Funding Event
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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.
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.
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.
Terragia Secures $6M to Develop Cost-Competitive, Low-Carbon Biofuel Technology
Terragia Biofuel, a technology startup aiming to drive the next generation of biofuels, announced it has raised a $6 million seed round led by Engine Ventures and Energy Impact Partners (EIP). The company will use the capital to commercialize its novel biology-based approach to converting cellulosic biomass into ethanol and other products, expand its employee headcount and initiate partnerships with major biofuel producers.
Terragia uses engineered thermophilic bacteria to break down cellulosic biomass and convert it into ethanol and other chemical products. The company’s technology avoids key features responsible for the high cost of conventional cellulosic biofuel production by one-step “consolidated” bioprocessing without added enzymes, and leveraging mechanical disruption during fermentation (i.e., “cotreatment”) in lieu of thermochemical pretreatment.
In partnership with Dartmouth College and the University of Campinas, the ongoing development of Terragia’s technology is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Center for Bioenergy Innovation and the São Paulo Research Foundation, by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation, as well as private capital.
Exoes partners with Bpifrance and Meridiam in a €35m deal to shape the future of electric mobility
Exoes, under the leadership of its co-founders Arnaud Desrentes and Rémi Daccord, has developed a unique know-how on thermal management systems for next generation electric vehicles. Meridiam Green Impact Growth Fund (GIGF) and Bpifrance Fonds Avenir Automobile 2 (FAA2) partner with Exoes through a €35m deal, to accelerate its growth.
Based in Gradignan (Bordeaux), Exoes provides advanced engineering services to the car manufacturing industry and fluid manufacturers for next generation EV platforms. Since 2019, the company is also developing its own high-performance battery packs through its dedicated subsidiary, relying especially on immersion cooling technology. Exoes is recognized worldwide for its deep expertise in immersion cooling.
Gather AI Raises $17M to Accelerate Growth and Bring Warehouses into the Modern Era with AI-Powered Inventory Monitoring
Gather AI, makers of computer vision and AI-powered warehouse inventory monitoring solutions, announced a $17M Series A-1 led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from Tribeca Venture Partners, Dundee Venture Capital, Expa, and Bling Capital. The new funding provides a total of $34M raised to date. It will be invested in scaling operations as Gather AI continues to attract customers by solving supply chain issues with richer data and AI.
With the Gather AI solution, AI software enables drones to fly autonomously through warehouses, scanning 15 times faster than traditional means. Additional AI infers bar codes, text, empty locations, and other inventory-related information in the images, automatically comparing them with what’s in the warehouse management system (WMS). The warehouse manager can then view inventory data in real time from a web dashboard. Gather AI customers are seeing an ROI of 3-5x, driven by a 66% reduction in warehouse inventory database errors.
Accenture Invests in Sanctuary AI to Bring AI-Powered, Humanoid Robotics to Work Alongside Humans
Accenture has made a strategic investment, through Accenture Ventures, in Sanctuary AI, a developer of humanoid general-purpose robots that are powered by AI and can perform a wide variety of work tasks quickly, safely and effectively.
Sanctuary AI’s general-purpose robot PhoenixTM, recently recognized as one of TIME magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2023,” can perform a multitude of work tasks. For instance, at a Mark’s retail store in Langley, BC, Canada, Phoenix has performed more than 100 tasks, including choosing and packing merchandise, and correctly cleaning, tagging, labeling and folding items, with robotic hands that rival human hand dexterity and fine manipulation. Phoenix is powered by the company’s AI control system, CarbonTM, which mimics subsystems found in the human brain, such as memory, sight, sound and touch, and translates natural language into action in the real world.
peaq raises $15 million in pre-launch funding
peaq has raised $15 million in a multi-tranche funding round that kicked off last autumn, led by Generative Ventures and Borderless Capital. Other major players joining the rocketship include CMCC Global, Spartan Group, HV Capital, Animoca Brands, Moonrock Capital, Fundamental Labs, TRGC, DWF Labs, Crit Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, NGC Ventures, Agnostic Fund, Altana Wealth, LBank Labs, Protein Capital, Token Metrics, and others. In 2023, peaq also powered a live demo of peer-to-peer parking at IAA MOBILITY in Munich together with the Bosch-led Gaia-X moveID project, which also includes such companies as Airbus, Continental, and DENSO. As further collaboration with Bosch and Fetch.ai, peaq also presented an all-around AI-powered sensor hub for DePINs. DePIN stands for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks. These apps use tokens to incentivize people to direct or deploy hardware to build real-world physical infrastructure networks.
Nominal Launches with Generative AI to Disrupt the $44B ERP Market
Nominal is harnessing generative AI to bridge the gap between outdated, costly ERP systems and the financial management needs of modern mid-market, multi-entity businesses. The company launched with $9.2 million in seed funding from Bling Capital and Hyperwise Ventures, with participation from Vela Partners, Incubate Fund and executives from Bill.com, Salesforce, Justworks, ServiceNow and Intel.
The company plans to use the funds to accelerate its product offering, expand its market reach and increase sales and support resources in the U.S. The company primarily focuses on mid-market, multi-entity companies such as holding companies, real estate, energy and multinational technology companies in its initial go-to-market plans.
UK-based WASE raises €9.9M to scale its waste-to-energy technology
Bristol-based WASE, a startup that aims to accelerate sustainable waste and energy innovation, announced that it has secured over £8.5M (approximately €9.91M) in funding, including £2.4M (approximately €2.79M) in non-dilutive support. Berlin-based climate-first VC firm Extantia Capital led the financing round, with participation from Hitachi Ventures, WEPA Ventures, the family VC firm of the European family business WEPA, and Engie New Ventures, the CVC arm of the global energy company Engie. This capital influx will facilitate WASE’s expansion efforts, enabling them to fulfil signed contracts, advance projects in their pipeline, and enhance their product range.
The company claims that its Electro-Methanogenic Reactor (EMR) technology stands out for its versatility and efficiency in converting biomass and organic matter into biogas. Operating within anaerobic digestion (AD) plants and wastewater treatment, WASE’s units boost biogas production, accelerating the process by up to 10 times and increasing output by 30 per cent. Moreover, they elevate the methane content of biogas to over 80 per cent, surpassing conventional AD systems where methane levels typically range from 50-60 per cent. WASE’s plug-and-play system integrates into existing infrastructure while occupying 50-70 per cent less space than conventional alternatives.
TurbineOne Raises $15M in Series-A Funding Round
TurbineOne Inc., a leader in government Machine Learning (ML) that is simple-to-use and edge-first, announced today it raised $15 million in its Series-A funding round. The round is led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from previous investors The General Partnership and XYZ Ventures. Pallas Ventures, a national security focused investment firm, also joined this round.
The venture funding will be used to accelerate its rapidly growing business in national security markets as the Defense Department adopts ML solutions to sort through the fog and friction of the modern battlefield. While today’s warfighters are overwhelmed with processing data from diverse hardware and sensors, TurbineOne’s Frontline Perception System (FPS) cuts through the noise to quickly unlock data insights by automating threat recognition and cueing alerts for decision-makers using cutting-edge ML. The software refines raw data feeds through user-friendly software that warfighters can operate themselves, including in battlefield conditions where connectivity, bandwidth, and access to the cloud is hazardous and limited.
Celestial AI Closes $175 Million Series C Funding Round Led by U.S. Innovative Technology Fund
Celestial AI™, creator of the Photonic Fabric™ optical interconnect technology platform, today announced it raised $175 million in its Series C funding round led by Thomas Tull’s U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (USIT). In addition to USIT, the round included participation from new and existing investors including AMD Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), Temasek, Temasek’s wholly owned subsidiary Xora Innovation, IAG Capital Partners, Samsung Catalyst, Smart Global Holdings (SGH), Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Engine Ventures, M-Ventures and Tyche Partners.
Amid the explosive growth in demand for generative AI applications and next-generation data centers, hyperscalers are increasingly constrained by utility power availability, memory capacity and high cost of operation. Celestial AI’s Photonic Fabric optical interconnect technology addresses these critical challenges by revolutionizing memory and compute fabrics. This transformational solution provides the foundational technology for users to continue making advancements in AI while maintaining scalable, sustainable and profitable business models. This latest round of funding will enable Celestial AI to execute multiple large-scale customer collaborations focused on commercializing its breakthrough Photonic Fabric technology platform.
Viam Announces $45M Series B Funding for Revolutionary Software Platform Accelerating AI, Data, and Innovation in Robotics, IoT, and Smart Machines
Viam, the software platform for smart machines, today announced that it has closed $45 million in Series B financing. The round includes participation from continuing investors, Union Square Ventures and Battery Ventures. The financing brings Viam’s total funding to $87 million. The latest funding will enable Viam to continue accelerating enterprise partnerships, driving commercial innovation, and making further developments into the software platform.
Viam is a fully modular, interoperable, and open source software solution that works seamlessly across all hardware and any fleet of machines. Its open architecture removes costly and complex barriers to working with physical devices, in order to speed developer velocity, democratize access to open data to inform AI, and accelerate innovation in critical sectors such as industrial manufacturing, energy, and climate.
HerdDogg Inc. Successfully Closes Venture Equity Fundraise, Fueling Growth and Innovation
HerdDogg Inc., the leader in data-driven livestock management, announced the closure of its Series A-4 Preferred Equity financing, securing a significant investment to accelerate commercialization and fuel innovative hardware and data solutions for the beef and dairy industries.
The equity fundraise was led by Serra Ventures and Wonder Fund North Dakota, with additional investments from Innova Memphis, Open Prairie, Sheldon Group, Trailhead Capital, and Lever VC. This group of investors’ expertise and extensive resource network will provide HerdDogg with support and guidance as it embarks on its next phase of growth.
EVOLOH Secures $20M to Transform Electrolyzer Manufacturing and Make Low-Carbon Hydrogen Globally Accessible
EVOLOH, Inc., a cleantech company that manufactures electrolyzer stacks for hydrogen production, announced it has raised an oversubscribed $20 million Series A round led by Engine Ventures. Additional participating investors include a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and 3M Ventures. The capital will be used to expand the company’s scalable, high-throughput manufacturing technology and introduce additional capabilities for its NautilusTM platform of advanced liquid alkaline electrolyzers.
EVOLOH is making low-carbon hydrogen globally accessible by revolutionizing the manufacturing of electrolyzers. While incumbent electrolyzers are notoriously expensive and difficult to produce, transport and install, and rely on politically and environmentally challenging supply chains, EVOLOH’s manufacturing facility will offer an 80% reduction in capital investment and footprint.
Electrolyzer stacks, the core component of electrolyzers, are offered via EVOLOH’s NautilusTM platform and made from abundant materials like steel, plastic and aluminum and do not require precious metals or rare earth materials. To reduce the CAPEX and OPEX of hydrogen plants using EVOLOH’s Advanced Liquid Alkaline technology, the NautilusTM stacks use low-cost power electronics and do not require corrosive electrolytes. EVOLOH’s NautilusTM stacks are very compact, and can be built into modules of 24 megawatts, making them ideal for large industrial applications.
Breakthrough Battery Technology Company Ionobell Raises $7.3M Total Seed Funding
Ionobell, the breakthrough silicon battery technology company, announced that they have raised a recent seed extension round of $3.9M led by Dynamo Ventures and Trucks VC bringing the total amount funding to $7.3M in seed investment fundraising. The initial equity round was led by Trucks VC, with participation from Dynamo Ventures and Alumni Ventures.
Ionobell has expertise in battery material and cell development, alongside several decades of energy storage, Li-ion, and fabrication knowledge and experience are used to build battery technology that will help automotive clients save up to $1,200 per vehicle.
Ionobell’s silicon material is 500% more energy-dense than Graphite and with its porous structure, it still meets the lifecycle needs of automotive, even in solid-state designs, enabling greater range, faster charging, and lower costs than existing batteries. Additionally, Ionobell’s novel approach reuses waste materials to significantly reduce the environmental impact for its industry partners, further enabling the circular economy.
Firecell raises €6.6M Seed funding for 5G industrial solution
Firecell announced the completion of a €6.6 million Seed round in equity led by Ventech and Matterwave Ventures, accompanied by Bpifrance’s Digital Venture fund and Bouygues Telecom Initiative. The funds will be used to develop a new range of products with new features such as geolocation and protection against cyber-attacks. They will also help deploy Firecell’s offering in Europe, notably in Germany, the leading European industrial market, where the startup is establishing a subsidiary, and to recruit new team members.
By reducing the footprint of 5G technologies to operate on standard servers and through strategic partnerships with renowned manufacturers, Firecell enables industrial enterprises of all sizes to pave the way for a smart industry.
Circular Announces $10.5M in Funding to Scale First-of-its-Kind Platform for Sourcing Recycled Materials
Circular.co, the leading sustainable sourcing platform, secured $10.5M to expand its massive database of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials and its accompanying platform that streamlines buying and selling of PCR materials. The financing includes a new $5.3M round, backed by Maniv, Oxygea, and Eclipse, which followed a $5.2M seed round previously led by Eclipse. Circular will use the funding to grow its team, expand to additional sustainable materials, continue to add more companies and suppliers, and deepen the scale and functionality of its platform.
Circular provides access to over 9,000 global suppliers with over 50,000 PCR technical records codified using artificial intelligence (AI), including details such as price, specs, and volume of materials, and supplier certifications. Its extensive database brings visibility and transparency to an – until now – disjointed, opaque, and illiquid industry. Circular handles the searching, sourcing, vetting, and onboarding process for its customers, with results in days compared to months or even years, using analog methods.
LIS Technologies Inc. Announces Oversubscribed $1.3 Million Seed Funding Round Led by Advanced Nuclear Technology Investors to Fund the Rebirth of the Only USA-Origin Patented Laser Uranium Enrichment Technology in the World
LIS Technologies Inc., a proprietary developer of advanced laser technology and the only USA-origin patented laser uranium enrichment company, announced that it has closed an oversubscribed $1.3 million seed funding round led by advanced nuclear technology investors to reinforce USA energy security and propel the nuclear sector into a new era of growth and discovery.
The Company’s proprietary CRISLA technology is versatile, with potential applications spanning uranium enrichment for nuclear fuel, the synthesis of stable isotopes critical for medical and other scientific research, and in the growing field of quantum computing, particularly in the manufacturing of semiconductor technologies.
TCab Tech closes Series A financing with additional 20 million USD
TCab Tech announces it has raised an additional 20 million USD in its Series A financing. The exclusive investment comes from a strategic investment fund which plans to introduce the air-taxi application in the Middle East region. With this financing, TCab Tech intends to accelerate the development of E20 aircraft and airworthiness certification goals and ultimately, the commercialization of the E20 eVTOL.
TCab passenger-carrying E20 eVTOL is a tilt-rotor configuration, a 5-seater (1pilot+4pax) equipped with six rotors, four tilt and two lift rotors, and a high gull-wing with a conventional tailplane design. The eVTOL targets a maximum design range of 200km, and a cruising speed of 260km/hour. It is most efficient for commuting between 30 – 150km.
Rithmik Solutions Secures $2 Million in Funding to Revolutionize Mobile Mining Equipment Management
Rithmik Solutions, a leader in AI-powered analytics for mobile equipment optimization in the mining industry, is thrilled to announce the successful closure of a $2 million funding round. This investment was spearheaded by a syndicate of new and existing investors, demonstrating strong confidence in Rithmik’s innovative approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing equipment uptime and improving operational efficiency. Rithmik Solutions is poised to use this investment to accelerate its growth, further enhance its product offerings, and expand its reach to help mines around the world maximize the efficiency and lifespan of their mobile equipment.
Coast raises $92 million in new capital, partners with Visa to expand financial tools and software for modern business fleets
Coast, which offers a simple and smart way for companies in the United States to manage fuel and fleet spending, announced it has raised $92 million in new funding. The round includes $25 million in equity capital led by existing investors, including BoxGroup, Avid Ventures, Accel, Insight Partners, and Better Tomorrow Ventures, as well as new investor Vesey Ventures. The company also secured $67 million in committed debt capital from Silicon Valley Bank and TriplePoint Capital.
To add to their momentum, Coast has inked partnerships with fuel brands such as 7-Eleven Fleet (including Speedway), Casey’s, RaceTrac, and EG America brands (including Cumberland Farms), as well as retailers like Discount Tire to offer larger discounts to Coast customers while driving loyalty and repeat business for these brands.
Profluent Secures $35M in Additional Funding and Key Industry Experts to Scale Foundational AI Models for Biomedicine and Tackle First Vertical in Gene Editing
Profluent, an AI-first protein design company, announced the close of additional funding to bring the total raised to $44M. The $35M financing was led by Spark Capital, with participation from existing investors Insight Partners and Air Street Capital along with a syndicate of angel investors from OpenAI, Salesforce, Octant Bio, and Google including Jeff Dean, Chief Scientist of Google DeepMind. The company previously raised $9M from Insight Partners, Air Street Capital, AIX Ventures, and Convergent Ventures.
Firestorm Labs announces $12.5M in seed funding led by Lockheed Martin Ventures and other prominent defense VCs
Firestorm Labs, a California-based Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) manufacturer that is leading the charge in expeditionary additive manufacturing has announced $12.5M in seed investment by Lockheed Martin Ventures and prominent defense investors. Lockheed Martin, Decisive Point, Silent Ventures, 645 Ventures, Overmatch VC, BVVC, Marquee Ventures, Cubit Capital, IronGate, Backswing Ventures, The Veteran Fund, Feld Ventures, Beyond Capital, and RedCat are among the notable names who have invested in Firestorm.
e-peas raises €17.5M to accelerate deployment of its energy harvesting solutions
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium-based e-peas, a fabless semiconductor company that develops ultra-low power management for energy harvesting, announced on Wednesday that it has secured €17.5M in a new funding round led by Otium Capital. New investors Nomainvest and EIC Fund, and existing investors KBC Focus Fund, The Faktory, Wallonie Entreprendre, Noshaq-Leansquare, and Start.Invest, participated in the funding round. The latest funding round will help e-peas to accelerate the commercial development of its Ambient Energy Management (AEM) products and expand its product portfolio.
Buzz Solutions Raises $5M to Accelerate Adoption of its AI-Powered Platform for Visual Grid Infrastructure Inspections and Monitoring
Buzz Solutions, an AI company that inspects and protects critical energy infrastructure, announced it closed a $5 million round of growth funding. GoPoint Ventures led the round, with additional participation from Blackhorn Ventures and MaC Venture Capital. The investment follows a period of significant acceleration in customer adoptions as utilities are demanding more efficient and accurate T&D infrastructure inspections and better substation security.
The investment brings the total raised to $10.7M with a previous round of $3.3M from 2022 and two $1.2M convertible notes in 2020 and in early 2023. Buzz plans to deploy the capital to scale both PowerAI and PowerGUARD offerings across utilities in the U.S. and internationally.
Automated Architecture raises €3M to craft sustainable, affordable homes using robots
London-based Automated Architecture (AUAR), a construction tech startup, announced that it has secured £2.6M (nearly €3M) in a Seed round of funding. The funding will fuel AUAR’s mission to build sustainable, affordable homes through its micro-factories, expand its partner network with 10 more partners as well as expand operations in the US. The investment was led by deep-tech and AI fund Miles Ahead and Robotics & Automation Ventures (ABB RA Ventures).
Dutch photonic chip maker EFFECT Photonics raises €34.9M to scale its integrated optics production
Eindhoven-based EFFECT Photonics, a company that develops highly integrated optics solutions, announced that it has secured $38M (nearly €34.95M) in a Series D round of funding. The investment was led by Innovation Industries Strategic Partners Fund, backed by Dutch pension funds PMT and PME, along with co-investor Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund and participation from other existing investors.
The infusion of funds will accelerate the progress and market introduction of EFFECT Photonics’ solutions, facilitating the scaling of production to cater to increasing customer requirements. With a primary focus on enhancing its integrated product portfolio, EFFECT Photonics aims to significantly reduce the costs, size, and power consumption of high-speed fibre optics communication solutions.
Imperia raises €3 million to become the go-to SaaS for supply chain management in Europe
Imperia, a Spanish SaaS solution for the management and optimization of supply chain, announced the closure of a €3 million funding round. This round is led by the Spanish VC Samaipata and includes participation from All Iron Ventures and Accel Starter Programme, along with follow-on investments from previous investors such as Draper B1 and Angels Capital. The round is bolstered by the entry of prominent business angels: Hugo Arévalo, Jonathan Benhamou, Kintxo Cortés, Christian Stiebner, Xavier Pladellorens, and Maex Ament.
After years of implementing supply chain management solutions at large consultancies such as Deloitte and NTT Data, Álvaro Bernabé, Sergio Alemany, and José Tomás Carrascoso decided to embark on this project in 2019, creating a solution that truly adapts to the business reality of SMEs. Imperia offers software that opens a new category in the market, allowing companies to meet their main needs in demand forecasting, production planning, and supply planning with an affordable monthly fee accessible to all types of companies. The SaaS marketed by Imperia comes with a wide catalog of functionalities that expand the solution’s scope and complexity as much as the enterprise requires. This approach stands out from existing solutions in the market by bringing these types of tools to companies that traditionally could not access them due to factors such as price or complex integration processes.
AirMyne taps geothermal energy to scale direct air carbon capture
Because of the quirks of the chemical reaction involved, high-temperature regeneration cycles can be more efficient. But heat that intense can be hard to come by, which is why AirMyne developed its liquid to regenerate, or release its CO2, using low-temperature heat that’s just 100-130 degrees C (212-266 degrees F).
AirMyne’s low-temperature heat requirements mean its overall process could prove to be less efficient than a high-temperature approach, but co-founder and COO Mark Cyffka believes it gives his company a better chance to grow and scale.
In 2026, AirMyne is planning to deploy its carbon capture technology to a sequestration site in San Joaquin County, California, where it will be injected underground. To get there, the company recently raised a $6.9 million seed round, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Investors in the round included Alumni Ventures, Another Brain, Liquid 2 Ventures, EMLES, angel investor Justin Hamilton, Impact Science Ventures, Soma Capital, Wayfinder and Y Combinator.
Monaire raises $3.5M to help small commercial buildings transition to sustainable heating and cooling using AI
Monaire, a startup that uses AI to curb waste and emissions from small commercial buildings, announced $3.5 million in seed funding. Construct Capital led the round with participation from Workshop Ventures, as well as strategic individual investments from Steve Fredette, the president and co-founder of Toast, and Tom Kuo, co-founder of A-Street and chairman of the board at Mighty Earth.
Monaire’s predictive maintenance and energy management platform automatically detects, diagnoses, and services HVAC and refrigeration (HVAC/R) systems in small commercial buildings. Using a network of wireless sensors, Monaire’s AI-enabled software continually monitors performance in a building’s HVAC/R systems, automatically preventing energy waste, and detecting problems. When issues are detected, Monaire immediately diagnoses the problem and automatically dispatches an available technician to make repairs.
EIC recommits to cargo airline Dronamics with €10M investment
Bulgarian cargo airline Dronamics has received a €10 million investment from the European Innovation Council following its previous €2.5 million grant last February.
Dronamics, the world’s first cargo drone airline, operates large long-range drones built specifically for cargo. Its flagship Black Swan expects to carry 350 kg at a distance of up to 2,500 km up to 80 per cent faster, 50 per cent cheaper and with up to 60% lower emissions than alternative modes of transport, including airfreight.
Black Swan is currently undergoing flight testing and expects for this phase to be completed this year. The EIC’s funding will then be used for commercialisation with initial flights operating out of Greece.
Stockholm-based electric vessel maker Candela gets €25 million to speed up production
Candela, a leading maker of electric vessels, announced it has closed the largest funding round in the company’s history, to expand production of its game-changing electric ferries. A key partner in the €25 million round is the leading global boat maker Groupe Beneteau. Other backers in the round include longtime investors EQT Ventures, Ocean Zero LLC, and Kan Dela AB. The new investment brings total funding since Candela’s inception to over €70 million.
Candela’s innovative, computer-stabilized hydrofoil craft have disrupted the marine industry. As they fly above the friction of water, they use 80% less energy than other ships and boats, attaining long range and high speed on battery power – a first in the marine industry.
Terra Drone Invests in Aloft Technologies to Enter U.S. Market, Boost Global UTM Development
Terra Drone Corporation (Terra Drone), a leading drone and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technology provider headquartered in Japan, has announced an investment in Aloft Technologies (Aloft), a company focusing on developing UTM, and a market leader in drone fleet and airspace management in the United States.
This investment makes Terra Drone the largest shareholder in Aloft, with Aloft becoming an affiliate company of Terra Drone. In addition, the board of directors of Aloft has appointed Yuki Ueno, Terra Drone’s executive officer in charge of domestic and international Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management (UTM) business, to the Aloft board.
G2 Reverse Logistics Raises $9.6M in Seed Funding to Masterfully Manage Returns and Optimize Net Recovery
G2 Reverse Logistics, the definitive edge in net recovery, announced $9.6M in seed funding led by Dell Technologies Capital. The capital will be used to enable sales and marketing investments consistent with G2RL’s global growth strategies.
Powered by proprietary technology, the G2RL Prescriptive Analytics platform is purpose-built to optimize operations and minimize costs by constantly analyzing and improving returns in real-time. The platform enables true end-to-end product routing and disposition to maximize recoveries. The readily available open API architecture enables G2RL to easily integrate with existing client systems, making it a flexible, scalable solution. The platform boasts efficient returns processing, optimized net recovery and automated returns decisions for retailers, manufacturers, brands, and third-party logistics providers (3PLs).
Salinity Solutions secures £1 million investment from SQM Lithium Ventures
Salinity Solutions, an engineering tech start-up based in Birmingham (UK) has secured a GBP £1 million initial investment from SQM Lithium Ventures to fund the next stage of its growth. SQM Lithium Ventures, in return, will take ownership of a minority stake in the company, with the option to acquire additional equity in the future.
SQM Lithium Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of the lithium business of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), one of the world’s leading producers of battery-grade lithium chemicals. Salinity Solutions joins the SQM Lithium Ventures portfolio alongside industry-leading companies like Altilium Clean Technology and Electric Era.
Salinity Solutions developed HyBatch™, its ground-breaking batch reverse osmosis water treatment technology – the first in the world to be manufactured commercially – to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of water treatment. The technology uses less energy, purifies a higher amount of wastewater, generates less waste, and is more compact and portable than traditional reverse osmosis systems. The first of Salinity Solutions’ five registered patents has been approved in the European Union, China and the United States.
Series B funding success for Poseidon Ocean Systems
Poseidon Ocean Systems, a producer of infrastructure and technology solutions for salmon aquaculture, has announced the completion of a $20.7 million series B financing round led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund.
The aquatech company plans to use the funds raised to support the Company’s growth and delivery of their innovative Life Support Systems and Hybrid Sea Cage Systems, whilst also increasing their manufacturing capacity. Through these technologies, Poseidon aims to provide a compelling value proposition for modern salmon farming operations; increasing yields, reducing operating costs and improving environmental outcomes.
Poseidon provides aquaculture solutions, such as aeration technology and innovative sea cage systems, to some of the world’s largest salmon farmers, and this new funding will enable the company to continue their expansion into global markets; deepening their relationships with Canadian, Chilean and UK farmers, whilst also exploring new markets.
Francisco Partners to Acquire Jama Software For $1.2B
Jama Software®, an industry leading requirements management and traceability solution provider, announced that Francisco Partners has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Company from shareholders including Insight Partners and Madrona Ventures for $1.2 billion. Marc Osofsky, Jama Software CEO, will personally reinvest and continue to lead the company.
Jama Software has rapidly become a market leader in Requirements Management & Traceability and leads the market in customer satisfaction ratings, NPS scores, SaaS scale, security and SOC2 compliance, usability, performance, breadth and depth of integrations, measured process improvement, benchmarking, NLP and more. Jama Software helps companies intelligently improve their development process to reduce defects, delays, cost overruns and recalls.
Fluent Metal Launches with $5.5M Funding to Bring Liquid Metal Printing to Life
Fluent Metal is developing production-grade liquid metal printing to remove barriers to entry into metal additive manufacturing, while allowing for unmatched scalability and process tunability. The company is launching out of stealth with an additional $3.2M in venture capital funding, led by E15 with participation from Pillar VC and industry angels, bringing the total funding to $5.5M. Fluent Metal’s drop-on-demand approach is compatible with most metals, including refractories, and enables the creation of parts in a single-step process, minimizing variability. It is energy efficient: using less starting material and producing no waste–making it far more sustainable than current powder-based metal 3D printers.
Pure Lithium Secures $15 Million in Series a Funding From Oxy Low Carbon Ventures
Pure Lithium, a disruptive Boston-based lithium metal battery technology company, is pleased to announce the completion of a $15 million investment from Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental (Oxy) that is focused on advancing cutting-edge, low-carbon technologies and business solutions. OLCV acted as the lead investor in Pure Lithium’s Series A equity financing, which may raise up to an additional $15 million for a proposed total funding amount of $30 million.
“This significant capital infusion will allow Pure Lithium to accelerate our development and commercialization efforts. The validation of our technology by OLCV is very meaningful for us, and we look forward to their contributions.”
Luminary Cloud Emerges from Stealth, Empowering R&D with Realtime Engineering
Luminary Cloud, a pioneer in realtime engineering, announced its official launch out of stealth. A computer-aided engineering (CAE) SaaS platform, Luminary empowers smarter and faster design cycles, allowing engineers to develop better products in a fraction of the time. Backed by Sutter Hill Ventures, which led its $115 million funding, Luminary’s customers span industries including aerospace and defense, automotive, sporting goods, industrial equipment, and more.
Luminary’s platform makes it possible to run high-fidelity simulations 100 times faster than legacy vendors by leveraging the raw speed of GPU- and cloud-based processing. Its proprietary simulation platform is powered by massively parallel NVIDIA GPU clusters in the cloud. With hyper-fast and accurate simulations, engineers can iterate and test a variety of scenarios, answer more questions, and use these insights to optimize product design.
Nozomi Networks Secures $100 Million Investment to Accelerate Mission to Defend the World's Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threats
Nozomi Networks Inc., the worldwide leader in OT and IoT security, announced a $100 million Series E funding round to help accelerate innovative cyber defenses and expand cost-efficient go-to-market expansion globally. This latest round includes investments from Mitsubishi Electric, a global leader in digital manufacturing, electronics and electrical equipment and Schneider Electric, a global leader in digital automation and energy management. They join a growing list of OT original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who have invested in Nozomi Networks, including previous investors Honeywell and Johnson Controls.
The company will use this latest investment to help scale product development efforts as well as its go-to-market approach globally. With criminal and nation-state cyber threats to industrial and critical infrastructure on the rise, the need for Nozomi Networks solutions has never been greater. At the same time, recent consolidation in the OT and IoT security space is driving a new need for full-featured solutions that aren’t limited to single-vendor support, but rather are able to holistically address the cybersecurity requirements of the vast majority of industrial and critical infrastructure organizations who must protect complex, multi-vendor environments.
Furno Secures $6.5 Million Seed Funding to Cement a Carbon Neutral Future
Furno, a startup dedicated to decarbonizing the cement production industry, announced the close of an oversubscribed $6.5M seed funding round and introduced its revolutionary, end-to-end cement production unit, the Furno Brick. Furno’s oversubscribed round was led by Energy Capital Ventures (ECV) and joined by O’Shaughnessy Ventures, Cantos and Neotribe. Breakthrough Energy participated in earlier, non-dilutive funding of the company. This funding will enable the company to continue to scale its technology, provide more customers with samples to garner feedback and, perhaps most significantly, aid in the development of the Furno Brick.
Furno addresses the immediate need for change and innovation in the cement sector with the world’s first modular and carbon-neutral cement plant that scales on demand, drastically reducing the barrier to entry and unlocking local or small-scale cement production. The company’s novel kiln and combustion technology allows for efficient cement production using gas-based versus solid fuels, which dramatically reduces CO2 emissions and eliminates nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx) entirely. Furno’s innovative design also allows producers to build cement plants that are compact and cost-efficient, and enables them to add incremental capacity as needed.
GScan raises €3M seed to transform infrastructure maintenance with muon tomography
GScan announced it has raised a €3 million seed round from investors like Bolt founder Markus Villig, Japanese corporate venture funds, and existing angel investors.
Founded by a team of CERN physicists, engineers, and entrepreneurs in 2018, GScan uses muons – naturally occurring, harmless cosmic rays – and AI analysis to assess the chemical composition and structural integrity of infrastructure, such as bridges and tunnels.
The deep tech startup provides detailed 3D imagery of assets’ internal structure, enhancing public safety through informed infrastructure maintenance.
Space Resources Startup Interlune Raises $18 Million in Seed Capital
Interlune, a natural resources company, emerged from stealth announcing that it has raised funding to further develop and operationalize technology to extract Helium-3 and other natural resources from the Moon. The funding is an essential milestone for Interlune in pursuing its mission to lead the world in sustainable, responsible harvesting and distribution of natural resources from space to benefit humanity.
Alexis Ohanian’s venture firm Seven Seven Six led the most recent round of $15 million, adding to previous angel investments. Katelin Holloway, founding partner of Seven Seven Six, will join the Interlune board of directors. Other investors include Aurelia Foundry Fund, Gaingels, Liquid 2 Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and a committed group of University of Michigan alumni.
Interlune will initially focus on extracting and transporting lunar Helium-3 back to Earth for use by commercial and government customers in national security, quantum computing, medical imaging, and fusion energy markets. Helium-3, an isotope of Helium, is extremely scarce on Earth but abundant on the Moon. Government and industry have been looking for a new and scalable source of Helium-3 since the U.S. government recognized a severe shortage around 2010. In time, Interlune will harvest other resources such as industrial metals, rare Earth elements, and water to support a long-term presence on the Moon and a robust in-space economy.
PowerGEM Welcomes Strategic Growth Investment from TA
PowerGEM, a leading provider of simulation modeling software and technical services for the electric power industry is pleased to announce a strategic growth investment from global private equity firm TA Associates (TA).
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Clifton Park, NY, PowerGEM’s power systems transmission reliability & market simulation software products serve over two hundred North American power systems stakeholders. The Company’s software is utilized by the nation’s top grid operators, including many U.S. ISOs and electric utilities, generation/transmission developers & engineering firms to assess electric transmission grid reliability, as well as the technical & economic impacts of transmission congestion in competitive U.S. electricity markets.
Electric power industry stakeholders increasingly rely on PowerGEM’s software for simulations, insights, analyses & related technical consulting to optimize decision-making and foster efficient power markets. As the power grid becomes increasingly complex with the shift to renewable generation and the need to maintain reliable performance, this partnership with TA will allow PowerGEM to continue serving its growing client base, accelerate the release of new offerings, and execute high-growth initiatives.
MarineLabs Raises Largest Seed Round in Canadian Ocean Technology History
MarineLabs, a leader in cutting edge maritime weather intelligence technology, proudly announces the successful completion of a historic $4.5 million seed funding round, marking the largest investment of its kind in Canadian history for an ocean tech company, which will directly benefit Canada’s marine industry. The funding was led by BDC Capital’s Sustainability Venture Fund with participation from Seaspan Shipyards, a leader in Canada’s ship design, engineering, building and ship repair industry.
This substantial investment will propel MarineLabs’ forward as it continues to revolutionize the maritime industry with its flagship product, CoastAware. CoastAware is a real-time weather intelligence solution that enhances safety, efficiency, and sustainability in maritime operations by providing users with detailed, actionable, real-time, and historical weather conditions data for informed decision-making.
Carbonova Corp. Raised $6 Million to Produce Sustainable Materials from Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Carbonova Corp., a start-up that aims to turn greenhouse gas emissions into carbon materials for sustainable and inexpensive everyday essentials, announced that it has successfully closed its SAFE equity financing in an oversubscribed round with $6 million raised. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the financing to advance its strategy towards building the first commercial demonstration carbon nanofibers unit in Canada.
The financing round was led by Kolon Industries, a multi-billion-dollar Korean conglomerate. Kolon has a keen interest in Carbonova’s technology applications in Asia, including batteries, plastics, and other materials. Another major participant in this round was the Natural Gas Innovation Fund NGIF Capital, a venture capital firm focused on innovative technologies for improving the environmental performance of existing or renewable natural gas and hydrogen production. This round also saw strong participation from the company’s directors, management, and staff team.
Carbonova currently produces carbon nanomaterials for customers at a pilot facility at the company’s headquarters in northeast Calgary, Alberta. The commercial demonstration expansion will result in unit production cost efficiencies and is forecast to reduce the CO2 footprint of the carbon nanomaterials to below net-zero.
Zephyr AI Raises $111 Million in Series A Financing
Zephyr AI, Inc., a healthcare technology company committed to developing fast and explainable Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to democratize precision medicine, announced it has successfully closed a $111 million Series A funding round with participation from Revolution Growth, Eli Lilly & Company, Jeff Skoll, and EPIQ Capital Group, among others. The company is developing improved data federation tools along with various machine learning algorithms in the areas of oncology and cardiometabolic disease.
The new funds will enable Zephyr AI to further enhance its analytical speed and fortify its extensive collection of training and validation data sets. Moreover, the funds will support the expansion of the company’s scientific and commercial teams to expedite the delivery of its rapidly growing pipeline of insights to the market.
TELO Announces $5.4M Strategic Fundraise Led by Neo to Continue Building the Most Efficient Electric Truck
TELO, the company redefining the footprint and functionality of electric mobility with its innovative EV mini-truck, announced its $5.4M strategic funding round led by Neo, with additional investment from Spero Ventures and angel investors. The closing of this strategic raise signifies TELO’s continued business growth.
Coinciding with this announcement, TELO is pleased to appoint Marc Tarpenning, co-founder of Tesla, to the company’s board this month. Tarpenning’s board appointment is an incredibly exciting moment in TELO’s growth story as he will help guide the team in their final stages of TELO’s development. Also, as a Spero Ventures partner, Tarpenning participated in the just announced strategic funding round. This infusion of funds will be used to continue the virtual validation of the vehicle’s safety and also the development of a road-ready model.
Vienna-based Necture raises €7 million Series A to accelerate electrification of corporate fleets
Necture, formerly known as Ubiq, a leading technology company accelerating the adoption of electric fleets, announced it has secured additional funding, bringing its total Series A raise to €7 million. The investment round was led by Smart Energy Innovationsfonds (Switzerland) and Verbund X Ventures (Austria), joining existing investors Speedinvest and smartworks innovation GmbH.
Necture already has a strong product-market-fit. Working together with shared mobility providers such as MILES (Germany), Eloop (Vienna) and Awto (Santiago, Chile), the company manages 15,000 vehicles across Europe and the Americas. This latest funding round fuels the company’s expansion into the corporate fleet market, enabling Necture to reach more companies worldwide and accelerate the electrification of fleets. Necture is currently forming a collaboration with a leading car manufacturer and mobility provider to be announced in the near future.
Simera Sense secures €13.5M for satellite earth observation solutions
Simera Sense, a provider of end-to-end optical solutions for the small satellite Earth observation industry, raised €13.5 million in its first growth investment round this week. The company, launched in South Africa and headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, offers a diverse array of ‘off-the-shelf’ high-resolution cameras ready for use by clients across the global small satellite industry. The investment comes from Belgian spacetech investment firm NewSpace Capital and Knife Capital.
Simera Sense will use the investment to expand its current production capacity. Additional production sites are planned in Europe. The new funding will also enable Simera to expand its product development teams. This will fast-track the development of higher-resolution and SWIR camera products.
KAS Announces $3M Funding Round to Expand Production of its Natural Algae Astaxanthin
Kuehnle AgroSystems (“KAS”), a leading microalgal innovation and production company, announced that it has raised a $3 million Series A2 funding round led by S2G Ventures. The funding will accelerate the commercialization of KAS’s pioneering method for producing natural astaxanthin from microalgae, a key component in sustainable aquaculture systems as well as a clinically proven human nutraceutical.
KAS has patented an innovative process that uses dark fermentation in closed vertical tank systems to produce high-quality natural algae astaxanthin. Utilizing a more sustainable feedstock and production method than current natural and synthetic astaxanthin production methods, KAS’s process results in lower production costs, higher yields, faster growth times, and less water and energy consumption.
Tomorrow Things raises €1.5M for AI-driven digital twins
AI start-up Tomorrow Things has secured €1.5 million in funding to continue the development of an AI-powered Operating System for machines on the internet. High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and neoteq ventures led the funding which was supported by Notion Capital, solo GP Robin Capital, and a number of business angels specializing in fundraising, marketing, and B2B SaaS (Christian Noske, Maximilian Eichler, Thomas Lang, Thomas Hollwedel, and Markus Doetsch).
Tomorrow Things is an intelligent automation platform that creates digital twins of technical assets. Tomorrow Things enables secure bidirectional data transfer between machines and internet applications. AI-driven control strategies can be created centrally by value-add partners and operated on the edge to execute optimised setpoints in the machine interface that achieve better results.
Applied Intuition Grows to $6 Billion Valuation, Securing $250 Million in Series E Funding to Advance Vehicle Software and AI Capabilities
Applied Intuition, Inc., a vehicle software supplier for automotive, trucking, construction, mining, agriculture, and other industries, has raised a $250 million Series E financing round at a $6 billion valuation. The round was led by Bilal Zuberi at Lux Capital (Series C lead investor), Elad Gil (Series D lead investor), and strategic investor Porsche Investments Management S.A. representing the well-known successful sports car manufacturer from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Applied Intuition also announced the following new and existing investors: Andreessen Horowitz (Series A lead investor), General Catalyst (Series B lead investor), Mary Meeker at BOND, Human Capital, Henry Kravis, Mustafa Suleyman, Ray Dalio, John Quinn, and Nico Rosberg.
Applied Intuition has maintained sustainable triple-digit percentage growth year-over-year, profitably. It has expanded beyond its Silicon Valley headquarters to Detroit, Washington, D.C., Germany, Korea, and Japan and has customers worldwide, including 18 of the top 20 automotive OEMs.
The company will use the financing to make significant investments in generative AI to unlock substantial value for customers and partners. With recent advancements in large language models (LLMs), Applied Intuition is uniquely positioned to help its customers revolutionize the vehicle software development process. The company will continue to recruit the world’s best software and AI engineers to further expand its offerings that enable its customers to have the world’s most advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD) solutions.
Bear Robotics Lands $60 Million in Series C Funding from Tech Giant LG Electronics
Bear Robotics, a Silicon Valley trailblazer in service robotics and artificial intelligence solutions, announced the completion of a $60 million Series C funding round. This round is exclusively led by LG Electronics, a global leader in technology and innovation. This strategic infusion propels Bear Robotics into new territories, targeting emerging markets such as smart warehousing and supply chain automation, where the company is poised to unveil its next-generation robotics platform, featuring autonomous navigation systems and adaptive learning algorithms, meticulously designed to meet the complex demands of modern supply chains and manufacturing processes.
Quaise Energy Raises $21 Million to Accelerate Terawatt-Scale Deep Geothermal Energy
Quaise Energy, the company unlocking terawatt-scale geothermal, announced the closing of a $21 Million Series A1 financing round led by Prelude Ventures and Safar Partners. Mitsubishi Corporation and Standard Investments are among several new investors participating in the round. This latest funding will enhance Quaise field operations and strengthen the company’s supply chain position, while ongoing product development will continue with pre-existing capital.
Quaise is uniquely positioned to harness deep geothermal energy worldwide at 3-20 km below the Earth’s surface. To achieve such a feat, the company has advanced a novel technique to vaporize rock using high-power microwaves in the millimeter range, based on more than a decade of research at MIT and recent testing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The original MIT experiments have now been scaled up 100x, with field demonstrations commencing this year.
Quantistry bags €3M to foster R&D innovation through AI and Quantum
Berlin-based Quantistry, a provider of cloud-native chemical simulation platforms, announced on Tuesday that it has secured €3M in a fresh funding round led by Ananda Impact Ventures. Other investors, including Chemovator, the business incubator of BASF, IBB Ventures, and a Family Office, also participated in the round. The capital injection will boost Quantistry’s efforts to transform chemical and material R&D with Quantum and AI.
Quantistry offers an intuitive cloud-native chemical simulation platform tailored to designing and discovering new sustainable materials. The company does this through its computational platform, which integrates quantum technologies, physics-based simulations, and machine learning. By leveraging quantum-based simulations, multiscale modelling, and AI-driven insights, the company’s tool enhances the optimisation, discovery, and design of innovative materials, offering unprecedented benefits to industries seeking sustainable solutions.
Volvo Cars partners with and invests in Breathe for next generation fast charging
Volvo Cars has partnered up with Breathe Battery Technologies (Breathe), becoming the first car company to get access to the latest version of its patented, algorithm-enabled charging software for use on our new generation fully electric cars.
By integrating Breathe’s software in Volvo Cars in-house developed battery management platform to optimize and improve the performance of our charging technology, we can provide Volvo customers with even faster charging times and an enhanced overall driving and charging experience.
We will implement the new technology in our new generation fully electric cars, where we expect it will reduce the time it takes to charge your fully electric Volvo from 10 to 80 per cent charging state by as much as 30 per cent*, while maintaining the same energy density and range. Even better: the charging time improvements will last across the full battery life cycle without impacting its health status.
Li-Cycle stock surges on $75 million investment from Glencore
Lithium-ion battery resource recovery company Li-Cycle (NYSE: LICY) announced Tuesday it has raised $75 million through a senior note financing with an affiliate of Swiss commodities giant Glencore (LON: GLEN).
Glencore last year said it planned to develop a recycling hub in Europe with Li-Cycle to produce materials including lithium carbonate in response to a global shortage of key raw materials for the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) market.
Cellexcel raises over £250,000 to accelerate commercialisation of unique carbon emission-reducing biomaterial technology
Innovative biomaterial technology start-up Cellexcel has announced that it has closed its first funding round, raising over £250,000. Investments have come from College Green Ventures, New Anglia Capital, Low Carbon Innovation Fund, and Turquoise alongside angel investors from Anglia Capital Group. The funding will enable Cellexcel to engage with industry partners to further develop and commercialise Cellexcellent™ in real-world applications, while building its capabilities to enhance biomaterial water resistance.
Based on research from the University of East Anglia (UEA), Cellexcel has created a Cellexcellent™, a unique, patented technology to enhance the water resistance of biomaterials. This enables them to be integrated into external applications, such as composite panels used in the automotive or aerospace industry, reducing both weight and embedded CO2 emissions. By replacing emission-heavy materials such as polycarbonates, metal, or fibreglass composites companies benefit from around a 90% reduction in manufacturing CO2, – all while retaining their form, fit and function over time.
London’s EV courier startup Packfleet raises €9.1M from General Catalyst, Creandum, others
London-based Packfleet, a logistics startup, announced that it has secured $10M (approximately €9.1M) in a Series A round of funding, co-led by General Catalyst and Voyager. Other existing investors, including Creandum, Entree Capital, and Founder Collective, participated in the round.
The UK company will use the funds to expand its operations within the city and to other British cities later this year, reports Reuters. Additionally, the capital will be used to develop the company’s proprietary routing software called Pathfinder.
MICLEDI Microdisplays Raises Series A Funding to Advance Best-in-Class microLED Display Design and Manufacturing
MICLEDI Microdisplays announced a first closing of its Series A funding round with participation from imec.xpand, PMV, imec, KBC and SFPIM demonstrating strong support for the company’s value proposition and commercial and technological progress achieved in the seed round. Series A follows a significant seed round award and additional non-dilutive funding in the form of grants and other vehicles from VLAIO. This brings the company’s total funding to date to nearly $30 million.
MICLEDI used the seed round to validate a unique 300mm wafer manufacturing methodology, the first in the world at 300mm. Seed funding also enabled the company to prove best-in-class blue and green GAN-based microLED arrays with pixel-by-pixel microlenses in its unique 300mm flow. The company also demonstrated solid red performance using red GAN material with early proof of superior performance based on red AlInGaP. All three colors, R, G, & B, were demonstrated to large audiences at CES 2024 and SPIE AR-VR-MR 2024.
Lord added, “This newest round of funding will be used to expand the team, design and build an active backplane ASIC, and create a fully-functional microLED display module that can be used in glasses for AR displays. In addition, the new funds will help support collaboration agreements with customers and ensure that we keep pace with the growing demand for increasingly immersive video applications from Tier 1 customers and partners in the rapidly growing AR market.”
Airnguru secures $1 million investment to help airlines boost profits
Airnguru – a leading provider of pricing intelligence and execution, fare management, and price automation solutions for airlines – announced it has raised $1 million USD in pre-Series A funding to deliver best-in-class pricing solutions for airlines.
Founded in 2015, Airnguru’s innovative solutions are trusted by leading global carriers Qatar Airways and British Airways (IAG), along with a growing roster of forward-thinking airlines including Avianca, Copa Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Finnair, and SKY Airline.
U. S. Steel Makes Strategic Investment in Pittsburgh-Based Autonomous Warehousing Pioneer -- Freespace Robotics
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) announced a strategic investment in Pittsburgh-based Freespace Robotics, a pioneering manufacturer of robotic storage and retrieval systems that are in demand by warehouses worldwide. This investment will help Freespace hire and retain local talent as well as recruit others into the region. As part of this investment, U. S. Steel’s Director of Strategy & Corporate Development, Jim Cook, will join the Freespace Robotics Board of Directors. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Glimpse: Battery Scanning Company Raises $4 Million
Glimpse – a provider of battery quality monitoring solutions for battery producers and electric mobility companies – announced its official launch and initial capital raise of $4 million. The company also announced the release of its high-throughput battery X-ray scanning service.
Glimpse raised $4 million in seed funding from venture capital firms Ibex Mobility and Flybridge Capital Partners and a syndicate of battery and EV angel investors. And the company’s three co-founders, who have collectively worked at Tesla, Toyota, and various electric mobility startups – bringing over 25 years of experience in several aspects of battery technology, including cell design, modeling, and manufacturing.
Glimpse developed a scalable, collaborative, and cost-efficient battery quality monitoring platform to help battery producers and buyers save billions of dollars in production scrap, battery pack field failures, and fleet recalls. And to address the challenge of enabling battery quality at scale, Glimpse harnesses X-ray CT scanning, the industrial equivalent of CAT scanning used in the medical field. The company’s timely launch aligns with the unprecedented Gigafactory and EV boom in the United States, driven by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Suiso snaps £3M to produce low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen
Suiso which develops a hydrogen generator that could boost the uptake of green energy, has raised £3 million in funding from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance that recently invested in Pimberly and Eventum Orthopaedics. The investor is managed by Mercia Ventures and is a part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, and Mercia’s EIS funds.
The latest investment will enable it to scale up its technology and begin a pilot project. It aims to produce generators that can produce 1,000 kg of hydrogen a day, which is equivalent to 1.6 MW of energy and enough to fuel 50 20-tonne trucks. The company, which currently employs five staff, expects to create seven new jobs in the next six months.
Supply Chain Technology Provider Finboot Announces Latest Funding Round
Finboot is announcing the completion of the first close of its latest funding round to accelerate the next phase of its growth strategy – with a particular focus on enabling companies and their net-zero transition through technology. This latest funding round has been led by a strategic investor together with Wealth Club.
Finboot’s solution, MARCO, enables companies to incorporate blockchain within their value and supply chains, bringing traceability, transparency and compliance which, in turn, helps them meet sustainability and environmental, track carbon emissions and social and governance (ESG) requirements while also increasing operational efficiency.
Astera Labs Announces Launch of Initial Public Offering
Astera Labs, Inc. (“Astera Labs”) announced the launch of its initial public offering of 17,800,000 shares of its common stock. The offering consists of 14,788,903 shares of common stock offered by Astera Labs and 3,011,097 shares of common stock to be sold by certain of Astera Labs’ existing stockholders. Astera Labs will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.
Infinited Fiber Company Successfully Completes EUR 40 million Development Financing Round
Technology and fashion company Infinited Fiber Company has successfully completed a two-part development financing round totaling 40 million euros, with significant investments from new investors Inditex, TTY Management, Youngone and Goldwin, in addition to existing ones. After the development financing round, Inditex, TTY Management and H&M Group are the largest shareholders of Infinited Fiber Company.
Infinited Fiber Company is a Finnish technology and fashion company with a patented technology that turns cotton-rich textile waste, such as worn-out t-shirts, jeans, and production scraps into Infinna™, a virgin-quality, versatile textile fiber with the soft and natural look and feel of cotton. Infinna™ is biodegradable, contains no microplastics, and at the end of their life, garments made with it can be recycled in the same process together with other textile waste, enabling circularity in fashion.
Ontraccr secures $1.2 million for construction management software
Vancouver-based Ontraccr Technologies has closed $1.2 million CAD in seed funding for its construction management software.
Ontraccr said the all-equity round, which closed last December, included strategic investments from construction and proptech venture capital firms LAB Ventures and Buildtech Ventures, as well as from undisclosed industry executives. The funding will be used to improve Ontraccr’s platform and expand into more industry segments and the United States (US).
Founded in 2019 by CEO Syed Ahmed, CTO Shane McNamara, and COO Jas Nijjar, Ontraccr’s platform is meant to be an all-in-one, no-code solution for construction companies. It provides tools for project management, billing, time tracking, operations, analytics, and more for use across computers, phones, and tablets. Ahmed told BetaKit that Ontraccr has raised $1.8 million to date.
Reshape Automation aims to reduce barriers of robotics adoption
Reshape Automation has raised $1.7 million in pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Schematic Ventures and included Bee Partners. There was also a contribution from Oliver Cameron, who started the autonomous vehicle company Voyage in 2017 and sold it to Cruise in early 2021. Other robotics companies funded in part by Schematic Ventures include Plus One Robotics, Outrider, Root AI, which was acquired by AppHarvest for $60 million in 2021, and SVT Robotics.
Reshape Automation wants to make it easier for the U.S. manufacturing and logistics industries to adopt automation. At the core of the platform is an AI-powered marketplace. Reshape’s marketplace will launch with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), robot arms, and various components and solutions from brands like Fanuc, Yaskawa, Robotize, Peer Robotics, Item, Nova Automation, Genba, OnRobot, Doosan, Fairino, and more.
Battery Scanning Company Glimpse Announces Seed Raise and Launch of its X-ray-powered Quality Monitoring Platform
Glimpse has raised $4 million in seed funding from venture capital firms Ibex Mobility and Flybridge Capital Partners and a syndicate of battery and EV angel investors. The company’s three co-founders, who have collectively worked at Tesla, Toyota, and various electric mobility startups, bring over 25 years of experience in various aspects of battery technology, including cell design, modeling, and manufacturing.
Glimpse has developed a scalable, collaborative, and cost-efficient battery quality monitoring platform designed to help battery producers and buyers save billions of dollars in production scrap, battery pack field failures and fleet recalls. To address the challenge of enabling battery quality at scale, Glimpse harnesses X-ray CT scanning, the industrial equivalent of CAT scanning used in the medical field. The Somerville, MA-based company’s timely launch aligns with the unprecedented Gigafactory and EV boom in the United States, driven by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Chip startup Efficient Computer raises $16 million led by Eclipse
Chip startup Efficient Computer said on Thursday it had raised $16 million in a seed funding round led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Eclipse to help fund work on its low-power chip designs. Pittsburgh-based Efficient developed a new design, or architecture, for its chips that focuses on producing processors that use the least possible amount of energy. Called Fabric, the architecture was developed by Efficient’s founding team over seven years at Carnegie Mellon University.
Efficient has built a test chip called Monza and plans to use the funding help with research and development, and go-to-market to begin to sell chips. The company will market the chips to customers in industries such as health devices, civil infrastructure monitoring, satellites, defense and security. Devices running on chips that use a tiny amount of power will last longer in the field without the need for replacement power.
Defense Unicorns Raises $35 Million Series A to Advance National Security through Open Source Software
Defense Unicorns, a software startup providing open source software and AI capabilities for National Security systems, announced it has raised a $35 million Series A funding round led by Sapphire Ventures and Ansa Capital.
Founded by early leaders of the Department of Defense’s software factories – a grassroots Air Force initiative turned mandate to accelerate secure, agile software development practices – Defense Unicorns enables continuous delivery of software and AI applications in any environment. Most notably, the company’s technology is able to deploy to air gapped environments – environments that are typically disconnected from the internet. Leveraging Defense Unicorns’ solutions, national security systems can quickly adopt modern technologies wherever the mission happens, whether in space, undersea or elsewhere. Growing defense budgets reflect demand for these modern capabilities, as the Department’s funding for IT and cyber, which includes such efforts as cloud adoption and software modernization, is set to increase to over $58.5B in FY24 with an additional $1.8B specifically planned for AI and machine learning.
Cogna's AI-powered SaaS raises £3.76M to improve industry problem-solving
London-based Cogna announced it has raised £3.76 million to transform how traditional industries solve unique, difficult problems. The funding round was led by Hoxton Ventures, with participation from Notion Capital and Octopus First Cheque Fund, and a roster of angel investors including Stan Boland (Founder, Icera); Hermann Hauser (of Amadeus Capital Partners); Professor Neil Lawrence (DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning, Cambridge); Zayd Enam and Tim Shi (Founders of Cresta); Ping Wu (CEO of Cresta); and Aviv Nevo, Nick Elliot (Helsing).
Founded in 2023, Cogna is a SaaS company using AI to create highly customised software applications, selling them as a standard SaaS licence to numerous companies. Cogna’s AI-driven SaaS platform simplifies the integration of data across different business areas and gives domain experts the ability to create their own customised software tools in collaboration with AI – to drive analysis, optimisations and decisions that deliver vast improvements.
NPS Completes $17.5M Series B Funding for Software-Defined Radar Led by Cota Capital with Key Strategic Investment from GM Ventures and RTX Ventures
Neural Propulsion Systems (NPS), a pioneer in software-defined radar, announced it secured a $17.5 million Series B funding round. The round is led by Cota Capital with contributions from GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), and RTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of RTX (NYSE: RTX). This collaboration marks a transformative step in enhancing roadway safety (benefiting pedestrians, drivers and all other traffic participants) and defense radar systems.
NPS will use the investment to further develop and apply its award-winning Atomic Sensing Platform to automotive radar technology. The platform provides significantly enhanced, reliable radar resolution and groundbreaking precision. The improved performance stems from a new mathematical framework known as the Atomic Norm (AN), revolutionizing how the raw sensor data is processed into relevant information.
BRKZ Secures $8m in Series A Funding to Revolutionize the Building Materials Sector in MENA
Helping to connect construction businesses with suppliers of building materials, a pioneering B2B construction tech startup BRKZ that specializes in materials procurement for construction projects is announcing a $8 million investment to empower contractors to reach their full potential.
The funding round was co-led by 9900 and BECO Capital, with participation from Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures, Knollwood Investment Advisory, RZM Investment and MISY Ventures. With this series A funding round, BRKZ has now raised $13.55m in total. BRKZ’s seed round ($5.55m) was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures, with participation from Class 5 Global, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Plus VC, and several other strategic Saudi angel investors.
Claroty Secures $100 Million in Strategic Growth Financing
Claroty, the cyber-physical systems protection company, announced it has secured $100 million in strategic growth financing. Participants include lead equity investor Delta-v Capital, as well as AB Private Credit Investors at AllianceBernstein, Standard Investments, Toshiba Digital Solutions, SE Ventures, Rockwell Automation, and Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. Combined with Claroty’s existing $635 million in funding to date, this new financing further establishes the company’s leadership position in the critical infrastructure cybersecurity market.
The funds will be used to scale Claroty’s platform approach to cyber-physical systems (CPS) protection across key verticals including the public sector and heavily regulated critical infrastructure industries, expand in emerging regions across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific, fuel research and development for core and adjacent technologies including secure remote access, and double down on new and existing strategic partnerships.
Nextron receives investment of R$26 million led by Vox Capital and Copel Ventures
Nextron, a climate tech that connects renewable energy generators to consumers through subscriptions, raised R $26 million in a Series A round, led by Vox Capital and Copel Ventures. The new investment will serve to expand the startup’s operations nationally in addition to scaling the proprietary customer acquisition platform, totaling more than 50 thousand subscribers by the end of 2024.
Munich-based phelas secures €4.1M for its long-duration energy storage tech
Munich-based phelas, a pioneer in the energy storage sector, announced Wednesday that it has secured €4.1M in a seed round of funding. The funding round is led by E44 Ventures, an Israeli climate tech fund, with participation from Axon Partners Group, Deutsche Telekom hub:raum Fund, BNV Partners, other investors, and existing angel investors.
The German company will use the funds to scale its phelas Liquid Air Energy Storage to Megawatt Scale to deploy the systems in the EU.
Glacier Raises Another $7.7M from New Enterprise Associates and Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund to Bring AI-Powered Robots to More Recycling Centers
Glacier, an AI and robotics company helping the recycling industry create a world without waste, announced it has raised $7.7 million in funding from NEA and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, with additional participation by notable investors including AlleyCorp, Overture Climate VC, and VSC Ventures.
Glacier will allocate a significant portion of the funding towards team expansion and developing its low-cost, high-performance AI-enabled robots, which streamline recyclable sorting while gathering real-time data on recycling streams for businesses. Additionally, Glacier intends to utilize the funding to bolster its recycling capabilities, particularly in light of its recent collaboration with Amazon. This partnership is geared towards enhancing traceability and recovery processes for recyclable materials.
Enzzo Announces $3M in Seed Funding to Accelerate Hardware Product Development
Enzzo, a company reimagining how hardware products are created by leveraging generative AI, announced that it raised a $3 million seed investment led by Unlock Venture Partners with participation from PSL Ventures and the newly created Mayfield/Pioneer Square Labs AIStudio Fund. With this round of funding, the company will be expanding the team refining and building its platform.
Enzzo empowers teams to define innovative products and their requirements faster and more efficiently than is possible - from weeks or months to days - saving time and expense. Enzzo runs in modern web browsers and leverages the power of foundation models along with company-provided data to prompt, synthesize user inputs, and then generate key outputs. The service features product management expertise accessible via a chat interface, a collaborative workspace for team members and partners to work on requirements, and document generation capability to accelerate the definition of new products.
PayShepherd Secures $7M to Solve Heavy Industry’s Biggest Challenge with Contractor Management
PayShepherd, a contractor management solution for industrial sites, has closed $7 million CAD in an oversubscribed round of Seed+ funding to expand its target markets across North America and enhance its platform with new capabilities.
New investor Inovia Capital, a venture capital firm actively supporting global sustainable tech companies, led the all-equity round, with participation from existing investors Nashville Capital Network, Thin Air Labs, Accelerate Fund III managed by Yaletown Partners with support from A100, as well as undisclosed strategic angel investors. Inovia partner Shawn Abbott is joining PayShepherd’s board as part of the raise.
Greenlyte Carbon Technologies secures €10.5M for Direct Air Capture System
Direct Air Capture startup Greenlyte Carbon Technologies (GCT) announced the closing of a €10.5 million Pre Series A round. This process can be fully integrated with renewable energies and doesn’t rely on high heat or pressure. The generated CO2 and hydrogen can then be used as feedstock for chemicals, construction materials, and alternative fuels or to create negative emissions.
With the new funds, we can grow our team from 30 to 50 people, allowing us to perform technology development and deployment in parallel with our expedited go-to-market, accelerate our scaling, and drive down costs more rapidly. The round is proof of our ambition to build a global DAC champion fast.”
Danish startup NitroVolt lands €750K to scale up green ammonia production
NitroVolt is working towards a solution that will produce green ammonia directly at farms. Now, NitroVolt has raised €750K in a pre-seed round from the Swedish venture firm BackingMinds (backed SNERPA). Previously, the startup received the Breakthrough Energy Fellowship Grant in 2023.
NitroVolt will use the investment to enable a local and cheaper production of ammonia. This is possible with its Nitrolyzer unit, which produces ammonia using only air, water and electricity. The company will use the funds to scale production by a factor of 1,000 and for market expansion.
Ai Palette raises $5.7m to expand AI-powered insights platform, adds ‘FoodGPT’ chatbot
Singapore-based startup Ai Palette has raised $5.7 million in a series A1 funding round to expand its AI-powered platform to help food companies accelerate and de-risk the product innovation process.
Led by new investor Tin Men Capital and supported by existing backers Exfinity Ventures and pi Ventures, the round takes Ai Palette’s cumulative funding to $11.2 million and will help the company build its sales and marketing team, push beyond food & beverage into beauty and personal care, and further expand the scope and geographical reach of its platform.
The platform—used by food & beverage giants including Nestlé, Symrise, ADM, Kellogg, Mondelēz International, Diageo and Cargill along with multinational personal care and beauty firm Himalaya Wellness.
Sunfire secures more than EUR 500 million to accelerate its growth
The German electrolyzer manufacturer announces a significant financial milestone with EUR 215 million raised in a Series E equity financing round, further complemented by a term loan of up to EUR 100 million provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB). In addition, Sunfire has access to approx. EUR 200 million from previously approved, undrawn grant funding to support its growth. This makes Sunfire one of the best capitalized electrolyzer manufacturers in the industry.
Sunfire’s pressurized alkaline and high-temperature solid oxide electrolysis technologies are a key enabler of the transition to renewable energy, offering a scalable and efficient means of producing green hydrogen. The company targets installing several gigawatts of electrolysis equipment by 2030 in large-scale green hydrogen projects, securing a leading position in the fast-growing global electrolyzer market.
RIOS Intelligent Machines Announces Successful Completion of $13 Million Series B Funding Round
RIOS Intelligent Machines, a leader in AI-powered robotics for the manufacturing industry, is excited to announce the successful completion of a $13 million Series B funding round. This significant milestone was co-led by Yamaha Motor Corporation and IAG Capital Partners, marking a continued and strengthened partnership in advancing manufacturing and automation technologies.
This new round of funding will fuel RIOS’s growth in three key industry segments: wood products, beverage distribution, and packaged food products. The company will continue to roll out highly differentiated AI and vision-driven robotics solutions, starting with a groundbreaking product in the lumber and plywood handling sector.
Snowflake Ventures Invests in Landing AI, Boosting Visual AI in the Data Cloud
Snowflake and Landing AI are already partners, and we’re excited to announce today that we are deepening our relationship with an investment in Landing AI. Through this next phase of partnership, customers will be able to leverage Landing AI’s computer vision capabilities natively on Snowflake via Snowpark Container Services and Snowflake Native Apps. This will enable the building of powerful, custom-built computer vision solutions that process images and videos at scale, all within the secure, governed boundary of the Data Cloud.
Taalas emerges from stealth with $50 million in funding and a groundbreaking silicon AI technology
Taalas Inc., an innovator in AI and silicon, is pleased to announce that it has exited stealth mode and raised $50 million dollars over two rounds of funding led by Pierre Lamond and Quiet Capital.
Taalas is developing an automated flow for rapidly implementing all types of deep learning models (Transformers, SSMs, Diffusers, MoEs, etc.) in silicon. Proprietary innovations enable one of its chips to hold an entire large AI model without requiring external memory. The efficiency of hard-wired computation enables a single chip to outperform a small GPU data center, opening the way to a 1000x improvement in the cost of AI. The company is taping out its first large language model chip in the third quarter of 2024 and planning to make it available to early customers in the first quarter of 2025.
HData Raises $10 Million to Accelerate Energy-Sector Data Intelligence
HData, a company using AI and automation to help the U.S. energy industry to file, explore, analyze, and leverage regulatory data, announces the close of $10 Million in Series A funding, led by Buoyant Ventures, an early-stage venture fund that invests in digital solutions to combat climate change. Participating investors include Victorum Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and Firebrand Ventures, among other prominent investors. Funds will be used to accelerate the expansion of the flagship HData platform with enhanced capabilities for energy industry professionals.
HData’s innovative AI-powered platform enables clients to receive, analyze and understand crucial data, empowering key strategic decision-making for energy initiatives. HData’s expanded platform will play a crucial role by amassing the largest authoritative library of structured and unstructured regulated energy data in the industry, and equipping companies with powerful AI tools that can quickly unearth intelligence that previously would have taken months to uncover, if at all. This caliber of analysis will transform energy companies’ day-to-day while also providing the critical energy transition intelligence required to solve significant regulatory and climate-related issues.
Gridcog's clean energy project assessment and simulation platform secures £3.3M funding
Cleantech software startup Gridcog announced it has secured £3.3 million in funding. With Gridcog, companies get a holistic view of their energy resources, including solar, wind, battery storage, EV fleets and charging infrastructure, and flexible loads across multiple sites and energy markets. Gridcog’s platform helps users assess how existing solutions perform, simulate the impact of market and project changes, and – thanks to live feeds of energy prices and other market considerations – see how their projects stack up in multiple commercial scenarios.
The funding led by AlbionVC will see Gridcog double down on its expansion across the UK and Europe following a year of five-fold revenue growth in these regions.
Sweden’s Plexigrid secures €6.5M from the European Innovation Council
Stockholm-based Plexigrid, a company that claims to reinvent electric grids for the energy transition, has secured €6.5M in a fresh round of funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Programme. Plexigrid’s latest funding comprises a non-diluting €2.5M technology development grant and €1M in equity capital from Plexigrid. EIC contributed the remaining €4M as equity capital, to be combined with external funding in Plexigrid’s next funding round.
According to Plexigrid, this investment highlights the company’s dedication to transforming the energy sector and tackling key challenges in the shift to renewable energy sources.
The funding will drive the completion of Plexigrid’s flexibility orchestration engine and platform integration. These resources will fuel global scaling.
GeoPura closes £56 million investment round with backing from UK Infrastructure Bank to accelerate UK’s green hydrogen expansion
GeoPura has completed a £56 million investment round that will help accelerate the UK’s adoption of green hydrogen by expanding production capacity, growing the specialist workforce in the UK, and increasing the deployment of our power generation technology.
The UK Infrastructure Bank committed £30million to the round, led by a follow-on investment from Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and supported by our existing investors: GM Ventures, SWEN Capital Partners, and Siemens Energy Ventures.
The financing will directly increase the manufacture and supply of GeoPura’s Hydrogen Power Units (HPUs) in Newcastle, which replace traditional diesel generators and emit zero harmful emissions. The HPUs have already been successfully supplied to a wide range of high-profile customers including the Ministry of Defence, Balfour Beatty, National Grid and the BBC.
🏴 Figure Raises $675M for Its Humanoid Robot Development
Figure is announcing an astonishing US $675 million Series B raise, which values the company at an even more astonishing $2.6 billion. Figure is one of the companies working toward a multipurpose or general-purpose (depending on whom you ask) bipedal or humanoid (depending on whom you ask) robot. The astonishing thing about this valuation is that Figure’s robot is still very much in the development phase—although they’re making rapid progress, which they demonstrate in a new video posted this week.
This round of funding comes from Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, Nvidia, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions), Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures, and ARK Invest. Figure says that they’re going to use this new capital “for scaling up AI training, robot manufacturing, expanding engineering head count, and advancing commercial deployment efforts.” In addition, Figure and OpenAI will be collaborating on the development of “next-generation AI models for humanoid robots” which will “help accelerate Figure’s commercial timeline by enhancing the capabilities of humanoid robots to process and reason from language.
🏴 Fervo Energy Raises $244 Million to Accelerate Deployment of Next-Generation Geothermal
Fervo Energy, the leader in next-generation geothermal development, announced that it has raised $244 million in new funding led by Devon Energy, a pioneer in shale oil and gas. This financing will unlock Fervo’s next phase of growth, deploying proven technology adapted from the oil and gas industry at scale to deliver commercially viable 24/7 carbon-free energy. Galvanize Climate Solutions, John Arnold, Liberty Mutual Investments, Marunouchi Innovation Partners, Mercuria, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also joined the round alongside existing investors Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, Congruent Ventures, DCVC, Elemental Excelerator, Helmerich & Payne, and Impact Science Ventures.
Since its last fundraise, Fervo has successfully brought its first commercial project online, establishing Fervo’s system as the most productive enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in history. Fervo has also begun drilling at Cape Station, a 400 MW project in Beaver County, Utah. Early drilling results show reduced drilling times and lower costs that significantly exceed Department of Energy expectations for EGS. The fundraise will support Fervo’s continued operations at Cape Station, which will begin delivering clean electricity to the grid in 2026.
🇩🇪 Assemblio raises €2.1 million to create the future of assembly planning
Assemblio, a software company that helps to intelligently plan assembly and generate fully automatic assistance systems for production, has completed a €2.1 million seed funding round. The lead investor is LEA Partners, joined by Mätch VC, Cross Atlantic Angels, Silver Scale, and Integra, as well as other business angels. The Assemblio team plans to use the fresh capital to expand further and drive forward product development. The big goal is to make assembly processes easier, faster, and more cost-efficient.
Assemblio offers an AI-based software solution for time- and cost-efficient assembly planning. Its Assembly Information Models reduce the planning effort from weeks and months to a matter of minutes, actively contributing to cost reduction. This has already convinced various large industrial customers such as Krones and Bosch.
🇬🇧 Sonichem secures €1.4 million to convert sawdust into high-value bio-based chemicals
Sonichem, an East Midlands-based startup that converts low-value forestry by-products into high-value, renewable biochemicals, has secured €1.4 million in Pre-Series A funding including a follow-on investment by ACF Investors. The investment will be used to further develop its technology and finalise plans for a biorefinery plant — the first of its kind.
Only 55% of logs that enter a sawmill become usable construction timber. The other 45% end up as low-value by-products such as woodchips and sawdust. Sonichem breaks down this feedstock through its novel patent process — combining chemistry and ultrasound technology — into three main constituent natural bio-based chemicals: sugars, cellulose and lignin. For every £1 of sawdust, Sonichem’s technology can create £8 worth of bio-based sustainable chemicals.
Oshkosh Corporation Invests in AI-Powered Battery Management Software Company Eatron Technologies
Oshkosh Corporation, a leading innovator of purpose-built vehicles and equipment, announced that it has invested in Eatron® Technologies, a pioneering developer of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered Battery Management Software (BMS). Oshkosh’s investment in Eatron supports its vision to leverage advanced analytics and predictive modeling for lithium-ion batteries to manage its wide range of electric vehicles.
Eatron is developing smarter battery management technology by implementing an intelligent software layer on top of existing battery control platforms that can be hosted on the cloud or on the edge. Its BMS combines models of the battery with AI and advanced estimation methods, to ensure accurate and reliable predictions about the battery’s state, health and operation.
Anthro Closes $20M Series A Financing and Completes UN 38.3 Battery Certification
Anthro Energy announced two major milestones: the closing of an over-subscribed $20M Series A financing round and completion of UN 38.3 battery certification, a key global safety standard for lithium battery transport. Collaborative Fund led the financing, with significant participation from existing investors including Union Square Ventures, Emerson Collective, and Voyager Ventures. Energy Revolution Ventures, Ultratech Capital Partners, Nor’easter Ventures, and Overlap Holdings also participated in the round. The funds will be used to build a Bay Area-based pilot production facility to commercialize and scale Anthro’s advanced battery technologies.
Anthro’s key innovation is its advanced non-volatile and mechanically tunable polymer electrolyte. The company’s proprietary polymer replaces the highly flammable liquid electrolyte in conventional lithium-ion batteries. “Our polymer electrolyte provides an unprecedented combination of performance, safety, and mechanical integrity,” said Anthro CTO Joe Papp, Ph.D. “By replacing conventional liquid electrolytes with our polymer, we can enable new battery form factors and battery chemistries that can facilitate broader electrification efforts across our economy.”
Climate tech startup atmio emerges from stealth to combat methane emissions
atmio has raised €1.3 million to date in a pre-seed/angel investor round and is backed by HCVC, Robin Capital, and Nucleus Capital, alongside industry experts including longtime Dräger executive Bernhard Mohr. The startup is currently fundraising for its next round.
According to Schmittmann, atmio’s singular solution has the potential to find, fix, and report methane emissions 10x faster than ’s de facto methods, and is 100 per cent compliant with EU methane regulations.
German renewables firm Enviria secures $200 mln Blackrock capital commitment
German commercial and industrial solar startup Enviria said it had secured a capital commitment of over $200 million from the world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab, as the company seeks to expand its projects in Germany.
Founded in 2017, the Frankfurt-based firm offers photovoltaic systems for companies interested in switching to solar power, including financing, planning, installation, storage and operation solutions. With companies comprising around 70% of Germany’s national electricity usage, and only 10% of firms equipped with solar systems on their roofs, Enviria is betting on several hundred gigawatts of untapped renewable energy capacity.
Swedish EV maker Polestar bags €877M in external funding
Gothenburg-based Polestar, a premium electric vehicle firm, announced on Wednesday that it has secured $950M (approximately €877M) as a three-year loan facility. The funding was provided by 12 leading international banks, including BNP Paribas, Natixis, Standard Chartered, BBVA, HSBC, and SPDB.
The Swedish company intends to use the raised funds to finance its next development stage, which covers its financing requirements. Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, says, “Securing funding from a syndicate of global banks reflects our partners’ support for Polestar’s growth course. Together with Geely’s full financial support and access to innovative technology and engineering expertise, we have reinforced our path towards cash flow break-even targeted in 2025.”
🇨🇦 Elevated Signals Raises $7.9 Million in Series A Funding
Elevated Signals Inc., a company pioneering modern manufacturing software, is pleased to announce that it has secured CAD$7.9 million in Series A funding. The investment was led by Yaletown Partners, with participation from Third Kind Venture Capital, WGD Capital, Colin Harris, Raiven Capital, and Pareto Holdings.
Elevated Signals’ cloud-based platform automates and simplifies the capture of real-time manufacturing data, providing a unified source of truth that is accessible company-wide. This data also lays the foundation for companies to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for continued process optimization. Elevated Signals serves a growing list of sectors ranging from controlled environment agriculture to natural health product manufacturing, critical minerals recovery, mining, and more. Its technology was pioneered in one of the most regulated industries in the world, setting it apart in the market with its real-time precision and flexibility to support new process innovation.
Introducing venx: The First Deep Tech Venture Capital Collaborative
A group of venture capital firms has launched venx (ven^x), a hub in downtown Boston for venture capital firms to collaborate, share knowledge, and build synergies to become a force multiplier for the deep tech ecosystem. The founding venture firms include Anzu Partners, Hitachi Ventures, Myriad Venture Partners, SkyRiver Ventures, along with the real estate consulting firm The Steele Group. Each firm has a strong connection to Boston’s deep tech heritage and well-regarded universities that regularly spin out innovative deep tech startups, companies built upon scientific or engineering breakthroughs. venx firms will have access to a shared office where they can collaborate day-to-day, host events for the local startup community, and bring other local firms into the fold.
The founding firms of venx are creating a supportive deep tech VC ecosystem where both startups and firms can leverage each other’s unique expertise to access a larger pool of capital for future investments and to foster the right connections to grow their business.
Collov AI Secures $10 Million in Series A Funding to Revolutionize Home Furnishing with AI Design Technology
Collov AI has successfully raised $10 million in Series A funding, led by one of the largest cabinet manufacturers, GoldenHome Living Co Ltd, a public company (SHA: 603180) that specializes in the research, design, and manufacturing of kitchen cabinets. This strategic partnership propels Collov AI’s innovative AI Cabinet design tool into the spotlight, now being utilized in over 3,000 GoldenHome Living stores throughout Asia and the brand’s TikTok live broadcasts that drive millions of impressions.
Parspec Announces $11.5M Seed Funding led by Innovation Endeavors, bringing the power of AI to construction product procurement
Parspec, an AI-powered software platform that streamlines the selection and sale of construction products, announced its oversubscribed $11.5 million seed round. Innovation Endeavors led the investment, with participation from Building Ventures, Heartland Ventures, and Hometeam Ventures. Two investors joined the board in connection with the investment: Innovation Endeavors’ Josh Rapperport as a board member and Building Ventures’ Allen Preger as a board observer.
Founded in 2021, Parspec is transforming the $1.7 trillion global construction materials market by providing better information and online workflows to support the procurement process. Parspec’s CEO and co-founder Forest Flager, who earned his Ph.D. at Stanford and previously led software at Katerra, explains the problem and solution as follows: “To select products today, practitioners typically compare design specifications to technical product documentation hosted on thousands of manufacturer websites. It is a time consuming and error-prone process that contributes to procurement costs (in construction) that are nearly double comparable industries. Parspec uses AI to instantly identify spec-compliant products and associated documents, reducing labor by more than 50% compared to manual methods while improving compliance.”
Parspec is initially focused on serving sales agencies and distributors of lighting and electrical products. The company is currently working with three of the top ten lighting agencies and four of the five largest electrical distributors in the United States, including Sonepar, Graybar, Rexel and CED.
Exodigo Closes $105 Million Series A to Lead Underground Mapping Revolution
Exodigo, the artificial intelligence (AI) innovator modernizing underground mapping, announced the close of a $105 million Series A round, converting $30 million previously secured in SAFEs, for a total of $118 million in funding since its launch in 2022. Greenfield Partners and existing investor Zeev Ventures co-led the Series A with participation from existing investors SquarePeg, 10D VC, JIBE and National Grid Partners. Exodigo continues to lead a complete reinvention of underground mapping and plans to use the new capital to further build out its global team, accelerate the development of a self-service product line, and support its expansion into new markets.
Axiom Cloud Closes $5 Million in Funding to Accelerate Deployment of Refrigerant Leak Detection Software
Axiom Cloud, announced that it closed $5 million in funding from Toshiba Tec and Windsail Capital Group. This funding aims to accelerate the deployment of the company’s AI-powered “Early Leak Detection” (ELD) module, which detects refrigerant leaks earlier without requiring any new onsite hardware or sensors. Axiom Cloud’s technology and services will be especially vital as facilities move to comply with recently-announced EPA regulations outlined in the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which restrict commercial emissions of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) through refrigerant leaks and other sources.
Subsection (h) of the AIM act, “Management of Regulated Substances,” announced in October 2023, mandates that the approximately 20,000 U.S. facilities must install Automatic Leak Detection (ALD) systems in commercial refrigeration appliances within 12 months after the final rule goes into effect. The AIM act has been called “the single-most effective climate action taken in the US” in part because it aims to cut HFC production and consumption by 85% over the next 15 years.
Intenseye Secures Record-breaking $64M Series B to Advance Its Mission of Transforming Workplace Safety With AI
Intenseye, the leader in AI-powered workplace safety solutions, secured $64 million in series B funding led by new investor Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from existing investors Insight Partners, Point Nine, and Air Street Capital. This latest infusion of capital is the industry’s largest ever and follows a historic year for Intenseye, marked by the proactive detection of tens of millions of workplace hazards and global growth and expansion across six continents.
Intenseye’s enterprise-ready computer vision AI platform delivers 24/7 visibility into unsafe acts and conditions that precede work-related injuries or illnesses — and that often go unnoticed via manual audits. Having alerted customers to more than 36 million such instances in 2023 alone, the solution is purpose-built to empower environmental health and safety (EHS) teams to drive changes that enhance efficiency, streamline compliance, and ultimately help prevent workplace incidents without compromising worker privacy.
🇩🇪 RobCo raises €39.1M from Lightspeed, Sequoia, others
RobCo, a provider of affordable and connected robotics automation solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has secured $42.5M (approximately €39.17M) in a Series B round of funding. The investment came from global VC firm Lightspeed Venture Partners along with existing investor Sequoia Capital. Kindred Capital and Promus Ventures also participated in this round.
RobCo facilitates SMEs’ entry into automation and addresses challenges such as skilled labour shortages, production scalability, and the transition to Industry 4.0. The company’s platform allows remote configuration, implementation, and management of robots via a digital twin, using a low-code approach that eliminates the need for complex programming or specialised personnel. In addition, RobCo combines its proprietary patented platform approach with a novel business model – Robot-as-a-Service (in short: RaaS).
RaaS allows small and midsize manufacturers to pay for robotic services on a monthly basis instead of buying hardware. Manufacturers see an immediate return of automation, while avoiding large upfront investments, and they’re able to transform robotics budgets from CapEx to OpEx.
Rototip secures €1M to expand manufacturing solutions
Following major disruptions to long-established supply chains and squarely taking aim at China’s dominance in the sector, Rototip, an Amsterdam-based manufacturing startup with an affiliate based in Ankara, has secured €1 million in a financing round that will see the firm expand its near-shoring solutions for European and North American companies.
Founded in late 2021, Rototip says its platform stands out in the manufacturing landscape, actively managing the entire manufacturing process, offering customers mechanical parts made out of metal or thermoplastics using CNC machining, laser-cutting, injection moulding, die casting, welding, as well as assembly services.
UNSEENLABS announces a record-breaking fundraising of €85 million
Unseenlabs, a France-based company and global leader in maritime surveillance through detection and geolocation of radio frequency signals from space, announces the closure of an exceptional fundraising round of €85 million. This operation, one of the largest in the space industry, confirms the global interest in Earth observation and marks a new milestone in Unseenlabs’ development. This new funding round brings together leading investors: Supernova Invest, ISALT via its Strategic Transition Fund, and UNEXO. All of Unseenlabs’ historical partners – 360 Capital, OMNES, Bpifrance.
This new fundraising will enable Unseenlabs to intensify its technological innovations and expand its service offering, while strengthening its position as a global leader in RF signal detection. Investors, attracted by the technological breakthrough brought by Unseenlabs and the strength of its economic model, are committed to supporting the company’s long-term vision.
🇬🇧 Funding agreed to secure £350 million inward investment project
A funding package has been agreed to secure an estimated £350 million inward investment project for Scotland from Sumitomo Electric UK Power Cables Ltd (SEUK), a subsidiary of Japanese company Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd (SEI). Now the Scottish Government, along with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Scottish Enterprise, have approved up to £24.5 million in public sector support to secure the project. This comprises £19.37 million in Scottish Government funding, £4.6 million from HIE and £530,000 from Scottish Enterprise.
The £25.4 million in funding will support the project as it begins to invest in its plant and equipment, construction of a new purpose-built factory, and long-term land leasing and associated costs.
Antora Energy Raises $150 Million to Slash Industrial Emissions and Spur U.S. Manufacturing
Antora Energy, a leader in zero-emissions industrial heat and power, raised a $150 million Series B funding round led by Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek. This financing round will enable Antora to ramp production of its factory-made thermal batteries to deliver billions of dollars of zero-emissions energy to industrial customers. Emerson Collective, GS Futures, The Nature Conservancy, and a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC also participated in this round, alongside existing investors Trust Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BHP Ventures, Overture VC, and Grok Ventures.
Antora is unlocking zero-emissions industrial energy, cheaper than fossil fuels. Antora leverages renewable electricity to heat blocks of solid carbon—a low-cost, earth-abundant, and safe storage medium that’s used extensively across industries—to glowing hot temperatures in an insulated module. The stored heat is then reliably delivered at the scale and temperatures that large industrial operations demand. Additionally, Antora’s thermal battery can output electricity at breakthrough efficiencies using Antora’s thermophotovoltaic (TPV) technology, which converts the stored heat directly into electricity without the drawbacks of a conventional heat engine.
Norway’s deep tech firm sensiBel gets €7M from Sennheiser, others: Know more
Norway-based sensiBel, a deep-tech company developing next-generation MEMS microphones, announced that it has secured €7M led by Sennheiser. Existing investors, including TRUMPF Venture, Skagerak Capital, Investinor, SINTEF Venture, MP Pensjon, and Halden Kommunale Pensjonskasse, also participated in the round.
The company will use the funds to expand production and invest in scalability.
Led by Sverre Dale Moen, sensiBel has developed optical MEMS microphones that demonstrate a generational shift in sound quality despite their miniature size. sensiBel says its miniature microphones enable a new and improved experience in application areas such as consumer electronics, automotive, conferencing solutions, and medical devices.
German startup Cyclize secures €4.75M to defossilise the chemical industry using plastic waste
Stuttgart, Germany-based Cyclize, a climate-tech startup, announced that it has secured €4.75M in a fresh funding round led by UVC Partners. Other investors, including High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Aurum Impact, and UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators, as well as high-profile business angels like Dr. Klaus Schäfer, former CTO of Covestro, who will also join Cyclize’s Advisory Board, participated in the funding round.
The German company will use the funds to expand its team and focus on scaling its technology for industrial use. They plan to test synthesis gas production and waste recycling with pilot customers. The company aims to commercialise and build a waste-to-synthesis gas plant in a chemical park.
Omnirobotic receives $500k investment
Omnirobotic, a robotics automation company, announced that it has closed a financing of $500k to commercialize Autonomous Robotic Machines driven by Omnirobotic’s proprietary platform, AutonomyOS™. Strategic investors led the round with participation from Genik and Exelpro management and the company’s current employees. This funding will enable Omnirobotic to expand its Autonomous Robotic Machines product line-up to serve better Manufacturers struggling with labor shortages in High-Mix production environments.
Synadia Raises $25 Million Series B Funding to Meet Massive Demand for Multi-cloud and Edge Computing Driven by AI
Synadia Communications, Inc., creators and maintainers of NATS.io (NATS), the open-source cloud and edge-native messaging system for high-performance data streaming, announced it has closed a $25 million Series B financing round. Led by Forgepoint Capital, the investment round includes participation from existing investors and new investors Singtel Innov8, LDVP and 5G Open Innovation Lab. Forgepoint Managing Director Ernie Bio will join Synadia’s board of directors.
The latest round of funding will enable Synadia to further accelerate the growth of NATS.io, the connective platform used by tens of thousands of companies daily to extend their digital services to the edge. For leading enterprises such as Rivian and Walmart to rapid growth startups like Replit and Personal.AI, NATS is becoming the defacto platform for delivering newly developed edge applications where data and micro-services needs to be accessed closer to the user whether for performance or to reduce escalating cloud costs. These new applications span areas such as AI/ML, real-time customer experience, immersive retail, and industrial IoT.
Elve Secures $15M in Series A Funding to Increase Manufacturing and Expand Customer Base
Elve Inc., a leader in innovative millimeter wave amplifier technology, is pleased to announce the successful completion of its Series A round of $15M from a selected group of investors, including TomEnterprise Private AB, Green Sands Equity, Yu Galaxy, Cambium Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures.
Elve will use this funding to grow its customer base in the space connectivity market and to increase manufacturing capabilities. “Closing this funding round represents another significant milestone in our journey, and it will enable us to continue our mission of expanding access to fiber-like wireless connectivity,” said Dr. Diana Gamzina, CEO at Elve.
Buildstock Secures $1.6M in Pre-Seed Funding to Expand Construction Material Marketplace & Fintech Platform
Buildstock, the B2B marketplace and fintech platform for construction materials, secures $1.6M in pre-seed funding from Precursor, MGV, XFactor, RefashionD and visionary angels, including Osuke Honda (DCM), Nihal Mehta (Eniac), Shruti Gandhi (Array Ventures), Tom Peterson (Rally Ventures), Yun-Fang Juan, and Mark G. The platform empowers builders and suppliers by streamlining sales and procurement, driving savings of money and time. This funding enables Buildstock to scale, expand third-party FinTech, AI and logistics integrations and bring more participants into the marketplace.
Late payments cost the $1.4 trillion construction materials industry over $208B in 2022, up 53% from 2021. Buildstock’s marketplace and Fintech solutions solve this by creating unprecedented procurement efficiency. With Buildstock, builders enjoy AI-driven product discovery, as well as substantial cost savings—as high as 40%—on materials and 5x faster lead times. Additionally, they get transparency into lead times and tracking information to plan around deliveries of supplies. Buildstock even offers a feature that takes blueprint files and uses AI to generate a list of needed supplies, further streamlining the procurement process.
€1.6 million investment for XITO: Seed funding for easily accessible robotics
The start-up Toolify Robotics, founded by the three robotics experts Dr. Dennis Stampfer, Dr. Matthias Lutz and Dr. Alex Lotz, has convinced investors of its business model and completed its seed financing with a total of €1.6 million. “We will use the funds from this financing round to further accelerate our growth,” says Dr. Dennis Stampfer. “We plan to expand our innovative solution platform, hire new talent and strengthen our market presence.”
The aim of the Ulm-based startup is to develop further use cases to provide especially small and medium-sized companies with a path to automation. In addition to the existing investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), the group of investors for the seed phase now consists of the start-up BW Seed Fund of the MBG Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg GmbH, the investment companies of the Sparkasse Ulm and Biberach as well as the robotics solution provider AiCobot and combines the financing of Toolify with the prospect of facilitating and accelerating the integration of robotics in medium-sized manufacturing companies.
Monumo emerges from stealth with £10.5M seed funding and advanced EV motor
Monumo, a deeptech company blending artificial intelligence (AI) with traditional engineering, has emerged from stealth with groundbreaking advancements in electric motor design. The company’s patented technology, based on simulation, optimisation, and prototype frameworks, has achieved a 50% reduction in torque ripple in SRMs. Monumo’s innovative approach signifies a breakthrough in motor efficiency, making it smoother and quieter, thus more appropriate for use in EVs.
Novity Secures $7.8 Million in New Funding to Revolutionize Predictive Maintenance with its TruPrognostics AI
Novity®, the provider of the TruPrognostics™ AI, a truly predictive maintenance AI for process industry clients, is pleased to announce the successful closure of $7.8 million in financing. The investment will accelerate Novity’s mission to transform how industries manage and optimize their maintenance operations. On the heels of Novity’s commercial traction, which includes Fortune 1000 (F1000) customers, the investment was led by WERU Investment in a global consortium of investors including Myriad Venture Partners and METAWATER, Co., Ltd.
After spinning its team and technology out of Xerox PARC in 2022, Novity is now serving a growing number of Fortune 1000 clients who recognize the transformative potential of truly predictive maintenance. The TruPrognostics AI has been instrumental in reducing unplanned downtime, maintenance costs, and operational disruptions across various industries, including manufacturing, oil and gas, and chemicals.
RET Ventures Leads $7.5 Million Series A in Conservation Labs to Interpret Sound for Water Conservation and Machinery Maintenance
Conservation Labs, an artificial intelligence (AI) company that developed a groundbreaking platform that decodes audio data into actionable insights in the built environment to reduce carbon emissions and energy and water usage, announced that it has raised a $7.5-million Series A funding round. The round was led by RET Ventures’ Housing Impact Fund and included the participation of Sustain VC.
To further its mission, Conservation Labs employed its AI platform to develop Sustainable Machines™, a product suite that assesses the condition of machinery. By interpreting a machine’s sound profile, the product delivers operational insights and predictive maintenance recommendations, thereby reducing maintenance costs and extending the machinery’s life. With early adopters of Sustainable Machines™ generating an ROI over 100% through increased maintenance efficiency and improved uptime, the company has already sold nearly 10,000 sensors across the country.
Foundation Models for Materials Discovery: Our Investment in Orbital Materials
Fortunately, innovations in artificial intelligence have led to the emergence of foundation models, which are trained on vast amounts of data and leading to models that can be used across numerous applications. Those foundation models have the potential to enable inverse design, a method of material development that expedites the process by using the specific required properties as an input and generating the new material design as an output. This approach has the potential to revolutionize material development across industries, which is why we are excited to announce Toyota Ventures’ investment in Orbital Materials through our Frontier Fund.
The team has trained a 3D foundation model, named LINUS, for crystal structures and small molecules. Instead of screening millions of materials in hopes of finding one with a specific property, LINUS generates a material based on a given property in a single calculation. To do this, the team has developed a new version of the “transformer”, a model typically used for natural language processing, to allow the model to learn the relationships between the 3D structures of materials and their properties. Advanced materials that absorb and catalyze are crucial in various industries such as carbon capture, sustainable fuels, water treatments, biofeedstock upgrades, and battery recycling.
DustPhotonics Raises $24M in Series B Follow-on Round
DustPhotonics, a leading developer of silicon photonics technology for data center and AI applications, announced the completion of its Series B follow-on funding round, an oversubscribed round of $24M. The round was funded by a combination of prominent investors, including new and existing investors such as Sienna Venture Capital, Greenfield Partners, Atreides Management, and Exor Ventures.
The funds will be used to allow DustPhotonics to scale production of its industry leading Carmel-4 and Carmel-8 products, used for 400Gb/s and 800Gb/s applications and to accelerate development of its next generation products which will enable 1.6Tb/s applications.
Ventiva Closes $10M Series C Investment Round
Ventiva®, a leading company in active cooling solutions for electronic devices, announced the successful completion of its $10 million Series C funding round. The investment was obtained from a balanced mix of new money from multiple investment funds along with strong participation from existing investors.
Ventiva is gearing up to launch its latest generation groundbreaking Ionic Cooling Engine (ICE®), initially tailored for the laptop market. Following this, the company will expand its ICE® technology to a diverse range of applications, including AR/VR, television, portable gaming modules, and various cutting-edge electronics.
🇯🇵 Tsubame BHB procures 5.3 billion yen through Series C
Tsubame BHB Co., Ltd., which strives for the social implementation and commercialization of small, distributed ammonia production plants, has announced that it has undertaken capital procurement on a total scale of approximately 5.3 billion yen in a Series C round of financing through third-party allocation of shares to both new and existing investors worldwide. In the second round of this Series C funding, capital procurement was undertaken with Heraeus Beteiligungsverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH as the first overseas investor receiving shares, and with Yokogawa Electric Corporation and Energy & Environment Investment, Inc. as new investors receiving shares in Japan.
The synthetic ammonia catalysts offered by Tsubame BHB, which are produced at low temperatures and low pressures using electride catalysts, can be manufactured at small ammonia production plants, and so can be produced and consumed locally. Transport and storage processes are reduced in comparison to current procurement methods involving high-volume production at petrochemical complexes, enabling a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions.
Niron Magnetics Secures Funding from Samsung Ventures, Allison Transmission and Magna to Accelerate Production of Rare Earth-Free Magnets
Niron Magnetics, the company pioneering the world’s first high-performance, rare earth-free permanent magnets, announced it has received $25 million in new strategic funding. This round was led by Samsung Ventures, which has the investment mandate to closely track the strategic priorities of leading consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung and encompasses investments in consumer electronics, semiconductors, telecommunications, and more. Allison Ventures, the venture capital arm of Allison Transmission, leading designer and manufacturer of vehicle propulsion solutions, was also part of this funding round, along with one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, Magna. This investment will strengthen Niron’s ability to expand its production facilities and scale manufacturing capacity for exclusive customer programs and initial sales of the Clean Earth Magnet.
With this new funding, Niron will expand its pilot production facilities, enhancing its ability to serve diverse clientele and support customer prototyping programs. The company will also scale up manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand and accelerate research and development efforts to drive continuous improvement in performance and efficiency.
Altos Ventures invests $9.4 mn in Techtaka
South Korea’s Altos Ventures announced that it has invested 12.6 billion won ($9.4 million) in the software-centric fulfillment company Techtaka. “With this investment, we can ensure fast delivery to customers by introducing robotic technology to provide efficient fulfillment services and establish a stable operating system,” Techtaka’s CEO Yang Soo-young said.
Ascend Elements Raises Additional $162 Million to Build Sustainable Lithium-Ion Battery Materials in United States
In a follow up to one of last year’s largest cleantech private equity placements, Ascend Elements announced it has raised $162 million in new equity investments. Major investors include Just Climate, Clearvision Ventures, and IRONGREY. The new equity financing brings the company’s 12-month funding total to $704 million, including the $542 million funding round led by Decarbonization Partners, Temasek and Qatar Investment Authority in September 2023.
The new funding will advance construction of Ascend Elements’ Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, which will be North America’s first sustainable cathode precursor (pCAM) manufacturing facility open in early 2025. When complete, the 1-million-square-foot facility will produce sustainable pCAM and CAM (cathode active materials) for up to 750,000 electric vehicles per year. The project is supported in part by U.S. Department of Energy and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
AtmosZero Closes $21 Million in Series A
AtmosZero, the company on a mission to decarbonize steam, announced the close of a $21 million Series A round co-led by Engine Ventures and 2150 to accelerate the commercialization of its Boiler 2.0 technology. Constellation Technology Ventures, the strategic venture arm of Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG), also joined the round along with existing backers, Energy Impact Partners, Starlight Ventures, and AENU.
Industrial steam, which is used across the built environment and industries from food and beverage to chemical manufacturing, is generated by burning fossil fuels onsite in boiler systems that account for nearly eight percent of global primary energy use. AtmosZero’s proprietary Boiler 2.0 technology extracts heat from the air and delivers high-temperature steam with maximum efficiency and zero carbon emissions, allowing companies to replace their existing natural gas and oil boilers quickly and cost-effectively.
Applied Ventures Invests in VVDN Technologies
Applied Ventures, LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, Inc., announced a growth equity investment in VVDN Technologies, one of the leading India-based electronics product design, software, and manufacturing companies. The strategic growth funding from Applied Ventures can enable VVDN to expand the R&D of next-generation semiconductor technologies as well as electronic products and solutions.
Point2 Tech Secures $23 Million Series B Boost from Bosch Ventures and Molex to Revolutionize Multi-Terabit Interconnect for AI and Automotive
Point2 Technology, a leading provider of ultra-low-power, low-latency mixed-signal SoC solutions for multi-terabit interconnect, announced a $22.6 million Series B extension from Bosch Ventures, a leader in deep tech investments, and Molex, a global electronics leader and connectivity innovator, with participation from other investors. This Series B extension validates the demand for Point2’s technology in AI/ML data center applications and the potential to disrupt network interconnect in the broad automotive sector.
Point2 is also partnering with Molex, a strategic investor, to commercialize its E-Tube technology, a scalable interconnect platform that uses RF data transmission over plastic dielectric waveguide to enable multi-terabit active cables with 80% lower weight and 50% less bulk than copper cables. Compared to optical cables, E-Tube is expected to reduce power consumption and costs by 50%, with picosecond latencies that are three orders of magnitude better. Shattering the “copper or optics” paradigm for high-speed cable interconnect, E-Tube breaks the barriers of copper and optical cabling and is poised to become the next-generation multi-terabit interconnect technology.
Sage Geosystems Raises $17 Million in Series A, Announces World’s First Commercial Geopressured Geothermal System (GGS) Facility
Sage Geosystems announced the first close of $17 million in Series A funding led by Chesapeake Energy Corporation and joined by technology investor Arch Meredith, Helium-3 Ventures and with continued support from existing investors Virya, LLC, Nabors Industries Ltd., and Ignis Energy Inc. The proceeds will fully fund the first of its kind 3MW commercial Geopressured Geothermal System (GGS) facility, which will be built in Texas.
The 3MW commercial facility, called EarthStore™, will use Sage Geosystems’ innovative technology that harvests energy from pressurized water stored deep underground. The facility will be able to store energy for short and long duration periods and can be paired with intermittent renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, to provide baseload, dispatchable power, and inertia to the electric grid.
Celadyne Secures $4.5 Million to Accelerate Industrial Decarbonization with Durable Fuel Cells
Celadyne, the decarbonization and hydrogen solution company, announced that they have raised $4.5M in seed investment funding. The round was co-led by Maniv and Dynamo Ventures, with major participation from EPS Ventures.
Specifically, Celadyne’s materials and technologies replace the proton exchange membrane to create fuel cells that are more durable, and electrolyzers that are more compact and efficient. This newfound durability allows fuel cells to be utilized as an environmentally-friendlier alternative to diesel engines, and makes electrolyzers that produce low cost green hydrogen as fuel.
Amsterdam-based Monumental exits stealth mode with €23.2M funding; plans to automate on-site construction with robotics and software
Monumental, a robotic startup that aims to solve labour, cost, and sustainability challenges in the global construction industry, announced on Thursday that it has emerged from two-and-half years of operating in stealth mode. The company also announced the raising of a $25M (approximately €23.2M) funding round co-led by Plural and Hummingbird. Other investors, including Northzone, Foundamental, and NP-Hard Ventures, participated in the round.
The Dutch company will use the funds to grow its team of hardware and software engineers, scale the number of robots it can deploy on sites across Europe, and increase the types of blocks and construction tasks the robots can manage.
Fever Raises €10m from General Catalyst to Expand Its Platform for Virtual Power Plants
Fever, the Swedish powertech company building an API-centric platform for virtual power plants, raised €10m in a seed funding round led by General Catalyst, with participation from previous investors, including La Famiglia and Norrsken VC. The funding will accelerate Fever’s expansion plans, deepen product development, and expand collaborations across Europe.
Fever’s innovative API-centric platform further empowers energy asset installers and operators, including leading utility companies, EV fleets, and Battery Energy Storage Operators, to run and monetize their own virtual power plants by unlocking the full potential of market participation, capacity modelling, orchestration, reporting and settlements.
Kairos Aerospace, Rebranding as Insight M, Raises $52 Million in Series D Funding
Kairos Aerospace, the leader in high-frequency aerial methane detection for the energy industry, announced the initial closing of its Series D funding at $52 million. The round was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, with participation from Hartree Partners, as well as existing investors DCVC, Climate Investment (an investment firm backed by 12 of the largest oil and gas companies in the world), and Energy Innovation Capital. Kairos will be rebranding as Insight M to better align with its go-forward vision, a change that will officially launch later in Q1.
There is a growing demand in the oil and gas industry for Insight M’s emission solutions, which not only deliver profits to operators but also provide them with proof of environmental stewardship. Insight M uses its proprietary technology to capture methane emissions data on the assets of their customers along with the entire given oil and gas basin.
Hippo Harvest Announces $21 Million Series B Funding Led by Standard Investments to Scale Next-Generation Greenhouse Platform
Hippo Harvest, a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup developing advanced greenhouse systems that produce sustainably-grown produce, announced the close of its $21M Series B funding round led by Standard Investments. Congruent Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Hawthorne Food Ventures, and Energy Impact Partners also participated in the round. The funding will be used to scale the company’s greenhouse operations and to expand its product offerings into new categories of leafy greens.
Founded in 2019, Hippo Harvest operates a first-of-its-kind repurposed greenhouse facility in Pescadero, CA that out-competes traditional greenhouses in scalability and unit economics and is comparable to traditional outdoor-grown produce prices. The company utilizes a closed-loop, non-recirculating, direct-to-root fertilizer system, machine learning and autonomous mobile robots to calculate and efficiently distribute water, fertilizer, light, and heating on a micro-climate basis throughout its greenhouses. The result is significantly more cost and resource efficient production of fresh produce. Consumers and retailers enjoy the superior quality, consistency, and food safety of Hippo greens at competitive prices.
CORE Industrial Partners Announces Closing of Two New Funds Totaling $887 Million
CORE Industrial Partners (CORE), a manufacturing, industrial technology, and industrial services-focused private equity firm, is pleased to announce the closing of $887 million in capital commitments between its $685 million flagship fund, CORE Industrial Partners Fund III, L.P. (Fund III) and $202 million in its new offering, CORE Industrial Services Fund I, L.P. (Services Fund I) with both funds exceeding their targets. In the past five years, CORE has raised more than $1.58 billion of total limited partner commitments dedicated to investing in the industrial sector.
Fund III will continue CORE’s existing flagship strategy of acquiring manufacturing and industrial technology businesses that CORE believes can benefit from its deep investment and operating experience to accelerate growth and create long-term value for investors, business owners and management teams.
CORE’s newest fund strategy, Industrial Services Fund I, brings a more concentrated focus to the highly fragmented industrial services sector that CORE believes is experiencing strong growth due to reshoring and proliferation of advanced technologies with the adoption of Industry 4.0 applications in North America.
London-based Didimi raises €880k pre-seed to bring interoperability to the construction industry
Didimi, a digital twins and information management platform for the construction industry, announced that it has raised €880k in a pre-seed investment. The round is led by the leading deep tech VC the Creator Fund. The fresh capital will serve to expand its B2B product offering into the construction information management sector.
Founded in 2023 as a spin-off from the University of Cambridge, Didimi is a London-based startup that is building a new platform to transform information exchange and management in the construction industry.
Quilter raises $10 million for AI-powered circuit board design, led by Benchmark
Quilter announced it raised $10 million, saying it would use artificial intelligence to reduce the time to design components that power electronics in rockets, computers, smartphones and other devices. The $10 million Series A round was led by one of Silicon Valley’s most storied venture capital firms, Benchmark.
Aegir Insights raises €8.5M in Series A funding to build the next generation of its software and data to accelerate offshore wind investments
Aegir Insights, a leading provider of decision-making software, data, and intelligence for the offshore wind sector, has raised €8.5M in Series A funding, led by Seaya Andromeda with the participation of Climentum Capital. The company will use the funds to develop the next generation of its web platform, encompassing decision software, data, and intelligence products for the offshore wind industry.
Aegir Insights’ solutions play a crucial role in making data-driven decisions, optimizing development, and reducing costs, thereby accelerating investment in the sector. This is critical in the current environment of cost volatility to ensure optimal capital allocation and project economics. Aegir Insights’ existing client base includes leading developers such as BP, Equinor, and JERA, and it is expanding further into governmental and financial services segments.
Skylo Technologies Raises $37 Million From Intel Capital, Innovation Endeavors, BMW i Ventures, Samsung Catalyst, Next47 & Seraphim Space
Skylo Technologies, the leading direct-to-device satellite connectivity service provider, today announces that it has secured $37 million in funding co-led by Intel Capital and Innovation Endeavors. New investors include BMW i Ventures, Next47, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Seraphim Space. David Johnson of Intel Capital joins the board, bringing a wealth of experience and insight to fortify Skylo’s leadership team.
This new investment expands Skylo’s scale and business operations to better support smartphones, wearables, IoT devices, and mobile network operator customers. This is a major step in Skylo’s commitment to making standards based non-terrestrial networks (NTN) more accessible and efficient for numerous sectors, including consumer, automotive, agriculture, energy, transportation, and beyond.
Cambridge Mechatronics secures over $40m investment to further develop its revolutionary smartphone imaging technology
Cambridge Mechatronics Limited (CML), the world leader in the design and control of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuators, announces the closing of a funding round totalling over $40m to enable rapid expansion of its actuator and controller IC product portfolios. The oversubscribed funding round was led by Atlantic Bridge. Intel Capital and Supernova acted as co-leads with further participation from Sony Innovation Fund.
Smartphone innovation is dominated by camera technology, fuelled by the growth of social media and video sharing platforms. CML is primarily focused on developing disruptive solutions for improving smartphone imaging, including SMA actuators and controller ICs. SMA actuators generate a high force-to-mass ratio, performing precision movements of camera components to achieve autofocus (AF) and optical image stabilisation (OIS), in a more compact and lightweight design. Compared to incumbent voice coil motor technology, SMA is free of electromagnetic interference. CML’s new SMA Variable Aperture provides continuous aperture control in a form-factor significantly smaller than the industry standard. The patented Zero Hold Power technology holds components such as the aperture in place during image capture whilst consuming no power.
French firm ACC bags €4.4B to construct three gigafactories for lithium-ion battery cell production
Bruges-based ACC (Automotive Cells Company), a high-tech company operating in the world of battery technology for electric vehicles, announced on Monday, February 12, that it has secured €4.4B debt raising. The company will use the funds to construct three gigafactories for lithium-ion battery cell production in France, Germany, and Italy, as well as, for R&D. The debt package will be used to finance these projects and is fully endorsed by a consortium of commercial banks, including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, and supported by Bpifrance, Euler Hermes, and SACE.
CTC Global Receives Strategic Investment from Endeavour Capital and Greenbelt Capital Partners
Endeavour Capital (“Endeavour”) and Greenbelt Capital Partners (“Greenbelt”) (collectively, the “Investors”) are pleased to announce the close of a strategic investment in CTC Global Corporation (“CTC” or the “Company”). Based in Irvine, CA, CTC specializes in engineering and manufacturing advanced conductor cores for high-voltage transmission cables. The Company’s cutting-edge ACCC® Conductors have been successfully installed in over 1,250 projects across 60 countries by more than 250 utilities. The Company’s CEO, J.D. Sitton, will continue to lead the business through its next phase of growth.
Lilac Solutions Announces $145 Million Series C to Scale Lithium Supply for the Electric Vehicle Era
Lilac Solutions, a leader in lithium extraction technology, announced the close of its Series C with $145 million of proceeds. This bring Lilac’s total capital raised to $315 million. The financing was led by Mercuria, Lowercarbon Capital, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with participation from all major shareholders including T. Rowe Price Association, Inc., Engine Ventures, Aventurine, Presidio Ventures (a Sumitomo Corporation Group Company), and BMW i Ventures amongst others, and Lilac welcomes Mitsubishi Corporation and The Nature Conservancy as new investors. The new capital will be used to support Lilac’s ambitious growth plans as the Company ramps up manufacturing capacity of its propriety ion-exchange (IX) material and commercial deployment at projects around the world.
Amsterdam’s renewable chemistry firm Avantium secures €70M to launch FDCA plant in the Netherlands
Amsterdam-based Avantium, a company specialising in sustainable chemistry technologies, has raised €70M through a capital increase, comprising a €50.5M fully underwritten rights offering and a €19.5M institutional upsize offering.
Founded in 2000 by Claude Stoufs, Avantium is a pioneering company focused on renewable polymer materials, using proprietary technologies like YXY to convert plant-based sugars into FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), a key component for sustainable plastic PEF (polyethylene furanoate). PEF, being 100 per cent plant-based and recyclable, finds applications in various products such as polyesters, polyamides, polyurethanes, coating resins, plasticisers, and other chemical products.
Sensos: $20 Million Raised To Fruther Develop Proactive Supply Chain Management Solutions
Sensos (a Sony Semiconductor Israel spin-off) announced it has successfully closed its Series A funding round to develop a proactive supply chain management solution further. This funding round was led by Mitsui-backed Magenta Venture Partners, joined by JAL Ventures, with the participation of Israel Cargo Logistics and Sumitomo.
Sensos is already partnering with top-tier brands like Bayer, DB Schenker, and others, providing valuable insights for various industries and use cases such as cold chain life-science products, consumer electronics, mission-critical shipments, and high-value goods.
ATMOS on Track to Assemble its Space Cargo Return Capsule Prototype to fly into Space with an additional €1.3M in Funding
ATMOS Space Cargo (ATMOS), a pioneering NewSpace startup, has raised an additional €1.3M after successfully closing its initial €4M seed funding round in June 2023. OTB Ventures, a leading European SpaceTech investor, is joining renowned SpaceTech investors High-Tech Gründerfonds, the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund (which also increased their initial investment in this extension), Seraphim, E2MC, VENTIS, and another.vc. ATMOS is on track to assemble the first prototype of its Phoenix return capsule for a demonstration mission to LEO.
The additional funding is strengthening ATMOS’ current participation in ESA’s Commercial Cargo Initiative tender. Assuring the space agency’s financial requirements are met while accelerating the time to market for ATMOS’ Phoenix space capsule to fly into LEO and return a microgravity experiment for its first demonstration mission
Aizon Secures $20M in Series C Funding Led by NewVale Capital to Enhance Pharma Manufacturing Outcomes
Aizon, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) SaaS provider that transforms pharmaceutical manufacturing operations, today announced that it has closed $20 million in Series C funding led by NewVale Capital, a growth equity fund that invests in proven, revenue-generating service businesses in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Existing investors Atlantic Bridge, Crosslink Capital, and Uncork Capital also participated in the round. This infusion of capital, combined with the continued support of key investment partners, will enable Aizon to significantly scale, accelerate its development pipeline, and better serve its customers.
Aizon leverages advanced predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and other smart factory technologies to provide the most powerful and accessible GMP AI platform for pharmaceutical manufacturers. With Aizon, customers unlock next-generation insights and enhanced decision-making capabilities and can discover new optimisation paths, reduce costs, predict deviations, and enhance their manufacturing systems. Aizon prioritises rigorous quality and compliance and follows GAMP5 for GMP processes to ensure compliant data acquisition, storage, and consumption.
Daedalus raises €19.4M to build world’s most advanced factories
Daedalus, a technology company building the world’s most advanced factories using AI, announced that it has secured $21M (approximately €19.4M) in a Series A round of funding.
The funding round was led by NGP Capital, with further participation from its existing investors, including Addition and Khosla Ventures. The German company will use the funds to develop its proprietary Manufacturing AI Platform and scale its production facilities in Germany.
The company uses its proprietary Manufacturing AI Platform to automate the entire manufacturing process, from quoting to delivery, for high-precision and high-mix parts. Daedalus’ production facilities utilise software to control and holistically optimise shop floor operations. Additionally, AI automates manual tasks involved in production.
Investors bolster Jua’s AI physics model for nature
Using tens of millions of data points to provide precise forecasts, Jua from Freienbach (Canton Schwyz) developed the first end-to-end deep learning model, a “Large Physics Model” for nature, that can predict the weather accurately, precisely, and quickly than traditional solutions. The AI weather forecasting model offers unprecedented speed in predicting weather changes, allowing users, particularly in the energy sector, to develop global, high-frequency and high-accuracy weather models within days.
Jua has grown to 22 people who work at its offices in Zurich, Berlin and Cape Town. This growth and approach to weather prediction impressed several investors, securing fresh funding of $16 million. Among the participants in the round are 468 Capital, Green Generation Fund, Promus Ventures, Kadmos Capital Ltd, session.vc, Notion Capital. An Innosuisse grant complements the equity investment, providing the startup with sufficient funds to accelerate research and development efforts and to continue enhancing the model and make it available to customers in Q1 2024.
First Bite emerges from stealth to help food manufacturers navigate ‘antiquated’ foodservice channel
First Bite—a startup led by ex-Impossible Foods executive Reed McCord—has emerged from stealth after raising a $2 million round led by Bread & Butter Ventures to expand a data platform helping food manufacturers maximize foodservice sales. The round, supported by Leadout Capital and Pathbreaker Ventures, will help McCord and his team address a problem he identified early on at Impossible Foods: a lack of data and transparency in the foodservice channel.
A software as a service (SaaS) platform, First Bite uses online menus, reviews, social media data, location data, demographic data, contact data, and other publicly available information to provide market data on every restaurant location in the country; it is now expanding coverage to retail and non-commercial segments such as schools and hospitals.
Myrspoven Secured EUR 5.4 Million Investment
Myrspoven, a leading AI software company operating within building optimization, running +3,500,000 square meters across 8 countries and saves on average 20% of a building’s energy, announced today the successful completion of a EUR 5.4 million equity funding round. The investment was led by prominent investors 4impact capital, Vantaa Energy, and existing investor AMAVI Capital.
This capital infusion strategically propels Myrspoven to expand its solutions across Europe and beyond, in line with their channel partner strategy. The company’s dedication to sustainability and transforming buildings into dynamic players in the modern energy system aligns perfectly with the vision of the investors, fostering a partnership aimed at driving innovation and creating lasting value in real estate. With a track record of delivering energy and cost savings, an impressive tech stack, and a future-proof platform, Myrspoven has gained investor confidence for its potential to lead and disrupt the real estate sector.
Thea Energy Announces $20 Million Series A Financing
Thea Energy Inc., a fusion energy company advancing stellarator technology for commercialization, today announced the closing of a $20 million Series A financing. Prelude Ventures led the round with participation from other investors including 11.2 Capital, Anglo American, Hitachi Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Mercator Partners, Orion Industrial Ventures, and Starlight Ventures.
Proceeds from the financing will support the construction and operation of the Company’s proprietary superconducting planar coil magnet array systems, the design and simulation of Eos, Thea Energy’s large-scale integrated neutron source stellarator system, and continued team growth.
SQCDP Unlocks Funding to Modernise Factories: A £200k Step Towards Manufacturing Innovation
SQCDP, a Newcastle-based SaaS startup, has successfully raised £200k to increase manufacturing efficiencies and support workforce engagement by removing problem paper systems in factories. The £200k funding is part of a wider pre-seed funding round which is still being raised. The funding round was led by London-based QVentures and several angel investors joined the round. Proudly based in the North-East of England, SQCDP is also a recent recipient of an Ignite Accelerator grant.
SQCDP is a high-value and easy-to-implement application to replace the paper and spreadsheet-based systems currently used by many manufacturers, and an alternative to the high capital, hardware-intensive solutions otherwise available in the market. The app can be accessed from mobiles, tablets and desktops, and is a simple interface used to collect factory floor data and eliminates the use of spreadsheets, forms and whiteboards.
ZEDEDA Secures $72M in Growth Capital to Meet the Skyrocketing Demand for Edge AI and Computing
ZEDEDA, the leader in edge management and orchestration, announced the closing of $72 million in growth capital, with the Series C round led by Smith Point Capital, founded by former Salesforce Co-CEO Keith Block. The latest funding enables ZEDEDA to further expand sales and marketing activities and accelerate research and development to meet the rising demand for edge computing.
Trinity Capital Inc. Provides $20 Million Equipment Financing to Formlogic
Trinity Capital, leading provider of diversified financial solutions to growth-stage companies, announced the commitment of $20 million in equipment financing to Formlogic, a provider of autonomous precision manufacturing services intended for space companies. Formlogic has factories located in Pittsburgh spanning over 50,000 square feet. This growth capital will enable the company to acquire new CNC machines and continue to scale operations.
Formlogic is changing how precision parts are sourced and manufactured by separating engineering from physical labor. Through a combination of remote AI-based planning and autonomous production, the company has created software that performs the simulations needed to produce effectively, replacing the guess-and-check method usually done by a skilled worker.
Newcastle startup SQCDP secures £200,000 investment for manufacturing performance improvement
SQCDP, a Newcastle-based startup focusing on the improvement of manufacturing performance, has announced that it has secured £200,000 from London’s Q Ventures as part of a larger, still open and ongoing funding raise.
Offering a viable alternative to the costly and hardware-centric solutions prevalent in the market, SQCDP streamlines the process of collecting factory floor data, and provides access via mobile devices, tablets, and desktops, essentially rendering spreadsheets, forms, and whiteboards obsolete.
Bollegraaf and Greyparrot Forge Strategic AI Partnership to Transform Global Waste Management Industry
Bollegraaf, the world’s largest builder of recycling plants, has entered into a strategic partnership with Greyparrot, a pioneer in AI waste analytics, to transform global waste management. As part of the agreement, Bollegraaf will transfer its AI vision business to Greyparrot and also make a cash investment, for a total value of $12.8M, in Greyparrot, obtaining a non-controlling stake in the company. It will also serve as a worldwide distributor and strategic partner for Greyparrot’s Analyzer, which currently provides 100% visibility into waste streams at recycling plants across 14 countries using AI camera systems.
The deal includes Greyparrot acquiring Bollegraaf’s vision-based computing intellectual property (IP) and esteemed AI development team. Greyparrot will also open its first office in mainland Europe in the Netherlands.
With this groundbreaking partnership, both companies aim to retrofit thousands of existing Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and Plastics Recovery Facilities (PRFs) with advanced AI capabilities to significantly boost recycling rates and quantify material emissions. The collaboration will bring forth revolutionary smart recycling plants that are fully automated and agile, unlocking new value in waste streams while diverting millions of tonnes of waste away from landfills, oceans, and incinerators. In a development set to transform waste management, this marks a momentous acceleration in the global shift from a linear to a circular economy. Together, Greyparrot and Bollegraaf commit to developing further products that combine the strengths of both companies to make the vision of fully automated and intelligent sorting facilities a reality.
German green chemistry startup DUDE CHEM closes €6.5M Seed round
Berlin-based DUDE CHEM, a green chemical manufacturing company, announced that it has closed a €6.5M seed round. The investment was co-led by Vorwerk Ventures and b2venture. The round also saw participation from investors, including Frontline, Borski Fund, Auxxo, and Push Ventures.
The funding will support DUDE CHEM’s mission to lead the transition in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors towards sustainable, cost-efficient, and locally oriented production. The funds will also fuel the expansion of the company’s scientific team and enable the reintroduction of a flagship product, ensuring a secure supply chain for one of Europe’s leading generic drug producers.
Torus Robotics secures USD 470,000 seed investment from T.N. Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation
Torus Robotics Pvt Ltd, a deep tech startup founded in Chennai, and specialising in indigenous powertrain technology for the electric vehicle automotive market, defence, aviation and consumer markets, has raised a seed investment of USD 470,000 led by the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (TNIFMC), under the T.N. Emerging Sector Seed Fund (TNESSF).
The funding round also saw participation from Forge Innovation & Ventures, Coimbatore, and SINE (Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship) at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
The startup said that the funding will be utilised to scale up its research and development operations. Besides, the company also aims to use the funds to finance other critical aspects of the business, including innovation and growth.
TDK Ventures invests in Singapore-based startup Amperesand to empower global electrification through solid state transformers
TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) announced that subsidiary TDK Ventures Inc. is investing in Amperesand and their grid infrastructure solutions powered by innovative solid-state transformer (SST) technology to deliver megawatt-scale DC charging solutions for the EV revolution. Spun out of the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore (NTU) and backed by a world-class team with decades of industry experience in power systems, Amperesand delivers critical improvements to EV charging infrastructure hardware that will support rapidly expanding electrification across fleets, consumer vehicles, ports, and beyond.
Transformers are pivotal in the power distribution infrastructure, essential for global electrification, and particularly critical in the EV sector to ensure the correct form of power is delivered at the right location. With growing demands for electrification, the predominantly alternative current (AC) grid faces challenges such as greatly increased direct current (DC) loads, aging infrastructure, transformer shortages, and increased project costs (due to labor, materials, permitting, etc.). Such issues represent an urgent technical challenge to continued progress as grid infrastructure must keep pace with rapid growth in electricity demand from EV fast charging in the near term, and industry and homes in the long term. Amperesand’s technology is a game-changer, addressing critical pain points in the electrification landscape. Their containerized SSTs directly connect to the distribution grid with a customizable mixed AC/DC output, bidirectional power flow, very small footprint, enhanced flexibility, and improved reliability, revolutionizing how high-capacity DC loads, such as EV charging stations, connect to the grid. This technology not only meets the current demands but is also adaptable to the future needs of a highly variable and distributed grid, setting a new standard in the field of power distribution.
Milan-based Voidless raises €2.2 million to confront the overpackaging problem with “box on demand” solution
Voidless, an Italian deeptech startup that has focused its activity on solving the overpackaging problem, announced the closing of a seed round of €2.2 million led by CDP Venture Capital – through the Corporate Partners I Fund – Industry Tech sector – and the Italian-French Venture Capital company 360 Capital. The two investors participated in the transaction by investing €1.1 million each.
This round – which follows the €600,000 pre-seed in July 2022 by 360 Capital – represents an important step for Voidless’ growth and will allow the startup to grow in the market with its next-generation “box on demand” machinery, designed to create boxes and packaging tailored to each type of shipment with extreme precision directly in warehouses. offering an effective and concrete solution to the problem of overpackaging. In addition, the capital injection will also support the consolidation of the Voidless team.
Emerald investment to boost Sea Machines’ autonomous shipping solutions
Cleantech venture capital pioneer Emerald Technology Ventures has invested into Sea Machines, a developer of autonomous shipping solutions, control systems and advanced perception technology for maritime vessels. This USD 12 million funding round, which was joined by Nabtesco Technology Ventures (NTV), Chevron Technology Ventures, RKKVC, Level 2 Ventures, and IMC Ventures, will help Sea Machines hone its technological edge and grow its market presence.
Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics is a global leader in autonomous piloting systems. These systems are meant to help sea vessels navigate and operate with greater efficiency, productivity, and capability. Its proprietary technology allows onboard computers to maintain precise control of vessel position, steering, and speed during a voyage. It can also reroute as needed to avoid traffic and obstacles, and use streaming data to improve operations. The startup also develops solutions for computer vision, remote command and control, and advanced data collection along shipping routes, among other applications.
Volta Insite Secures Seed Funding to Propel InsiteAI™ - a Revolutionary Tool for Real-Time Electrical Intelligence & Predictive Maintenance
Volta Insite announces the successful completion of its seed round funding, raising $7M to accelerate the development of InsiteAI™. This is the most advanced tool available to monitor vital electrical assets with a goal to eliminate costly downtime.
The tool empowers users by continuously monitoring electrical assets, collecting electrical data and offering predictive analytics. Volta Insite specializes in techniques that focus on the physical correlation of data. Capable of covering multiple components and cross-checking events that occur simultaneously on different pieces of equipment, InsiteAI™ can isolate and identify issues quickly and accurately to determine if problems exist beyond interconnected assets.
ActionStreamer Raises Series A Funding To Accelerate Platform Development
ActionStreamer, the market-leading media streaming platform for IoT devices announced today the close of its $2.4M Series A funding round, led by JumpStart Ventures through the Advanced Manufacturing Fund, managed with support from MAGNET. The Castellini Management Company, owners of the Cincinnati Reds, also co-invested in the round.
With the successful completion of Series A financing, ActionStreamer is poised to strategically deploy capital to accelerate the development of its patented comprehensive technology platform. The platform encompasses a robust API and SDK offering, reference hardware and applications, coupled with advanced cloud services. The platform enhancements will further advance ActionStreamer’s mission to unlock pioneering data streaming capabilities and media solutions that serve diverse enterprise markets, including the sports and entertainment, aerospace, and industrial sectors, as well as remote surveillance and monitoring.
Power grids instrumentation specialist Synaptec raises £6.5M to fund expansion plans
Synaptec Ltd, a leading innovator in monitoring and protection solutions for power network operators, has raised over £6.5M in funding to support its rapid expansion, including development of new manufacturing facilities in Scotland.
Established in 2014, Synaptec was the original developer of the Distributed Electrical Sensing (DES) fibre-optic instrumentation platform that enables voltage and current to be measured cost-effectively throughout power networks. Synaptec’s technology now underpins a range of monitoring and protection products deployed across the power grids, renewables, and industrial sectors.
Renowned test and measurement experts Megger Group were a significant investor in the round, with existing shareholders Proserv, and Equity Gap also participating. Synaptec also enjoys the ongoing support of existing investors the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise and Foresight who remain key shareholders.
Battery Plant Scrap Rates Can Hit 90% At Ramp Up, But The Situation Is Improving
“What we’re seeing, especially in first-year yields, is dismal, tiny. In some cases, just 10% to 20% of production is usable,” said Dr. Tal Sholklapper, a co-founder of the Voltaiq startup, which uses analytics to comb through data and advise battery companies on improving those yields.
Eli Leland, chief technology officer and Voltaiq’s co-founder, told Autoweek, the problems happen when a line is cranked up “and you’re making thousands of cells a day, and throwing most of them away.” According to Voltaiq, reducing scrap rates by just one percentage point can mean tens of millions in added profit annually. The company calls its process of AI-aided data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the charge-discharge cycle Enterprise Battery Intelligence.
AZUL Energy Raised ¥475 Million ($3.2 Million) in Series A Funding
AZUL Energy, a clean chemistry startup that develops catalysts for next-generation energy systems, announced that it has raised ¥475 million in Series A funding. The company has developed a high-performance catalyst that offers the same performance as rare metal catalysts (such as platinum) but without the high costs or significant resource constraints. They intend to implement it in various applications to promote a decarbonized and recycling-oriented society.
This new round of funding was led by Spiral Capital, Inc., with participation from TOHOKU University Venture Partners Co., Ltd., JMTC Capital LLC, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd., Governance Partners Inc., and existing investor Spurcle Inc., totaling six companies in a third-party allotment of new shares.
Oslo-based OTee bags €1.25 million to be a driving force in the disruption of industrial automation
Oslo-based deep tech startup OTee has successfully closed an investment round of €1.25 million marking the largest first funding round out of Antler Norway. The investment was led by Norwegian venture capital fund RunwayFBU and Estonian fund Superangel.
Founded in 2022, OTee provides an industrial-grade engineering platform for designing, deploying, and managing virtual control systems based on open architecture and standards. At its core, the OTee platform is a potential game-changer enabling cheaper, faster, more sustainable, and secure industrial control systems for millions of automation engineers worldwide. OTee’s CEO and Co-founder, Henrik Pedersen, with 11 years of experience at ABB, firmly believes that a disruption of the Industrial automation (OT) domain is at our doorstep.
OTee’s applications range across almost all industries, showcasing the company’s limitless market potential. Focused on virtual Programmable Logic Controllers (vPLCs), OTee distinguishes itself by offering a SaaS platform built on a cybersecurity zero-trust architecture, that decouples the software and the hardware. This is making it possible to modernize an old control system with no physical intervention and remove the vendor lock-in.
Nauticus Robotics Raises $12M in Funding
Nauticus Robotics (NASDAQ: KITT), a leading developer of subsea robots and software, announces securing over $12M net today, part of a second tranche of investment. The new investment will expedite certification of Nauticus’ flagship robot, the Aquanaut, which facilitates the transformation of tethered ROV operations to fully autonomous operations. It is expected to perform numerous tasks in water depths ranging from 200 - 2000+ meters during February in preparation for an inaugural job inspecting a deep-water production facility of a major oil and gas company in the Gulf of Mexico.
Munich-based BOX ID raises €3.5M in pre-Series A round led by KPN Ventures
Munich-based BOX ID, a logistics software provider, announced that it has secured €3.5M in a fresh round of funding to expand its IoT-based supply chain visibility offerings. The investment was led by KPN Ventures, and also saw participation from existing seed investors HTGF, Bayern Kapital, and Wille Finance, along with business angels from the BayStartUP Network. The capital will support the enhancement of BOX ID’s SaaS platform, already used by industry leaders in Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
Peripass to equip 1000 sites with yard management software by 2030, following €7.5M funding
Belgian logistics SaaS scale-up Peripass announced it has secured €7.5 million in funding to accelerate its global expansion. Welvaartfonds led the financing round, which builds on previous investments from the Van Overstraeten Group. With the capital raised, Peripass will focus on building a global partner network and strengthening its existing commercial teams in France, the UK, and Germany.
By digitally streamlining trailer movements, Peripass successfully reduces driver waiting times by up to 70 percent.
InMotion Ventures’ first investment in Energy Source: $1.2M funding for lithium battery sustainability
Energy Source has caught attention overseas and has raised $1.2 million from InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of JLR (Jaguar Land Rover). This signifies InMotion Ventures’ inaugural venture into the Brazilian market.
Energy Source intends to use the fresh funds to capitalise on the growth of the country’s burgeoning startup ecosystem and broaden its focus beyond the UK and the US. It will use the capital to accelerate growth and expand operations, enabling it to continue catering to global clients in the future, such as JLR, from their 4,500 m2 industrial plant in São João da Boa Vista.
O'Shaughnessy Ventures Invests in Furno Materials
O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC (“OSV”), a family office that invests in ambitious seed and pre-seed startups, announced that it has invested in Furno Materials Inc. (“Furno”). Founded in 2020 by Gurinder Nagra, Furno is building modular cement plants that are more carbon-efficient, cheaper to build, and less space-intensive than traditional plants.
Cement is the second most-consumed commodity in the world (behind water), and it produces 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Traditional cement plans are large and must be custom-built. Furno’s modular cement plants burn natural gas instead of coal. This means they release less carbon dioxide than traditional cement plants and can be heated and cooled more efficiently. Furno’s plants are designed to fit inside a shipping container, meaning they are portable and take up minimal space, which is ideal for building in developing markets.
Supernova to Drive New VLM 3D Printing Technology, A Strategic Spin-Off by BCN3D
VLM, or Viscous Lithography Manufacturing, is a completely different 3D printing process that doesn’t use a vat of resin, as most resin processes do. Instead VLM uses a transparent film to carry a single layer of resin to the build chamber. This process repeats to build entire objects. The advantage is that VLM can produce objects using vastly thicker resins, hence the “viscous” in the process name. They say the resins can be up to 100X more viscous than typical 3D print resins.
The benefit comes from the ability to infuse different additives into the resin that could not be used by non-viscous processes. This has opened up a very wide range of possible materials, which BCN3D could exploit in the future. VLM sounds very promising, yet it is utterly different from their traditional FFF process. The process is different, the materials are very different, the applications are different, and therefore the customers will be different. Because of this divergence from the FFF trajectory, BCN3D has decided to spin off their VLM business into an entirely new and separate entity, Supernova.
Innerspace secures € 5.7 Million for Further Expansion to the USA
The Innsbruck-based tech start-up Innerspace, which enables risk assessment of production processes and effective training of cleanroom personnel for leading pharmaceutical companies using software and Virtual Reality (VR), can advance its growth trajectory after a highly successful funding round. In July, U.S. investor Riverside invested in the Tyrolean company. Just days before the year-end, Innerspace finalized a substantial seed round with the new lead investor Matterwave Ventures. The existing three investors, MAD Ventures, aws Gründungsfonds, and High-Tech Gründerfonds, also reinvested.
With the fresh capital, Innerspace will expand its international market presence and further develop its unique “Frame-by-Frame” technology. The Tyrolean company will focus even more on the large growth market in America in the future. Numerous renowned pharmaceutical companies worldwide already trust the company’s expertise.
Tire-changing startup RoboTire files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
RoboTire, a robotics startup developing an automated tire-changing system for mechanics, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. RoboTire was founded in 2018, was based in Plymouth, Michigan, and won an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award in 2023.
RoboTire filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Court of Delaware on January 19, 2024. According to the filing, RoboTire has $12.7 million in liabilities and $12.3 million in assets. There are 78 unsecured creditors in the case, most of which are based in Michigan. In December 2023, RoboTire was sued by American Funding Services, which claimed the robotics startup owed it more than $130,000.
Aquaconnect Secures $4 Million In Pre-Series B Funding Round Led By S2G Ventures
Chennai-based start-up Aquaconnect has raised a $4 million (Rs 33 Crore) Pre-Series B funding round led by S2G Ventures.
The Aquaconnect is a full-stake platform embedded with embedded fintech that leverages satellite remote sensing and artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of stakeholders in the fish farming industry.
Aquaconnect will utilise the new capital to continue scaling its operations and enhance its coverage of the major aquaculture production states in India.
Heart Aerospace raises $107 million in Series B funding
The new round brings the total financing raised by Heart Aerospace since its inception to $145 million. Among new investors is Sagitta Ventures, a Danish investor focused on early-stage companies. Other investors include Air Canada, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, European Innovation Council Fund, EQT Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Norrsken VC, United Airlines, and Y Combinator.
Heart Aerospace intends to use the funds to further build its business and make progress toward type certification of the company’s first hybrid-electric airplane, the ES-30. The ES-30 is a regional airplane with a seating capacity of 30 passengers that offers lower emissions, lower noise pollution and lower operating costs on short haul routes than current conventionally fueled airplanes.
Lockheed Martin Ventures Makes Strategic Investment in Meteomatics
Meteomatics, the weather intelligence and technology company that enables the world’s leading companies to accurately forecast the weather’s impact on business, today announced the close of a strategic funding round from Lockheed Martin Ventures, the venture arm of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT), a global security and aerospace company.
Meteomatics will use the investment to scale its high-resolution weather and climate technology and expand into new markets and industries, further propelling its mission to revolutionize weather forecasting.
Meteomatics is the only company that runs a weather model with a resolution of 1 km, or down to street level, updating every hour with the latest weather data and observations. Visibility at this level allows the company to identify even the smallest meteorological phenomena such as thunder, hail, wind and other storms. This is in contrast with current government and commercial weather observation technology that run at resolutions of 10-50 km and are updated only 3-4 times a day, lacking the data to effectively detect and forecast weather events in the low-level airspace.
COLIPI Receives EUR 1.8 Million Seed Funding
The conclusion of the Seed funding round marks a significant success for the Hamburg-based deep-tech startup COLIPI GmbH as it embarks on the year 2024. Investors include the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), the Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg (IFH), Nidobirds Ventures GmbH, and Stefan De Loecker. With this, COLIPI moves a significant step closer to its vision of “Fermenting Renewable Carbon For Generational Life Quality”.
The start-up founded in 2022, a spin-off from the Technical University of Hamburg, supported by the EXIST Research Transfer Program (German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action) and the InnoRampUp Program (IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH), is revolutionizing the way oil is produced. COLIPI is, in a sense, a brewery for oils. Carbon is sourced or filtered from the air rather than pumped from the ground. CO2-containing industrial emissions and organic by-products, for example, from the agricultural industry, are converted by microorganisms through fermentations into valuable biomaterials like Climate Oil. The oil is more sustainable than crude oil and palm oil, considering the CO2 footprint and its impact on biodiversity. It is enabled by a patented bioprocess, a combination of a specially designed gas fermentation bioreactor and the world’s fastest CO2-consuming bacteria. Industrial partners offering products such as cosmetics based on Climate Oil will be able to significantly reduce their corporate CO2 footprint. The founders, Philipp Arbeiter, Tyll Utesch, Jonas Heuer, and Maximilian Webers, aim to produce many millions of tons of Climate Oil annually by 2039, avoiding multiples of that amount in CO2 emissions. This will be an active contribution to climate protection and, consequently, humanity’s well-being. The recently completed Seed financing is another milestone for the young company. The capital will be utilized to expand the team, test the market with products manufactured by partners, and scale the technology.
Senvol to Bring Machine Learning to 3D Printing Process Qualification
When Senvol first emerged, the company concentrated on the meticulous task of establishing materials databases. Subsequently, the firm offered API access to its data. The US Army enlisted Senvol to investigate metal 3D printing repeatability, and following this, the company launched machine learning software. Since these developments, Senvol has successfully integrated itself into numerous large-scale supply chains. Now, the company has secured a contract from America Makes and the U.S. Air Force to employ machine learning for powder bed fusion qualification for Ti-6Al-4V grade 5.
Xampla raises US$17.6 from cleantech investors to drive down bio-based coatings costs
Xampla has raised a total of US$17.6 million in funding to advance the production of its plant-based materials, following a recent financing round including new investors, including clean tech backers CIECH Ventures, part of an international developing chemical group employing over 3,000 people.
The money will be strategically allocated to expanding the applications of Xampla’s consumer brand, Morro, into new markets. Developed by 15 years of research at the University of Cambridge, UK, Morro materials are fully biodegradable, home compostable and food safe, offering high strength, grease and oxygen barrier properties.
Inari Accelerates Proven SEEDesign™ Platform for Nature-Positive Agriculture with $103 Million Fundraise
Inari announced the completion of a $103 million fundraise, bringing its cumulative equity raised to more than $575 million. The successful investment round signals confidence in Inari’s ability to develop and commercialize higher-yielding seeds that require fewer resources, using AI-powered predictive design and multiplex gene editing.
The fundraise received strong support from existing investors, including Hanwha Impact, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Rivas Capital, NGS Super, State of Michigan Retirement System and company founder Flagship Pioneering. The company also welcomed several new investors including RCM Private Markets fund, advised by Rokos Capital Management (US) LP.
Boston Metal Secures $20M in Series C2 Funding
Boston Metal, a global metals technology solutions company, today announced a $20 million Series C2 investment from Tokyo-based Marunouchi Innovation Partners. The new funding brings the series total to $282 million.
With this new capital, Boston Metal expands its presence in Asia, a market accounting for more than 70% of the world’s steel production. Additionally, the funding will accelerate the company’s path to commercialization and support its ongoing growth by attracting and retaining top industry talent.
Boston Metal’s Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) technology is a direct, one-step process that can produce high-quality steel from abundant medium- and low-grade iron ores. This flexibility is unique and positions MOE to meet the growing demand for environmentally sustainable steel in various industries. As a platform technology, MOE also allows for the extraction of high-value metals from previously unusable low-concentration materials, like mining waste.
Tau Group Closes €11 Million Extension to Series-B Round to Fuel Growth and Enhance Production Capacity
Tau Group, a leading technology company driving energy transition and decarbonization efforts, is establishing a new global standard in electric motor insulated wire. Tau has successfully closed a €11 million extension to its Series-B funding round. CDP Venture Capital and Santander Alternative Investments (through Santander InnoEnergy Climate Fund) took the lead in this round, with continued support from existing investors. This strategic funding aligns with Tau’s concurrent expansion of production capacity in a new facility, geared towards fulfilling long-term supply agreements recently inked with automotive industry partners.
SEMRON secures €7.3M Seed funding for industry-first 3D AI semiconductor chips
German semiconductor tech company SEMRON announced it has secured €7.3 million in seed funding. Join Capital, led the current funding round, which saw participation from new investors SquareOne, OTB Ventures, and Hermann Hauser (Onsight Ventures).
SEMRON crafts powerful energy-efficient computer chips designed to enhance AI performance in compact smart devices. The company’s innovative approach utilises a three-dimensional space in chip design, allowing for unprecedented improvements in efficiency.
SEMRON has achieved a significant breakthrough in developing the world’s most energy-efficient semiconductor technology for AI inference. This proprietary technology, named CapRAM™, employs a novel semiconductor device architecture that calculates using a variable capacitor (‘memcapacitor’) instead of relying on currents like resistive approaches and transistors.
Lyten Secures $4 Million U.S. Department of Energy Grant to Accelerate Commercialization of High-Capacity, Long Cycle-Life Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
Lyten, Inc., a supermaterial applications company and leader in 3D Graphene materials, announced today it has secured a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to accelerate the manufacturing of its advanced lithium-sulfur battery technology.
The grant, awarded by the DoE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy / Vehicle Technologies Office, specifically targets lithium-sulfur technologies that can alleviate offshore supply chain risk for EV batteries and increase EV driving range. Utilizing abundantly available and low-cost sulfur, the lithium-sulfur chemistry has the potential to deliver greater than twice the energy density of lithium-ion NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt) chemistries. Additionally, the chemistry does not require critical minerals such as nickel and cobalt in the cathode or graphite in the anode, enabling a locally sourced, locally manufactured EV battery.
The DoE grant awards for lithium-sulfur follow the passage of National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law last month with bi-partisan support, which will prohibit the U.S. Defense Department from buying batteries produced by China’s largest manufacturers starting in October 2027. This ban reinforces the urgency to accelerate the development and rapid scale up of rechargeable cells with alternative battery chemistries, like lithium-sulfur, that offer localized supply chains for strategic defense applications and high energy density to support mobility and transportation electrification.
Elementum 3D to lead America Makes-funded material property datasets program for metal 3D printing
Elementum 3D has been awarded 2,875,000 USD by America Makes to generate material property datasets with high statistical power for ‘industrially relevant’ aluminium and nickel alloys.
The project hopes to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing in the aerospace, automotive, defence and energy sectors by providing engineers with greater confidence. By developing material property datasets, Elementum 3D and its various partners are confident engineers will be able to apply materials for critical applications with an extremely low tolerance for failure.
VoxelSensors completes its Seed Round with an Additional €3 Million, Totaling €9.5 Million for XR and Mobile Spatial and Empathic Computing
VoxelSensors, a leading Belgian semiconductor deep tech start-up, closes its Seed Round with a €3 million in tail investment led by a new investor SFPIM Relaunch with participation from existing investors Qbic Fund and finance&invest.brussels. The funding is an extension of the company’s €5.5 million Seed Round of May 2023, led by Capricorn Digital Growth Fund and Qbic Fund, which now totals €9.5 million.
The investment will boost VoxelSensors’ international growth, technology advancement, and customer engagement for its low-power, low-latency Spatial and Empathic Computing solution for mobile and XR devices. VoxelSensors will also use the funds to prepare for the Series A round to support the company’s ambitions.
Transmutex SA, a Geneva-based company, raises over CHF 20 million in an extension of its Series A to further develop and commercialize its subcritical nuclear energy system
Transmutex SA, a nuclear engineering company based in Geneva, Switzerland, announces a new round of financing to further develop its solution for a safer, lower-cost, proliferation-resistant nuclear energy technology. The Series A2 round is co-led by Union Square Ventures and Steel Atlas.
Founded on 29 July 2019, Transmutex is reinventing nuclear energy with the design of a safer, non-self-sustaining reaction technology that will usher in a new era of lower-cost and proliferation-resistant, carbon-free baseload energy. Coupling a particle accelerator to a non-self-sustaining (subcritical) fuel assembly has several key benefits over self-sustaining nuclear energy solutions.
Packmatic's dgital one-stop shop for packaging supplies raises €15M
Berlin-based digital packaging marketplace Packmatic raised €15 million Series A round. Packmatic has built a fully digital one-stop shop, connecting businesses to the largest supplier network in Europe, a vast network of over 300 packaging suppliers across Europe in just a few clicks, and opening the door to an extensive range of lower plastic and lower carbon alternatives at the right price.
EQT Ventures led the funding with participation from HV Capital, xDeck, and several high-profile angel investors.
GreenSpark Announces $9.4 Million in New Funding To Expand Its Modern Operating System for the Metal Recycling Industry
GreenSpark Software, a modern software platform for the metal recycling industry, announced it has raised $9.4 million in new funding, bringing GreenSpark’s total financing to ~$19 million. The investment was led by Zero Infinity Partners and Third Prime with participation from Bienville Capital and select strategic individuals. This round of fundraising positions GreenSpark to expand its product suite and employee base while continuing to help metal recyclers optimize their operations and drive profitability.
Germany’s Infinite Roots secures the largest investment in mycelium tech in Europe; raises €53.2M
Hamburg-based Infinite Roots, a biotech company using fermentation and fungi to create the next generation of sustainable foods, announced that it has secured $58M (nearly €53.25M) in a Series B round of funding. This round for Infinite Roots represents the largest investment in mycelium technologies in Europe.
The oversubscribed investment was led by Dr Hans Riegel Holding (HRH), one of the two holding companies of Haribo, and supported by the EIC Fund, an initiative of the European Commission. REWE Group and Betagro Ventures also participated in the round.
Ares Management Launches Automated Industrial Robotics Inc.
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) announced the launch of Automated Industrial Robotics Inc., a newly formed industrial automation company designed to capitalize on increasing global demand for manufacturing automation solutions. An Ares Private Equity fund has invested substantial equity capital to support AIR’s acquisition and organic growth strategy.
AIR is focused on acquiring and facilitating the growth of differentiated industrial automation companies serving diverse end markets with strong operational histories and tenured management teams. Grounded in a culture of safety, transparency and pursuit of excellent customer experience, AIR seeks to leverage complementary teams and technologies to deliver innovative, cost-competitive solutions to address the complex and challenging needs of global businesses. AIR will seek to grow through strategic investments in the technologies of the future, in pursuit of delivering excellence in automation.
In connection with the launch of AIR, the Company has acquired two foundational companies, Totally Automated Systems (“TA Systems”) and Modular Automation (“Modular”). Based in Detroit, Michigan, TA Systems has a more than 45-year history of designing and manufacturing fully integrated and stand-alone assembly machines for automotive, home appliances and other sectors. Based in Shannon, Ireland, Modular has been operating for nearly 40 years and is a leading automation solutions provider in the medical technology industry. These two companies bring a strong cultural and technological alignment as well as deep industry vertical knowledge and experience.
Sion Power Raises $75 Million to Commercialize Its Proprietary Licerion Technology for Electric Vehicles
Sion Power Corporation, a leading technology developer of next-generation batteries for electric vehicles (EV), announces that it has secured $75 million in Series A funding. The round was led by leading global battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution (the investment to be executed through LG Technology Ventures and Bricks Capital Management) and repeat participation from mathematician Jim Simons’ Euclidean Capital. The company also secured new investment from former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt’s Hillspire LLC.
Sion Power is the developer of LicerionTM technology. This technology uses compression in a lithium metal battery to enhance safety, lifetime and recharging rates. It is the Sion Power belief that any lithium metal system will require compression to have a viable energy storage system. The company has developed very robust intellectual property around this concept. LicerionTM has been successfully demonstrated in large energy capacity battery cells (up to 20Ah) and it is currently in development to reach 56Ah.
With this new capital, Sion Power will achieve technical and market validation of its technology. The company plans to build a fully automated manufacturing line to produce high quality large format lithium-metal cells for testing and market development by automotive OEMs and cell manufacturers.
Taqtile Adds Leading Dual-Use VC Firm, Scout Ventures, to Its Investor Roster
Taqtile, Inc., maker of Manifest®, the leading spatially-enabled work-instruction platform serving the industrial and defense sectors announces the addition of Scout Ventures as an investor. Taqtile will also add Scout Founder and Managing Partner, Brad Harrison, as a Board Observer. Scheduled to close in early 2024, this new financing will support strategic initiatives, including ramping up essential marketing programs, expanding support and sales staff, and bolstering engineering and development efforts.
CheckSammy secures $45M Strategic Investment to Expand Waste Diversion from Landfills
CheckSammy, the world’s largest bulk waste and sustainability operator, announced a $45 million strategic investment that will enhance the company’s ability to deliver transparent, measurable waste diversion and carbon reduction benefits to companies.
The growth equity round is led by I Squared Capital, with Zero Infinity Partners participating. In addition, CheckSammy has entered into a growth capital and revolving credit facility with TriplePoint Capital, LLC. This is Zero Infinity Partners’ second investment in CheckSammy, reaffirming their belief in the company’s mission and commercial success. Ross Berger from I Squared Capital and John Kwaak from Zero Infinity Partners will join CheckSammy’s Board of Directors as part of the funding agreement.
CheckSammy provides on-demand, same-day bulk waste removal and bespoke sustainability services, with revenue growing 40x since first commercializing in 2020. The company operates a two-sided marketplace, connecting independent waste haulers and service providers with enterprise customers. The marketplace model enables seamless national contracting and best-in-class service coverage across North America, at a highly competitive price point, delivering meaningful value to end customers. The funding will allow the first-of-its-kind circular waste management service provider to improve its ability to help companies achieve and verify their waste diversion goals.
Chipmetrics Secures € 2.4 Million Seed Funding Round to Accelerate Product Innovation and Global Expansion
Chipmetrics Ltd, the Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology company and a pioneer in 3D ultra-high aspect ratio test elements for metrology of semiconductor and advanced thin film material manufacturing, proudly announces the successful closure of a €2.4 million investment round. The international investor syndicate was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and co-led by OCCIDENT from Germany. Other investors were Innovestor, REDSTONE and BALD Engineering. This substantial investment serves as a testament to Chipmetrics’ groundbreaking advancements in the PillarHall® metrology test chip technology, positioning the company as a frontrunner in conformality measurements in material deposition processes. The funds raised will be instrumental in accelerating Chipmetric’s product development efforts, scaling production capabilities, and expanding its market presence with the already existing international customer base.
Stuttgart-based Instagrid bags €87 million Series C to expand clean portable power to the North American market
One of Europe’s leading providers of high-performance portable battery systems, Instagrid, announced a Series C funding round of €87 million. The round was led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), with participation from Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s (MSIM) 1GT climate private equity strategy. Existing investors Energy Impact Partners, SET Ventures, blueworld.group, and Hightech Gründerfonds, as well as the chair of the advisory board, Pierre-Pascal Urbon, also contributed to the round.
Instagrid’s flagship Instagrid ONE is lightweight and mobile enough to be used in the most remote locations and powerful enough to match the performance of the grid, making it possible to use electricity from renewable sources in any location. On a single charge, the Instagrid ONE portable battery is powerful enough to run welding equipment for an entire day’s work, pump over 55,000 litres of water with a large submersible pump or cut through hundreds of metres of concrete with heavy duty equipment, as well as a host of other commercial applications.
Instagrid is building on their proven technology to offer a full range of mobile battery solutions. Their upcoming large-scale system will power entire film sets or construction sites at a fraction of the size and emissions of comparable systems. Instagrid products boast zero exhaust emissions, as well as up to 97% lower carbon footprints and 82% lower lifetime costs compared to generators.
Wayland Additive raises £4.2M to boost global expansion in metal 3D printing
UK additive manufacturing company Wayland Additive announced a £4.2 million fundraise to enable continued growth of global customers. A Huddersfield-based company, Wayland designs, develops, makes and sells industrial Calibur3 metal additive manufacturing machines, utilising cutting-edge electron beam 3D printing technology. It has successfully rolled out its technology to various buyers across different sectors, including aerospace, mining, engineering, medical, motorsport and military and defence, with operations across North America and Europe. This latest fundraising will allow Wayland to continue to expand its growing global customer base.
Cnergreen Secures $2M Investment from Rhapsody Venture Partners
Cnergreen, a Calgary-based startup manufacturing stable foams for CO2 injection in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), has secured a $2M Seed funding round led by Rhapsody Venture Partners, a US-based venture capital firm that specializes in hard-tech investments.
Cnergreen’s patent-pending ArmorFoamTM technology, developed at the University of Calgary, enables underground foams to remain stable for months at high pressures, temperatures, and salinities. The first application is improving CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2 EOR) in the oil and gas industry. For years, oilfield operators have seen an opportunity to use CO2 injection as a way to enhance oil recovery in active wells, while also permanently sequestering CO2 in geologic reservoirs. Because of the large volumes of CO2 required, CO2-EOR provides a near-term pathway for scaled carbon sequestration, while lowering the carbon footprint of produced oil.
Albedo Raises $35M to Commercialize Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO)
Albedo, the first company to offer aerial quality imagery from space - enabled by the new orbit frontier of VLEO (very low earth orbit) - today announced a $35M Series A-1 financing round led by Standard Investments, bringing the company’s total funding to $97M. Participation in the round included new investors Booz Allen Ventures, Cubit Capital, and Bill Perkins, along with existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Shield Capital, Initialized Capital, Y Combinator, Giant Step Capital, Republic Capital, and other undisclosed participants. In addition, Ben Sampson, Managing Director of Standard Investments, will join the Albedo Board of Directors.
“The Series A-1 funding will be used to launch Albedo’s first operational satellite and accelerate constellation deployment — ultimately proving out and proliferating the world’s first high-res VLEO platform,” said Topher Haddad, CEO of Albedo.
Neatleaf Secures $4m in Funding Led by AgFunder to Fulfill the Demand for AI-Driven Cultivation Technology
Neatleaf™, a first-of-its-kind cultivation management platform that uses data, AI, and robotics to help the cultivation industry manage their crops and improve their yields, has secured $4 million led by AgFunder, one of the world’s most active foodtech and agtech investors.
The company’s flagship product, the Neatleaf Spyder, is a fully autonomous robotic platform that scans indoor cultivation crops generating millions of data points on plant health and growth metrics. This data is analyzed and turned into actionable insights for the cultivation team to assess, monitor, and remedy.
XGS Energy Secures $9.7M in New Financing Led by Constellation Technology Ventures
XGS Energy, an innovator in next-generation geothermal energy technology, announced that it has raised an additional $9.7 million. The round was led by Constellation Technology Ventures, with BlueScopeX and Thin Line Capital, as well as individual inside investors. This new financing will accelerate XGS’ North American prototype demonstrating its proprietary Thermal Reach Enhancement™ (TRE) geothermal technology at full commercial scale.
XGS’ upcoming prototype will demonstrate the commercial readiness and scalability of its TRE technology and further validate its proprietary predictive performance models. The prototype builds on the successful completion of more than 24 months of lab testing and is a key milestone for XGS’ first commercial projects in the Western United States, Japan, and the Philippines.
Concrete4Change raises £2.5M for CO2 capturing technology in concrete
Concrete4Change(C4C), an advanced materials company that permanently captures and utilises CO2 by mineralising it in concrete, has raised £2.5 million in seed funding. C4C’s carrier material captures CO2, and the loaded material is mixed in fresh concrete as an additive. The CO2 in the concrete undergoes a chemical reaction and is permanently mineralised. The result is concrete that is not only 20 percent stronger but becomes a CO2 sink that prevents any leak, even after the demolition of the concrete.
The round was led by Zacua Ventures and Counteract, a carbon removals focused venture fund, with participation from the family office of Goldbeck. This brings the total investment raised to date to £4.5 million, including £1.5 million in grant funding.
Danish EV charger software provider Monta raises $87mln
Danish firm Monta, which develops software solutions for the electric vehicle charging industry, said that it has raised 80 million euros ($87 million) to increase research and development spending and expand its partner network.
The Series B funding round was led by software investor Energize Capital and investment management firm GreenPoint Partners. The Copenhagen-based company has now raised a total of 130 million euros since its founding in 2020.
Monta runs apps and operations for networks for EV charging systems that are used by hardware manufacturers, charging network operators, businesses and EV drivers using a single integrated software solution.
Bluewhite Raises $39M to Bring Sustainable Autonomous Innovation to Farms Worldwide
Bluewhite, the agricultural Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) company enabling data-driven autonomous farming, announced that it secured $39M in Series C financing led by Insight Partners, with participation from new investors Alumni Ventures and LIP Ventures, among others. Existing investors Entrée Capital, Jesselson, and Peregrine Ventures also participated in the financing round. The company, which already works with more than 20 of the leading permanent crop growers in the US, will use the funds to further scale its agricultural autonomous tractor and farming solutions, and expand into new markets worldwide based on its successful track record.
Bluewhite combines hardware and software into a single solution, allowing for completely remote fleet and data management. The company’s Pathfinder product is retrofitted onto any tractor and leverages computer vision, AI, and smart implements integration to navigate and execute multiple tasks autonomously, from crop seeding and spraying to mowing and harvesting, even in challenging conditions. Compass, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) component of Bluewhite’s solution, collects data from the field, analyzes it using advanced AI algorithms, and provides real-time dashboards, reports and insights, ensuring maximum efficiency across farm operations on any device.
Syensqo invests in Bioeutectics, a start-up producing green solvents
Syensqo Ventures, the group’s venture capital fund, participated in the $2.1 million financing round for Bioeutectics, alongside Fen Ventures, Atento Capital and SOSV (IndieBio). Founded in 2019, Bioeutectics provides natural and high-performance solvents that make industrial products and processes more sustainable. This new investment strengthens the existing partnership between Syensqo Ventures and the Genesis Consortium, supporting startups in the SOSV’s IndieBio startup development program, the top early stage biotech incubator.
Syensqo, through its Renewable Materials and Biotechnology growth platform, is driven by a strong commitment to develop more sustainable solutions in the food, agro, industrial and biopharma sectors.
H2 Green Steel raises more than €4 billion in debt financing for the world's first large-scale green steel plant
H2 Green Steel signs definitive debt financing agreements for €4.2 billion in project financing and increases the previously announced equity raised by €300 million. Total equity funding to date amounts to €2.1 billion. The company has also been awarded a €250 million grant from the EU Innovation Fund. H2 Green Steel has now secured funding of close to €6.5 billion for the world’s first large-scale green steel plant in Northern Sweden.
H2 Green Steel has also raised close to €300 million more from investors, bringing the equity in the project to a total of €2.1 billion. New shareholders include Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Mubea and Siemens Financial Services. Additionally, IMAS Foundation and Just Climate are some of the existing shareholders which are increasing their investments in H2 Green Steel.
Cargado Secures US$3 Million Pre-Seed For Cross-Border Logistics
Emerging logistics company Cargado successfully secured a US$3 million in a pre-seed funding round from several investors, including Ironspring Ventures, Wischoff Ventures, Zenda Capital, Proeza Ventures, Sahil Bloom, Craig Fuller, and other notable angel investors. The infusion of capital supports Cargado’s mission of streamlining cross-border logistics, creating a seamless and efficient experience.
The company has a team of logistics and technology experts with an unwavering commitment to simplifying cross-border logistics, Matt Silver, Co-Founder and CEO, Cargado, writes on LinkedIn. However, Cargado does not intend to establish a brokerage or disrupt existing cross-border supply chains; rather, it focuses on connecting all players in the logistics process to elevate the overall experience.
Captura raises US$21.5M, with investments from Maersk Growth, Eni Next and EDP
Captura announced it expanded its Series A funding round to raise an additional US$21.5 million to commercialize its Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology that harnesses the power of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
Maersk Growth, Eni Next, and EDP Ventures came aboard as new investors in the round, bringing expertise across shipping and logistics, energy, and utilities to Captura’s team. Many of Captura’s existing backers also re-invested, including Future Planet Capital who led the expanded round, Equinor Ventures, Freeflow Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Aramco Ventures, mTerra Ventures, and EIC Rose Rock Venture Fund.
Khosla leads $245M geologic hydrogen deal
Koloma, a startup aiming to lead a new industry based on extracting carbon-free hydrogen from natural underground deposits, just raised $245.7 million in a financing round that positions it to stay ahead of competitors in this developing clean energy field.
The Denver-based company disclosed the new funds in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Feb. 9, a day after winning a research grant from a U.S. Energy Department program to refine methods to stimulate underground hydrogen production and extract the elemental fuel. The round was led by Khosla Ventures and included investment from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and United Airline’s Sustainable Flight Fund. They join previous cleantech backers including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Energy Impact Partners, boosting Koloma’s total funding to more than $300 million.
International Battery Company raises USD 35 Mn to revolutionize EV adoption in India
International Battery Company (IBC), a product and technology company that specializes in the creation of eco-friendly, large-sized rechargeable Prismatic Li-ion NMC batteries, is announcing it has raised USD 35 Million. This includes a Pre-Series A round, led by RTP Global, and contributions from a broader investment base, which includes Beenext, Veda VC, and other strategic Korean and US Investors. The investment marks an important moment in IBC’s journey to revolutionize the global EV landscape.
IBC is channeling this investment into a 50MWh capacity ramp manufacturing plant and has developed United Nations 38.3 and BIS-certified, ready-for-delivery battery cells for the Indian market, reflecting the growing needs of India’s EV and energy storage sectors. These batteries will meet the region’s distinctive requirements, such as the need to operate safely in high temperatures, support fast charging capability, and offer an extended lifecycle, with a 7–10-year warranty. Furthermore, its highly eco-friendly products use components that are fully recyclable and reusable, supporting India’s push towards a greener future and closed-loop manufacturing, where materials are repurposed and reused, minimizing waste and reducing environmental impact.