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Digital manufacturing startup Bright Machines raises $132 million in new funding

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Bright Machines, a startup which describes itself as “an innovator in software-defined manufacturing”, has raised $132 million in debt and Series B equity funding.

The equity portion of the funding, worth $100 million, was led by Eclipse Ventures. The debt portion of the funding, worth $32 million, was led by Silicon Valley Bank, and Hercules Capital.

Bright Machines intends to use the funds to accelerate the company’s growth, which includes continued expansion into high-demand industry verticals, and the development of new software and service offerings to complement its existing portfolio of products. [Read more…] about Digital manufacturing startup Bright Machines raises $132 million in new funding

Ottonomy closes $3.3 million seed funding round

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Ottonomy has closed its seed funding round of $3.3 million, bringing its total funding to date to $4.9 million.

The funding is planned to support the scale of Ottobots for fully autonomous airport, retail and restaurant deliveries with its robots.

The funding round is led by Pi Ventures who back deep tech startups. Connetic Ventures and Branded Hospitality Ventures and the Founder & CEO of Addverb Technologies, Sangeet Kumar, also joined this round; making the group a dynamic mix from retail, food and robotics industry investors for Ottonomy’s seed round. [Read more…] about Ottonomy closes $3.3 million seed funding round

SLAMcore raises $16 million to give spatial understanding to robots and the metaverse

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SLAMcore, a developer of vision-based location and mapping for robots and autonomous machines, has raised $16 million in Series A capital.

The company says the funding will allow the business to rapidly capitalize on its proven technology which combines AI with consumer-grade cameras, sensors and processors to solve the complex challenges of mapping and navigating for a wide range of autonomous machines and devices.

The funding round was led by ROBO Global Ventures and Presidio Ventures who invested alongside Amadeus Capital, Global Brain, IP Group, MMC and Octopus. Strategic investors Samsung Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and Yamato Holdings also joined the round. [Read more…] about SLAMcore raises $16 million to give spatial understanding to robots and the metaverse

Intelligent City raises $30 million to bring robotics and automation to prefabricated construction sector

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With pressure mounting for cities to address affordable housing needs, decarbonize buildings, and meet sustainability goals, housing technology company Intelligent City raised CAD 22 million ($17 million), bringing the total capital invested in the company to CAD 30 million ($23 million).

As one of the first companies in North America to apply automation and robotics to the design and manufacturing of prefabricated mass timber buildings, Intelligent City will use the funding to scale operations, commercialize its Platforms for Life (P4L) building solution, grow factory automation, and expand its footprint across and beyond Canada.

Earlier this year, the company completed testing of its building systems and is now verified to work within the new mass timber high-rise building codes in Canada and the US. [Read more…] about Intelligent City raises $30 million to bring robotics and automation to prefabricated construction sector

FarmWise raises $45 million to expand AI-powered farm equipment

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Farm automation startup FarmWise Labs has completed an oversubscribed $45 million Series B funding round, led by leading ag-tech venture firms Fall Line Capital and Middleland Capital, with participation from GV and Taylor Farms, a grower and processor of leafy greens and fresh vegetables.

Existing investors Calibrate Ventures, Playground Global, SVG Ventures and the venture arm of Wilbur Ellis also participated in the round. To date, FarmWise has raised $65 million in equity.

With this round, Clay Mitchell, co-founder and managing director of Fall Line Capital and a fifth-generation Iowa farmer joins the FarmWise board of directors. [Read more…] about FarmWise raises $45 million to expand AI-powered farm equipment

Daimler Truck makes strategic investment in Apex.AI

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Apex.AI, a company developing safety-certified software for mobility and autonomous applications, says that Daimler Truck, one of the world’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, has made a strategic minority investment in the company.

Apex.AI has developed an industry-leading suite of automotive safety-certified software solutions, including the Apex.OS operating system.

The software suite serves as the foundational infrastructure on which smart machines operate in the automotive, agriculture, mining, IoT and industrial automation industries. [Read more…] about Daimler Truck makes strategic investment in Apex.AI

Yamaha Motor Ventures leads $7.5 million funding round for Verge Ag

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Yamaha Motor Ventures, the strategic business development and investment arm of Yamaha Motor, has led a $7.5 million Series A funding round for Verge Ag, a precision agriculture company.

Verge claims to be the developer of the world’s first AI-powered interactive software that enables farmers to plan, simulate, and validate the movement of equipment in the field and execute field operations efficiently.

Nolan Paul, partner and Global Ag Tech lead for Yamaha Motor Ventures, says: “This investment in Verge Ag underlines our thesis that precision farming technologies are mission critical to a sustainable future for agriculture. [Read more…] about Yamaha Motor Ventures leads $7.5 million funding round for Verge Ag

SVG Ventures selects 10 startups for accelerator program

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SVG Ventures | THRIVE has chosen 10 global startups selected to join the 8th cohort (THRIVE VIII) of their award winning accelerator program, aimed at the agricultural technology sector.

The 10 companies were selected from an applicant pool of over 800 startups from across 78 countries.

The competitive selection process, conducted in collaboration with THRIVE’s corporate partners, focused on startups’ potential impact on sustainability as well as commercial success. [Read more…] about SVG Ventures selects 10 startups for accelerator program

Toyota Ventures invites innovative ideas for the ‘Factory of the Future’

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Toyota Ventures has launched its third global “call for innovation” to search for early-stage companies that can help make the factory of the future a reality sooner.

In partnership with Toyota’s Manufacturing Project Innovation Center and Toyota Research Institute (TRI), the 2022 call focuses on finding scalable solutions to modernize manufacturing and advance sustainable production.

Through May 31, 2022, qualified entrepreneurs are invited to apply to the call for an opportunity to receive between $500,000 and $2 million in venture capital funding from Toyota Ventures. [Read more…] about Toyota Ventures invites innovative ideas for the ‘Factory of the Future’

Hikma Ventures leads $15 million Series B extension in Activ Surgical

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Hikma Pharmaceuticals’ venture capital arm, Hikma Ventures, has led an $15 million round of financing for Activ Surgical, a pioneering digital surgery imaging startup that is developing groundbreaking interoperative surgical intelligence hardware and software.

The investment is an extension of the Series B round that was previously announced by Activ Surgical in September 2021. This most recent financing, which also saw participation from existing investors, brings the total Series B round to $60 million.

Activ Surgical aims to revolutionize access to surgical care, enabling a future of augmented reality-based and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven surgery that is safe, smart, and accessible to all. [Read more…] about Hikma Ventures leads $15 million Series B extension in Activ Surgical