedicated team of the world’s most advanced cryptography experts and world-class chip designers to bring its FHE accelerator chip to market. Over the past two years, Niobium has received significant non-dilutive capital through federal programs focused on the development of the first dedicated hardware capable of advancing FHE into commercial applications.
Niobium will leverage this new funding to develop commercial applications for FHE acceleration, including healthcare and pharmaceutical research, financial fraud detection, blockchain public ledgers, digital advertising, and other use cases where sharing and analyzing data while maintaining complete privacy is paramount. Niobium also plans to grow its software engineering team, expand existing IP protection, and continue to optimize its FHE hardware products.
PAXAFE Raises $9M Series A to Transform AI-Powered, Autonomous Cold Chain Logistics
PAXAFE, the company delivering AI-powered decision support for cold chain logistics, has announced a $9M Series A funding round led by Framework Venture Partners, with new participation from M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), Rosecliff Ventures, Elevate Ventures, AngelList Quant Fund, Gaingels, Mana Ventures and existing participants Ubiquity Ventures and Venture53. This new round brings the total funding raised to date to $14M; the capital will be used to meet increasing customer demand, fuel product innovation and expand global operations and key partner ecosystems.
PAXAFE transforms quality, transportation, and logistics operations for high-profile pharmaceutical and produce manufacturers, and cold chain service providers like Carrier, Transposafe and Hive-Zox. The company’s SaaS platform, CONTXT, quantifies strategic & operational risk, proactively predicts adverse events and recommends requisite actions to ensure perishable goods are delivered on time and in expected conditions. CONTXT helps end-users make complex, data-driven decisions in minutes, without requiring a significant financial investment in consultative support.
Sweden’s greentech firm Cetasol secures €2M to boost maritime sustainability
Gothenburg-based Cetasol, a Swedish firm focusing on maritime sustainability, announced that it has secured €2M in a seed round of funding. The investment came from Sarsia, ShipsFocus, and Impact X Capital.
With this funding, Cetasol says it can broaden its market presence and enhance its product range. The company also aims to increase its product sales volume by doubling its research and development efforts and optimising software development.
Zanskar Raises $30 Million to Accelerate Discovery of Geothermal Energy for Clean and Affordable Power
Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, the leading geothermal exploration company, announced the closing of $30M in new funding led by Obvious Ventures. The round, which includes participation by previous investors such as Munich Re Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Safar Partners, and First Star Ventures, as well as newcomer Clearvision Ventures, enables Zanskar to scale its AI-led exploration technology to develop new geothermal resources. Zanskar will deploy the funds to accelerate technology development and advance its portfolio of greenfield power projects to serve new partnerships
Since its last fundraise in 2022, Zanskar has established itself as a leader in geothermal discovery. Public accomplishments include winning multiple contracts with the United States Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit to explore new geothermal resources and advance their mission of energy resilience. In addition, its field data collection program collects more low-cost, early-stage field data every three months than what industry and academia combined did over the prior ten years. This early-stage field data program, in addition to rapidly iterating model predictions, enabled Zanskar to make more greenfield geothermal discoveries than the industry made over the prior ten years combined.
TXOne Networks, Leader in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Security, Raises $51 Million in Total in Series B Extension Round Funding
TXOne Networks, a leader in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) security, announced a significant achievement of securing $51 million in its Series B extension round of financing. In addition to TGVest Capital, the lead investor of the B round, Pegatron Group, CDIB Capital Group and CDIB-Innolux II L.P. are continuing to invest. New investors include the Taiwania Capital and Applied Ventures ITIC Innovation Fund, L.P. (AVITIC), a joint fund of Applied Ventures, LLC and ITIC-Taiwan (Industrial Technology Investment Corporation).
In April 2024, TXOne Networks announced its latest innovative CPS protection platform, the SageOne central management console. The new TXOne Networks platform delivers management of the CPS attack surface across the OT environment, combines advanced technologies with a user-friendly interface for securing critical infrastructures and enables integrated lifecycle protection.
Ingersoll Rand Leads $19M Financing Round for Inkbit to Advance Multi-Functional Additive Manufacturing
Inkbit™, a pioneer in advanced additive manufacturing solutions, announced the closing of a $19M financing round led by Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR), with participation from Future Labs Capital, GC Ventures America, iGlobe Partners, Ocado, Phoenix Venture Partners, Stratasys, Zeon Ventures, and other private investors. As part of the transaction, Jason Weber, Vice President of Engineering, Compressor Systems and Services, North America, and Henry Ford III, Director at the Ford Motor Company and Trustee at the Ford Foundation, will join the Inkbit Board of Directors.
Inkbit envisions a world where new ideas for physical products can be tested, refined and deployed as rapidly as software. Innovation is an iterative process that flourishes on speed: prototypes should be on hand rapidly and should perform as closely as possible to the finished product. To accelerate this process, Inkbit has developed Vision-Controlled Jetting™ (VCJ), a multi-material manufacturing system that scales seamlessly from prototyping to production on the same platform. The technology converges advances in computation, chemistry and process control, to enable rapid manufacturing of innovative products such as complex industrial fluidics and bio-inspired robots.
Insempra completes $20 million Series A
Insempra, announces the successful completion of a $20 million Series A financing round. Following an initial $15m seed round conducted in 2021, this financing round will enable Insempra, to continue building a technology platform that delivers high-performance, intrinsically sustainable ingredients for a wide range of industries, while supporting the company in the scale up of its technology scouting, development, and manufacturing capabilities.
Existing investors EQT Ventures, BlueYard Capital, Possible Ventures, Taavet Sten and Acequia Capital participated in the round. New investors are the corporate venture of international FMCG giant Henkel, Henkel dx Ventures, Bayern Kapital and Alante Capital.
Insane Cyber closes $4.2 million funding round to safeguard critical infrastructure installations
Insane Cyber, a vendor of industrial cybersecurity offerings, announced the completion of a US$4.2 million early-stage funding round to propel its mission to protect and defend critical infrastructure and operations through continuous innovation and community partnerships. The round was led by Paladin Capital Group, with strategic investment from a Fortune 200 energy company and participation from Cyber Mentor Fund.
Founded in 2020 by Dan Gunter, Insane Cyber has quickly established itself as an up-and-coming leader in the cybersecurity space, focusing on using automation to protect critical infrastructure and operations in energy, data centers, government, oil and gas, and other sectors.
Chemovator invests in Detroit-based startup Heartland rethinking plastics using natural fiber reinforcements
Chemovator, the business incubator and early-stage investor of BASF, has successfully finalized an investment in Heartland. The Detroit-based startup is a frontrunner in the production of natural fiber plastic additives, and the latest addition to Chemovator’s external-facing Elevate program.
Supported by a team of scientists, engineers, and technologists, Heartland has developed hemp-based materials that can be used as additives within plastic compounds. This breakthrough advancement in the world of sustainable material innovation improves properties about flammability, bonding, dispersion, and bulk density, which are historically associated with processing natural fibers. As a result, natural fibers are now a viable market opportunity to reduce scope 3 carbon emissions1 in numerous industries.
With this funding, Heartland becomes Chemovator’s first portfolio company in North America and the latest addition to the Chemovator Elevate program. The program aims to support early-stage startups in the chemical industry through monetary investment, access to BASF and its experts, as well as support from a network of experienced entrepreneurs.
GrayMatter Partners with Tailwind Capital to Transform Industrial Intelligence
GrayMatter, a top Industrial Intelligence technology solution provider, is accelerating its expansion with a significant investment from Tailwind Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments in growth-oriented, middle-market services companies.
This partnership comes at a pivotal time for GrayMatter. The company recently celebrated another year in which it met its organic growth objectives and completed two successful acquisitions. Over the past seven years, GrayMatter has successfully completed five strategic acquisitions, invested in a new operations team in India and assembled a respected team of technical engineers.
Cin7 Acquires AI Forecasting Company Inventoro
Cin7, the industry-leading inventory and order management software provider, announced the acquisition of Inventoro, a leading provider of AI-driven sales forecasting and replenishment optimization solutions. The acquisition and integration of Inventoro’s capabilities with Cin7’s platform will extend product seller’s access to state-of-the-art AI technology, enabling customers to enhance existing inventory and order management capabilities with intelligent prediction and optimization.
Powered by a proprietary AI engine, sellers can forecast demand with unmatched accuracy months in advance, maintaining optimal stock levels and eliminating overages. This allows sellers to make fast, impactful decisions – enabling both short and long term forecasting that translates insight into action. Not only does this help achieve over 99% product availability, it also frees up to 20% of inventory capital and saves valuable time through automated, streamlined operations.
Deltia.ai bags €4.5M to combat manufacturing labour shortage using AI and computer vision
Berlin-based Deltia.ai, a computer vision software company, recently announced the completion of €4.5M in a seed funding round led by Cavalry Ventures, with participation from existing investor Merantix. The German company will use the funds to accelerate customer onboarding, enhance AI capabilities for machining processes, and integrate customer IT systems’ data.
The Berlin-based Deltia.ai offers a solution by using visual digitisation to convert manual production processes such as assembly, packaging, and machinery adjustments into digital formats. The algorithm used by the company analyses factors like hand movements and cycle times to identify any unnecessary steps, thereby proposing ways to improve the process.
Whitman Controls Secures $4.5 Million Investment from Advantage Capital to Catalyze Business Growth
Whitman Controls, LLC., an industry leader in the custom design and manufacturing of pressure, vacuum, level, and temperature switches, announced it secured a $4.5 million investment led by leading impact investor Advantage Capital. The Bristol-based company will leverage the capital to support business growth initiatives and bring as many as 30 new jobs to the area.
The investment from Advantage Capital was made in connection with the InvestCT program, which opens up funding opportunities to entrepreneurs unable to attract traditional forms of capital. According to the Connecticut Department of Economic Community Development, the program created more than 1,500 jobs between 2016 and 2023. It has been instrumental in funneling financing to small businesses and targeted municipalities that have historically lacked investment, as well as pre-seed and early-stage businesses looking to get their start in the state.
Arris Secures Additional $34M in Funding
ARRIS®, an advanced manufacturer with a breakthrough technology enabling the highest-performing fiber-reinforced composites at scale, announced that it has raised $34 million in its latest fundraising round. The round saw participation from new and returning investors, including ST Engineering, Zebra Technologies, Youngone, Standard Industries, Vertex Exploratory Fund, NEA, XN, Taiwania Capital, Bosch Ventures, Modern Venture Partners (MVP), and Alumni Ventures Group (AVG). The funding will be used to build on the ARRIS’ success in scaling its global operations.
Founded in 2017, the ARRIS Technology team created a new manufacturing category called Additive Molding by pioneering the development of patented software, materials, and high-volume production methods that prioritize specific stiffness and strength. New levels of product performance are now possible with this first-of-its-kind advanced manufacturing platform, enabling continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite structures that are lighter and more sustainable.
Invent Analytics Raises $17M to Help Retailers Maximize Profits with Supply Chain AI
Invent Analytics, announced that it has secured $17 million in Series B funding. The investment round is led by LFX Venture Partners, in partnership with existing investors European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Collective Spark. Invent Analytics is helping leading brands maximize profits by leveraging its AI-powered SaaS solutions for demand forecasting, inventory planning, replenishment, allocation, returns positioning, and pricing.
Cogtive receives a R$10 million investment from Indicator Capital
Cogtive, a startup that enhances the productivity of Manufacturing industries through IoT technologies, digital twins, and artificial intelligence, receives a R$10 million investment from Indicator Capital, the largest early-stage venture capital firm in Latin America specializing in the Internet of Things (IoT). This investment aims to help the company address a significant challenge in the industrial sector: ensuring that factories operate at their maximum capacity by mapping inefficiencies in the production process and delivering tools for optimization.
Silvaco Announces Launch of Initial Public Offering
Silvaco Group, Inc., a provider of TCAD, EDA software, and SIP solutions that enable semiconductor design and AI through software and innovation, announced it has launched the roadshow for its initial public offering (“IPO”) of 6,000,000 shares of its common stock. The underwriters will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 900,000 shares of Silvaco’s common stock from Silvaco at the IPO price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The IPO price is currently estimated to be between $17 and $19 per share. Silvaco’s common stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “SVCO.”
Silvaco currently intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, selling and marketing activities, research and product development, general and administrative matters, the repayment of outstanding debt, and capital expenditures. Silvaco may elect to use a portion of the net proceeds to satisfy the anticipated tax withholding and remittance obligations in connection with the settlement of certain equity compensation awards of Silvaco’s employees.
Shinkei Announces $6 Million in Seed Funding for Sustainable Robotic Fish Harvesting
Shinkei is pioneering a commercial fish processing technology and announced $6 million in new seed funding for the launch of its modern system that merges machine learning, robotics, and centuries-old fish harvesting techniques. The round was led by Cantos, with additional participation by 8VC, Impatient Ventures, Susa/Humba Ventures, Carya Venture Partners, Ravelin Capital, Red & Blue Ventures, Undeterred Capital, and others joining existing investors.
Fish is the primary source of protein for over 3 billion people, yet over 60 percent of all fish caught in America are never actually eaten. Shinkei automates the time-tested ike jime technique of humanely processing fish, enhancing the quality, taste and shelf-life of the raw product. Importantly, fish processed using this technology remain fresh for up to three times as long as the standard harvesting methods.
Thintronics Inc. Closes $23M Series A Financing Round Led by Maverick Capital and Translink Capital
Thintronics Inc. is a California-based electronic materials startup supplying high-performance insulators for emerging AI datacenter, networking, and RF/millimeter-wave (mmW) applications. Thintronics Inc. has raised a Series A funding round for $23M, led by Maverick Capital and Translink Capital. Series A funding will support commercialization of a novel insulator platform.
The company was founded on the idea that conventional assumptions guiding insulator material development limited the capacity of the industry to innovate. They have since developed a suite of high-performance materials that display electrical and mechanical characteristics that far outpace the state of the art. Thintronics’ CEO Stefan Pastine emphasizes that “the interconnect insulator is foundational to modern electronics; however, it has yet to be optimized to operate near the theoretical limit of insulation. Additionally, the supply chain is fragmented across multiple electronic architectures. It is our vision to optimize the insulator and unify it across the fabric.”
Rodinia Generation raises €3M to fight garment waste with on-demand microfactories
Rodinia Generation announced it has raised €3 million Seed funding. Rodinia Generation is a Danish tech startup that introduces high-tech software and hardware to the fashion industry to combat garment overproduction and make manufacturing processes more sustainable and efficient.
Microfactories make product-to-market time 19x faster. Using microfactories, garment designs can be produced in less than two weeks, even in as little as 48 hours, eliminating the need to overproduce to ensure supply – thereby helping reduce the nearly 50 billion unsold garments annually, which costs the fashion and textiles industry €188 billion.
Bioform Technologies raise $5M to develop bio-based single use plastic alternatives
Bioform Technologies just secured $5 million in seed funding from Brazilian VC Suzano Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Suzano, the world’s largest market pulp producer. Recently, the VC backed Allotrope Energy. Also, similar startups such as Sparxell and Traceless Materials raised investments in the same category.
The funding will enable the company to accelerate the development of its novel bio-based plastic alternatives, realise a demonstration facility to pilot the manufacturing process and expand its team and capabilities.
Aropha Raises $1M in Seed Funding to Revolutionize Biodegradable Material Testing with AI and Lab Automation
Aropha, a leading laboratory focused on advancing biodegradable material discovery and testing through lab automation and AI predictive modeling, announced that it has raised $1 million in a Series Seed funding round. The round was led by Comeback Capital, with participation from Lightbank and Right Side Capital Management (RSCM).
Aropha works directly with companies to provide rapid biodegradation testing and implement AI screening into their product development processes. The funding will be used to expand Aropha’s current laboratory operations, increase industry awareness, and fund the development of its biodegradation prediction model, ArophaAI.
To date, Aropha has helped more than 80 customers with their biodegradation testing through both in-lab and in-silico testing. Year-over-year booked revenue at the end of Q4 saw 190% growth. The company also recently published a free version of its predictive model, ArophaAI-2.
GenAI-powered Battery Developer Chemix Closes Its $20M Series A Led by Ibex Investors
Chemix, the pioneer in leveraging a vertically integrated and GenAI-powered self-driving lab for the rapid development of next-gen EV batteries, announced the completion of $20 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Ibex Investors, an investment firm with $1 billion in assets under management, with participation from Mayfield Fund, Berkeley SkyDeck, and Urban Innovation Fund. The round also included strategic investors including BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund (SIVF), Global Brain’s KDDI Open Innovation Fund III (KDDI CVC), and Porsche Ventures, the venture capital arm of the sports car manufacturer Porsche AG.
To practically and effectively integrate GenAI into the battery development process, Chemix embarked on a journey from day one to build its own battery lab and collect its own data - creating its battery-specific MIX™ R&D platform. In less than three years, the company has tested 10,000 commercial-format pouch, cylindrical, and prismatic cells, screened through 4,000 unique electrolyte formulations and more than 2,000 pairs of unique electrode designs, and collected a total of 4.5 million cycles. The high-quality, specially curated, and AI-trainable data, all gathered through physical experimentation, have played a critical role in training Chemix’s proprietary transformer-based deep neural network, which then autonomously generates better materials and cell designs on a daily basis on behalf of battery engineers and scientists. For Chemix, this marks just the beginning of truly unleashing the full potential of GenAI to transform the decades-old battery industry, one data point at a time – a vision that is shared among both existing and newly joining Chemix investors.
MARKT-PILOT strengthens international market position with $43 Million Series A led by Insight Partners
Just in time for its fourth anniversary, MARKT-PILOT announces the successful completion of one of Europe’s largest Series A financing rounds, led by global software investor Insight Partners with participation from existing investor Capnamic. The Esslingen-based company will use the capital to further expand its business in Europe and the US, solidifying its position as a global player in the manufacturing market.
Since its founding in 2020, MARKT-PILOT has been revolutionizing the manufacturing industry with PRICERADAR, a unique global SaaS solution for market-based spare parts pricing. PRICERADAR automatically researches prices and delivery times of spare parts and thus shows customers their competitive position and sales potential. After PRICERADAR’s success, the company launched its second product, PRICEGUIDE, in 2023 – a solution that provides optimized and validated price recommendations for customers’ spare parts portfolio.
HighByte Announces Series A Raise to Accelerate Growth in Industrial DataOps Market
HighByte®, an industrial software company, announced its Series A funding round led by Standard Investments, a platform investing in innovative growth companies at the intersection of the digital and physical worlds. Standard Investments is leading the round with participation from existing HighByte investors, including Exposition Ventures, Maine Venture Fund, and outstanding convertible note holders. New funds will be primarily allocated across research and development, strategic partner management, and customer success to accelerate market penetration and expand deployments within existing accounts.
HighByte has developed a unique Industrial DataOps software solution, HighByte Intelligence Hub, that enables manufacturers to merge, prepare, and deliver modeled industrial data to and from IT systems without writing or maintaining code. Curating and contextualizing data at the edge is foundational to the success of advanced analytics and adoption of large language models in manufacturing. First released in 2020, HighByte Intelligence Hub has now been deployed in 18 countries by more than 60 industrial companies with multi-plant facilities.
Forcen closes $8.35 Million to Develop its Touch-tech for Robots
Toronto-based robotics sensing company Forcen has closed an $8.35 million CAD funding round as it looks to scale up its prototype production facilities.
The all-equity round closed in February and was co-led by Brightspark Ventures and BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund with participation from Garage Capital, MaRS IAF, and returning investors including EmergingVC. Founder and CEO Robert Brooks told BetaKit that undisclosed existing venture capital and angel investors, as well as new angel investors, also participated in the round.
Forcen said it will use the investment to support more customers and continue developing its force sensing technology for robots. With this round, which Brooks classified as “pre-A,” the startup has raised $12.95 million CAD in equity funding to date.
Italian deep tech startup Lithium Lasers raises €2 million to take UV lasers to the next frontier
Rovereto-based Lithium Lasers, an ultrashort pulse laser technology startup, announced it has raised €2 million from 360 Capital and Primo Space Fund. With the fresh capital Lithium Lasers will accelerate the process of industrialization and commercialization along with starting to work on a new line of UV Lasers set to be launched in the next few years.€1.5 million was committed by Primo Space Fund with the co-investment of 360 Capital, which reinforces its dedication towards innovation in the Deep Tech Industry.
Founded in 2019, Lithium Lasers has developed a USPL called FemtoFlash for material processing, biophotonics and non-linear optics applications in several industries (eg. aerospace, healthcare, automotive, consumer electronics, among others), particularly useful when dimensional accuracy and tighter tolerances are needed. Because of its ease of integrability, FemtoFlash is easier to install, lowering setup costs for clients.
Magnus Metal Raises $74 Million in Series B Funding to Transform Metal Part Casting With its Revolutionary Digital Casting™ Technology
Magnus Metal, a pioneering technology in industrial, high volume digital casting for metal alloys, announced it has raised $74 million in Series B funding, co-led by Entrée Capital and Target Global with additional participation from Caterpillar Ventures, Tal Ventures, Deep Insight Ventures, Awz Ventures, Lumir Ventures, Discount Capital, Lip Ventures, Cresson Management, Next Gear Fund and Essentia Venture Capital. Magnus Metal will use the latest capital to further develop its innovative casting technologies, while expanding its operations locally and globally to support its Fortune 100 customers.
Magnus Metal innovates the centuries-old metal casting industry by providing an Industry 4.0-based fully automatic manufacturing solution that makes the process faster, safer, and environmentally friendly while both improving quality and reducing cost. Magnus Metal is the first and only additive manufacturing technology that uses the Customer’s current metal raw material providing huge benefits in adoption rate.
GA Drilling Announces First Close of $15M to Accelerate the Delivery of Deep Geothermal Energy
GA Drilling, the leader in deep geothermal, announced the first close of $15 million in financing after a series of successful tests. The investment fuels the commercialization of geothermal technologies to scale the renewable energy source as a real option to replace fossil fuels for baseload power. Delivering deep geothermal faster and at deeper depths while remaining cost-effective is how the company will go from delivering megawatts of energy to terawatts. Investors include leading global drilling rig, services, and technology provider, Nabors, Christian Oldendorff’s new Family Office, alfa8, the previous CEO of private equity firm EQT, Thomas von Koch, newly established geothermal fund Underground Ventures, and Slovakia-based, Neulogy Ventures.
AI Precision Spraying Pioneer Greeneye Technology Raises $20M to Scale U.S. Operation
Greeneye Technology, the pioneer of AI-enabled precision spraying technology that is proven to reduce herbicide use in farming by an average of 88%, announces the completion of a $20m funding round led by Israeli investment company Deep Insight. The investment will be used to significantly scale Greeneye’s operation in the U.S. and to advance the technology’s analytical capabilities and extend its usage to new inputs and crops. The next phase of expansion will see dozens more systems deployed in farmers’ fields this year, targeting the 200m acres of corn, soybean and cotton grown in the U.S.
The round is supported by existing investors Syngenta Group Ventures, JVP, Orbia Ventures, and Eyal Waldman, the founder and former CEO of Mellanox (now part of Nvidia), as well as other notable new investors including Iron Nation and Amol Deshpande, the founder and former CEO of FBN. Also as part of today’s announcement, Greeneye welcomes Barak Ben Eliezer, Managing Partner at Deep Insight, to its Board of Directors.
Tree Energy Solutions secures €140M to fuel production of electric natural gas derived from green hydrogen
Brussels-based Tree Energy Solutions (TES), a global green energy company, announced that it has concluded its third fundraising round at €140M from financial institutions and energy investors, including Azimut Group, Fortescue, E.ON, HSBC, O.G. Energy, Zhero and others. Existing shareholders, including AtlasInvest, Reggeborgh, Zhero, and Zodiac Maritime, participated in the funding round.
The company will use the funds to develop its global portfolio of large-scale e-NG (electric natural gas derived from green hydrogen) production projects and its import terminal project in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
KODE Labs Secures $30M Series B Funding to Propel Global Net-Zero Building Emissions
KODE Labs, a pioneering Detroit-based autonomous smart building startup, proudly announced the closure of a robust $30 million Series B round. Spearheaded by Maverix Private Equity, this milestone round also saw enthusiastic participation from esteemed partners TELUS Ventures and existing investor I Squared Capital. The infusion of strategic capital marks a pivotal moment for KODE, empowering the company to help buildings worldwide achieve net-zero emissions.
Averatek, Relaunches as LQDX.com, Raises $10M in Equity & Government Funding
Averatek Corp., developer of high-performance materials for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, announced that it has relaunched as LQDX (‘lik-WID-ix) to focus on the rapid adoption of its Artificial Intelligence enabling chemistries and process technologies. To fund this next stage of growth, the company has concluded a combined equity and initial government funding round of $10M USD.
Lockheed Martin leads 3 million USD investment round in Q5D to make tooling to automate wiring harness manufacture
Q5D Technology, a company specializing in hardware and software tools for automating wiring harness manufacture, announced today the successful closure of a $3 million investment round, led by Lockheed Martin Ventures, the venture investment arm of Lockheed Martin Corporate, a global aerospace and defense company.
Lockheed Martin’s investment arrives at a pivotal moment for Q5D as it transitions from project-based revenue to machine sales, following the successful launch of its first hardware product last year.
CleanFiber wants to turn millions of tons of cardboard boxes into insulation
Spring Lane Capital, a sustainability-focused private equity firm, had been watching CleanFiber’s progress and, happy with the numbers the startup was posting, decided to lead a $28 million Series B that also included a $31.5 million project financing facility, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Spring Lane was joined by Ahlström Invest, AXA Investment Managers, Climate Innovation Capital and Tokyu Construction/Global Brain.
Using an entirely new process to transform a different feedstock into a drop-in replacement for existing cellulose insulation was one challenge the company faced when developing its product. It couldn’t cost any more, and it had to perform as well or better for the installers who deal with it on a daily basis.
With a first-of-its-kind plant built and operational, CleanFiber has been able to traverse one of the most treacherous parts of the valley of death that often claims startups trying to commercialize a new technology. Building new additional factories won’t be a walk in the park, but it should get easier with each subsequent one. Plus, Strimling points out that more stringent building codes mean that new homes require more insulation than ever before. In other words, CleanFiber doesn’t need established players to lose for it to win.
SmartD Technologies secures $14.2 Million Series A
SmartD Technologies, a leader in the development of Silicon Carbide (SiC)-based variable frequency drives, proudly announces the successful closure of its Series A funding round, securing a total of $14.2 million in investment. Leading the funding round is Investissement Québec, with significant participation from Hammond Power Solutions. This round is further bolstered by continued support from existing investors, Boreal Ventures and SE Ventures.
This infusion of capital marks a crucial milestone for SmartD Technologies as it embarks on an accelerated trajectory towards revolutionizing the variable frequency drive (VFD) landscape. The funding will be strategically utilized to expedite the realization of SmartD’s ambitious roadmap, particularly focusing on the development and commercialization of higher power versions of its groundbreaking Clean Power VFD.
Zero-Emission Truck Developer Windrose Technology Completes US$110 Million Series B Financing
Electric heavy-duty truck developer Windrose Technology has announced completion of the second phase of its Series B financing, raising the total funding for this round to US$110 million. The investors of this round of financing include London-based HSBC, Boston-based HITE Hedge Asset Management, industrial real estate and digital infrastructure specialist Goodman Group (ASX:GMG), and executives from global brands and logistics companies.
The proceeds of this series B financing will be used to accelerate the testing and deployment of Windrose Technology’s electric long-haul trucks globally, to set up a new supply chain center and production facility, as well as to implement fast-charging infrastructure. The first installation of one of the world’s fastest mega-watt level chargers at Goodman’s Citylink property near Beijing, China will be operational in the second quarter of 2024.
Trident IoT Completes $10M Fundraising Round
Trident IoT, a silicon provider and RF technology company focused on decreasing time-to-market for connected device manufacturers, today announced completion of a $10 million fundraising round.
Trident IoT offers Z-Wave silicon solutions and product design and development consulting services for any RF technology. This latest fundraising round will allow the company to expand silicon/hardware solutions development, engineering support, and certification preparation services across the gamut of IoT and connectivity platforms, including Z-Wave, Zigbee, Thread, Matter, LoRa and more.
This investment positions the company to future-proof a growing portfolio. Trident IoT will invest newly raised funds toward the development of its AI division, creating purpose-built AI tools to accelerate IoT product design. These resources will also allow Trident IoT to scale engineering resources and speed the development of design tools, including pre-FCC-certified System-in-Packages (SIP)s, SDKs, and reference designs.
Collaborative Robotics Raises $100 Million in Series B Funding
Collaborative Robotics, (or Cobot), a leader in the development of practical collaborative robots (cobots), today announced it has raised $100 million in Series B funding led by General Catalyst and joined by Bison Ventures, Industry Ventures and Lux Capital. Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Mayo Clinic, Neo, 1984 Ventures, MVP Ventures and Calibrate Ventures participated as well, bringing the total funding raised to over $140 million in less than two years.
Oden Technologies raises $28 million for AI analysis of manufacturing data
Oden Technologies, the leading data and AI software company servicing the manufacturing industry, announced today the close of a $28.5 million Series B round, led by Nordstjernan Growth. The funding will primarily be used to further accelerate the development of AI products for the manufacturing industry.
New investors in the round include Klarna founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski’s investment company, Flat Capital, Oden customer INX International Ink Co., and Recurring Capital Partners, with participation from almost all existing investors, including Atomico and EQT Ventures. Ebba Lilliehöök, from Nordstjernan Growth, and Anders Berggren, an independent manufacturing executive, will join Oden’s board as part of the round.
This round of funding comes on the heels of the huge success of Process AI, Oden’s machine-operator centric product. Process AI gives operators the information they need to optimize their runs for cost savings, increased output, or other corporate objectives in real-time through prescriptive process recommendations and predicted outcomes. These capabilities enable new operators to perform like experienced ones, which solves a major labor productivity challenge caused by an average 50% three-month retention rate for operators, and a time to productivity of more than two years on the line. Operator adoption has been outstanding, with over 80% of runs utilizing the recommendations within enabled lines; which has increased line speeds by more than 40% at some customers.
Proxima Fusion bags €20 million seed to accelerate timeline to fusion power
Proxima Fusion, the first spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), has raised €20 million in seed funding to propel the Munich-based startup towards building the first generation of fusion power plants based on quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators with high-temperature superconductors. Proxima Fusion’s seed round, led by redalpine, was preempted and oversubscribed, with participation from the Bavarian government-backed Bayern Kapital, German government-backed DeepTech & Climate Fonds, and the Max Planck Foundation. Existing investors, including Plural, UVC Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Wilbe, and TOMORROW of Visionaries Club have doubled down on their pre-seed investments.
Founded in 2023, the company builds on groundbreaking results from the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) experiment, the world’s largest stellarator at the Max Planck IPP, resulting from €1.3B of visionary public investment by the German Government and the European Union.
MODE, Inc. to Drive Global Expansion With Generative AI and IoT
MODE Inc. (MODE), based in San Mateo, California, USA, led by CEO Gaku Ueda, and specializing in providing solutions that advance digital transformation at factories and construction sites through the power of the internet of things (IoT) and generative AI, announces it’s closing $8.75 million in Series B funding. This round includes investments from SBI Investment Co., Ltd., True Ventures, JR East Startup Co., Ltd., and Daiichi Jitsugyo Co., Ltd.
With this round of funding, including contributions from existing customers such as JR East Start-Up Co., Ltd. and Daiichi Jitsugyo Co., Ltd., MODE aims to accelerate the development of “BizStack AI Assistant,” a product that integrates generative AI with on-site data. MODE intends to address the issue of labor shortages on sites by creating an environment where humans and AI work together as a team. This funding round will also fuel expansion to the North American market, with regards to both customer acquisition and potential global partnerships.
Reshape Raises $20 Million Series A to Scale AI-Powered Imaging and Analysis Platform for Biotech, Agriculture, and Food R&D
Reshape, the world’s first AI and robotics-powered imaging and analysis platform, today announced a $20m Series A investment led by Astanor Ventures, R7, ACME, Y Combinator, Unity Co-Founder Nicholas Francis, and Per Falholt. The company plans to use the funding to expand its US operations and continue automating R&D for agricultural, industrial, and biotech organizations.
Founded in 2018 in Copenhagen, Reshape enables biological researchers to automate visual experiments by capturing and analyzing data points instantly and accurately. The solution empowers research labs to accelerate the pace towards scientific discoveries by minimizing errors and maximizing time for value-adding tasks, guiding microbiological research with precision towards a deeper understanding of nature. The company’s technology is already used by dozens of leading organizations including Syngenta, University of Oxford, Novozymes, and others who save more than 500,000 hours each year in manual research processes.
Windfall Bio Raises $28 Million Series A to Scale Methane Capture & Transformation Solution
Windfall Bio, a leader in methane-to-value solutions, announced its $28 million Series A funding round led by Prelude Ventures with participation from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Global Brain (through its Norinchukin Innovation Fund L.P.), Incite Ventures, and Positive Ventures. Existing investors also participated in the round, including B37 Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mayfield, and UNTITLED (a fund backed by the Tetra Laval family). Supporting its commercial pipeline, the new capital will enable Windfall to expand pilot deployments across methane intensive industries including agriculture, oil and gas, and waste management. Windfall will also invest resources to continue building out its team, manufacturing capacity and supply chain to meet growing global customer demand for methane mitigation solutions.
ROKAE Completes Strategic Plus Round Financing Exceeding CNY 500 Million
Following its strategic round financing in 2022, ROKAE has recently completed a strategic plus round financing exceeding CNY 500 million. This funding round has received joint support from the National Manufacturing Industry Transformation and Upgrading Fund and Zoucheng City’s New Kinetic Energy Industrial Investment Fund, with the capital primarily allocated towards market development, international expansion, product upgrades, iterative development, and refined operational management.
Varda Announces $90 million Series B Funding to Build Factories in Space
Varda Space Industries, Inc., the world’s first in-space manufacturing and hypersonic Earth re-entry logistics company, today announced the completion of a $90 million Series B funding round, led by Caffeinated Capital, with participation from Lux Capital, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and Khosla Ventures. Varda has raised $145 million to date.
In addition to the successful reentry of the W-1 capsule earlier this year, the Varda team has also published on the discovery of a third form of the HIV drug Ritonavir, as well as the development of a hypergravity crystallization platform, which has shown ways that gravity can be used as a variable in small molecule therapeutics formulation and development. Varda’s second vehicle, W-2, is scheduled to launch this summer.
Archetype AI Introduces Foundation Model to Pioneer Physical AI
Archetype AI, a physical AI company helping humanity make sense of the world, announced its emergence from stealth and the introduction of Newton™, a first-of-its-kind foundation model that understands the physical world. With Newton, Archetype AI is on a mission to use the power of artificial intelligence to solve real-world problems – empowering people and organizations with an understanding of the physical environment that wasn’t previously possible.
In support of this mission, Archetype AI has raised a $13 million seed funding round led by Venrock, with participation from Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Hitachi Ventures, Buckley Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures and several angel investors. In conjunction with the financing, Ganesh Srinivasan, Partner at Venrock, will join the board.
With Newton, Archetype AI is introducing a first-of-its-kind physical AI foundational model that is capable of perceiving, understanding and reasoning about the world. Newton fuses multimodal temporal data – including signals from accelerometers, gyroscopes, radars, cameras, microphones, thermometers and other environmental sensors – with natural language to unlock insights about the physical world in real-time.
REDUCED secures EUR 6 million financing led by Novo Holdings to scale its natural food ingredients business
REDUCED, a Copenhagen-based company that uses fermentation technology to transform food and agriculture industry side streams into natural food ingredients, today announced it has secured EUR 6 million in new financing. The funds were raised from a range of investors, including new investment from Novo Holdings and the Nordic flavour house Einar Willumsen, as well as existing investors EIFO and Rockstart Agrifood.
Proceeds from the round will be used to further develop its technology platform, broaden its portfolio of savoury ingredients, secure production capacity, implement certifications, and increase sales and marketing efforts.
York IE Invests in Völur
York IE, an advisory and venture capital firm that helps technology companies grow, announced its investment in Völur, a global software company in meat industry optimization. York IE participated in Völur’s $2.8 million funding round, as did Serra Ventures and Völur’s corporate partner, SARIA. Existing investors Idékapital, Fusion Fund and Fortress Fund followed on with additional investments. Völur’s funding will help the Oslo-based company ensure top-line growth and continue to revolutionize the meat industry with data and AI methodologies.
SiMa.ai Secures Funds and Readies New Generative Edge AI Platform
SiMa.ai, the software-centric, embedded edge machine learning system-on-chip company, announced it has raised an additional $70M of funding led by Maverick Capital, with participation from Point72 and Jericho, as well as existing investors Amplify Partners, Dell Technologies Capital, Lip-Bu Tan and others. SiMa.ai will utilize the $270M raised to date to continue meeting customer demand for edge AI/ML with its first-generation Machine Learning System-on-Chip (MLSoC) while accelerating the delivery of its second-generation MLSoC for release in Q1 of 2025.
OROS Labs®, creators of Solarcore® insulation, secures $22 million in Series B funding led by Airbus Ventures
OROS Labs, an innovative thermal solutions company, announced the closure of its Series B funding round, raising $22 million to support the company’s expansion in consumer, commercial and government industries. The round of funding was led by Airbus Ventures, with participation from REI Co-op Path Ahead Ventures, Platinum Mile Ventures, Culper Ventures, Crumpton Ventures, Iron Gate Capital Advisors, Enlightenment Capital, CTK and the Goldwin Play Earth Fund, among others.
Solarcore®, leverages the thermal properties of Aerogel, the world’s lowest thermally conductive solid, to revolutionize insulation for a multitude of applications – from structures and packaging to cold weather apparel and footwear. By combining cutting-edge technology with innovative design, Solarcore sets new standards for thermal efficiency, along with being durable, versatile and applicable to many different product categories.
Swedish startup Alrik raises €1M to reduce carbon emissions in construction
The operations software provider Alrik just raised €1 million in seed funding from global venture capital firm Pi Labs, which recently invested in Moonhub, Pathways, and Stockoss. The Swedish startup eyes to expand its services across Europe with the latest investment. It is in plans to reduce the construction sector’s large carbon footprint.
Torus Secures $67 Million in Venture Financing to Advance Energy Storage and Energy Management Platform
Torus, Inc. announced a significant milestone in its journey: the successful completion of an equity fundraising round and the expansion of its Board of Directors. This financing round, totaling $67 million in new equity, conversion of outstanding notes, and a loan facility, was led by Origin Ventures, a venture capital firm known for supporting disruptive software and hardware companies powering the Digital Native economy. The financing also saw contributions from notable institutional investors including Epic Ventures, Cumming Capital, the Larry H. Miller Company, Zions Bank, Pelion and ICONIQ.
Torus plans to use these funds to deepen its energy solutions portfolio in the commercial and large-scale utility sectors and add critical talent to the Torus team.
Alsym Energy Announces $78M Funding Round Led by Tata Limited and General Catalyst
Alsym™ Energy, a developer of next-generation non-flammable rechargeable batteries for stationary storage, marine and mobility applications, announced a $78 million funding round jointly led by Tata Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons) and General Catalyst, a global venture capital firm. New York-based Thrive Capital and Toronto-based Thomvest also joined in the round, as well as existing investor Drads Capital. Alsym will use the funds to grow its Boston-area team and expand its prototyping and pilot lines to address increasing demand for customer samples. This commitment from leading strategic investors and venture capital firms highlights the growing interest in high-performance, inexpensive non-flammable battery technologies.
actnano, Inc. Announces $40 Million Investment
actnano, Inc., a global leader in surface protection technologies for automotive, consumer, and industrial electronics, announced the closing of a $40 million investment by Anthelion Capital. actnano’s innovative solutions are trusted globally by leading electronics OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers to provide advanced protection from water and harsh environmental conditions. The company will use the proceeds to continue to expand its technical sales and services footprint as well as to increase production volumes and efficiencies to meet the global demand for their product.
BurnBot Secures $20M in Series A Funding to Prevent Destructive Wildfires with Mechanized Vegetation Management
BurnBot, announced it has raised $20 million in financing to expand its mechanized vegetation management and fuel treatment solutions to prevent destructive wildfires. The round was led by ReGen Ventures, with participation from Toyota Ventures, AmFam Ventures, Convective Capital, Blue Forest Asset Management, Skip Capital, Overture Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital and Pathbreaker Ventures.
To amplify prescribed fire capacity, BurnBot developed the RX, a mechanized prescribed fire system that precisely deploys fire within an enclosed chamber, cooling the land as it moves. “Our technology is a force multiplier, enabling small crews to treat areas 10X faster and more efficiently. We know that fire is an effective and ecological way to manage fuel buildup and we designed the RX to operate with minimal smoke and escape risk, so it’s safe for use year-round, even near communities and critical infrastructure. This investment will allow us to expand our technology development and operations, and we’re excited to make a positive impact,” said Waleed “Lee” Haddad, Co-Founder and CTO of BurnBot.
Ailytics raises US$2.7m to power next generation scenario-based AI monitoring for heavy industries
Ailytics, a Singapore-based B2B heavy industry software startup which utilises scenario-based AI-powered video analytics solutions to help companies enhance their operational safety and productivity has successfully secured its oversubscribed Pre-A funding of US$2.7mil led by Singapore-based venture capital firm, Tin Men Capital, that focuses on B2B software startups in Southeast Asia. The round is also joined by Aurum Investments, AngelCentral, and other strategic investors.
The startup’s proprietary solution taps on existing cameras to provide real-time actionable insights of unsafe acts, productivity metrics, and security breaches. It can provide 3D dimensions using a 2D video feed from any single camera, which enables the deployment of complex use cases such as calculating the danger zone under heavy load and a fixed radius around hazardous equipment. The solution can be deployed with high accuracy using existing low resolution cameras, even in harsh environments, making it suitable for dynamic environments found in heavy industries such as construction sites and manufacturing plants.
Loar Files Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering
Loar Holdings, LLC, which will convert into a corporation and be renamed Loar Holdings Inc. (“Loar”), announced that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. Loar has applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “LOAR.”
NobleAI Secures Over $10 Million in Series A Extension Funding
NobleAI, a pioneer in Science-Based AI solutions for Chemical and Material Informatics, announced over $10M in Series A extension financing. New investor Sway Ventures led the round, joined by Dorilton Ventures. In a sign of continued commitment to NobleAI, the round included additional investments from all of NobleAI’s original Series A investors.
NobleAI is a pioneer of Science-Based AI, an approach that relies on Specialized Science-Infused Models (SSMs) as opposed to the Large Language Models powering Generative AI. By combining the power of AI with applicable scientific laws, NobleAI helps companies slash research cycle times and speed product development – even when they are starting with smaller private or industry-specific data sets.
Renewable fuels company Raven SR bolsters leadership team, secures $15M investment
Raven SR Inc., a renewable fuels company, announced key board additions and an executive promotion, coupled with securing $15 million in new investments, positioning the company for further growth and innovation in the clean energy sector.
The company said the latest fundraising underscores the confidence in Raven SR’s proprietary Steam/CO2 Reforming technology that converts various waste streams into renewable transportation fuels like hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The process outperforms all known alternatives in efficiency, producing more hydrogen and SAF per ton of waste.
Ascent Funds, a venture capital fund dedicated to advancing the energy transition, led the latest $15 million investment, with contributions from existing investors Chevron New Energies, ITOCHU Corp. and Stellar J Corp., the engineering, procurement and construction company managing construction of Raven SR’s hydrogen project in Richmond, California.
Sparxell Raises $3.2m to Advance Development of Sustainable Pigments
Sparxell, the UK-based developer of high-performance, sustainable, plant-based pigments, has completed a $3.2m funding round (comprising seed investments, grants, and awards) to accelerate development and commercialisation of products which will eliminate synthetic chemicals from colourants in multi-billion dollar markets including in cosmetics, fashion, paint, and packaging.
The Circular Innovation Fund, a global venture capital fund jointly managed by Demeter and Cycle Capital with L’Oréal as an anchor investor, participated in the seed funding alongside others including SpaceX-backer Futre Communities Capital, PDS Ventures, Katapult, Joyance Partners and SNØCAP VC.
Blue Sage Capital Invests In American Alloy
Blue Sage Capital is pleased to announce its recently completed investment in American Alloy. American Alloy is a metal component and sub-assembly manufacturing platform focused on serving OEM customers in the packaging, food & beverage, industrial automation, hard rock mining, and other general industrial markets. The Company has distinguished itself through its best-in-class quality, quick-turn fulfillment, stainless steel and segregated/clean room manufacturing expertise, and full-service fabrication and machining capabilities for low-to-medium volume parts. American Alloy has built a long-standing reputation for being a trusted manufacturing partner for its blue-chip customers and is well-positioned to continue to benefit from the secular growth in automation investment within all verticals of the manufacturing economy.
Blue Sage will support American Alloy as it seeks to further build out its presence within current and targeted new markets through organic efforts and M&A. In conjunction with the transaction, the Company’s COO, Brett Stevens, has been named CEO and will lead the business in partnership with Blue Sage. American Alloy’s founder, Garret Guinn, will remain involved with the business as an employee, board member, and shareholder.
EIG’s MidOcean Energy Announces Strategic Investment from Mitsubishi Corporation
MidOcean Energy, a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) company formed and managed by EIG, a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors, announced a strategic investment by Mitsubishi Corporation. Mitsubishi Corp’s investment will accelerate MidOcean’s strategy to create a high quality, diversified, global ‘pure play’ integrated LNG company.
watttron raises €12M to expand its sustainable packaging solutions
Germany-based watttron, a company that claims to be a leader in digital temperature control systems, announced that it has secured €12M in a Series B round of funding. With this funding, watttron aims to transform sustainable packaging solutions and broaden its presence in American and Asian markets.
The investment was led by the Circular Innovation Fund (CIF) and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), signalling a global push for sustainable innovation in packaging. Long-term partners TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, Constancia New Business (CNB), SKion GmbH, and BA Mr. Rico Kleinhempel, along with new investors, are also supporting watttron in its mission to advance sustainability in the packaging industry.
Robovision raises $42M to accelerate AI-powered industrial automation
AI-powered computer vision, Robovision, has raised $42 million in its latest investment round, bringing its funding to $65 million. Headquartered in Ghent, Robovision’s AI-powered computer vision platform offers an end-to-end, no-code solution for machinery manufacturers and production lines. Target Global and Astanor Ventures led the round. Red River West also joined the funding round.
The funding round will help accelerate Robovision’s U.S. expansion, fostering a robust local presence to address the increasing demand for automated solutions in American factories. The funds will also be used to invest in R&D and growth in existing markets, with future office openings planned across Germany, France, the UK, the Middle East, and Asia.
Lightshift Energy Raises $100 Million From Greenbacker Capital Management to Expand Utility Scale Battery Storage Across North America
Lightshift Energy, formerly known as Delorean Power, announced capital infusions totaling $100M from Greenbacker Capital Management LLC. The company has secured $20M from a GCM-affiliated investment vehicle dedicated to making growth equity investments in sustainable infrastructure development platforms. These funds will be used to scale Lightshift’s team, accelerate sales, and grow its pipeline. In addition, Lightshift has secured $80M from a second GCM-affiliated investment vehicle that invests in sustainable infrastructure assets. This capital will support the construction and operations of Lightshift’s portfolio.
Orchard Robotics Raises $3.8M led by General Catalyst to Build Robots & AI that Power Precision Crop Management
Orchard Robotics, the company enabling precision crop management with robots and AI, announced their $3.8M raise, across a seed round led by General Catalyst, and a pre-seed led by Contrary. In this oversubscribed round, they are joined by Humba Ventures, Soma Capital, Correlation Ventures, and VU Venture Partners, Ben Taft’s Genius Ventures, along with notable angel investors Howard Lerman, Joshua Browder, Rory and Kieran O’Reilly, and many others.
The company has engineered AI-driven camera systems designed to be affixed onto any farm vehicle, collecting precise data (including fruit count, size, color, growth rate, and more) pertaining to the fruit on each individual tree. Currently, the company’s technology is used by many of the largest fruit growers in the nation to maximize yield and quality in the field, and make strategic supply chain decisions post-harvest.