Issue #52 - The Future of Manufacturing
Topics this time: Europe's future, foundation models for robotics, Bosch strategy breakdown, and new funding rounds in Q4 2024 with a lot of AI in the mix.
👋 Welcome to Issue #52 👋
Hey there!
Welcome to 2025. I hope you had a fantastic start and I wish you a healthy, joyful and exciting new year. My goal for this year is to spend more time again on Europe’s most pressing challenges. Resilient supply chains, reliable and cheap energy supply, and upgrading manufacturing are certainly part of that.
This issue is a summary of some of my favorite articles of the last quarter and some of the key fundraises that have happened. You can find here my recent interviews with Randy (Xometry), Manuel (ProGlove), Dominik (HiveMQ), and Natan (Tulip).
Enjoy reading - and as always, I appreciate any kind of feedback.
Robin
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I. What I’ve enjoyed reading 👇
🤝 It’s time for Europe to stand up tall
Ian Hogarth has written an essay published in the FT and a longer version on his own blog about Europe and how it can build its first trillion dollar start-up. He argues that Europe was once at the forefront of AI innovation, with DeepMind leading the charge, but has since lost ground to the U.S., where ambitious founders and venture capital have fueled the rise of trillion-dollar tech giants. Despite its scientific excellence, Europe lags due to bureaucratic hurdles, insufficient risk capital, and a tendency to sell promising companies early. To compete globally, Europe must support repeat founders, reform restrictive policies like university spinout equity stakes, and nurture bold investments in transformative technologies like nuclear fusion. Success stories like ASML and Spotify show potential, but Europe needs determination and strategic focus to create its own tech giants. Let’s do this!
⚠️ Manufacturing is at war
argues that China's dominance in drone production and broader manufacturing poses a critical challenge to U.S. and allied security. Drones, powered by Chinese-made batteries, are essential in modern warfare, and China’s manufacturing capacity could outpace others in a prolonged conflict. The U.S. and its allies are losing ground due to China's aggressive industrial policies, which flood global markets and undermine rival industries. Neither U.S. political party has developed a comprehensive strategy, with Republicans focusing on tariffs and Democrats emphasizing subsidies but facing delays and inefficiencies. The author warns that without urgent, coordinated action, China’s manufacturing dominance could dictate global power dynamics. And the same holds true for Europe’s current situation. In that regard, I can also recommend The Schilling Point’s post going after the question if Europe’s manufacturing can be reborn from its ashes.
🤖 Amazon’s most automated warehouse
Amazon has opened its most automated warehouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, combining advanced robotics and AI with human labor to manage a diverse inventory and complex tasks. The facility employs over 1,400 workers, with plans to expand to 2,500, emphasizing roles that oversee and collaborate with robotic systems. While automation enhances efficiency, safety, and cost optimization, human expertise remains crucial for nuanced tasks and exceptions. This is a topic that I’ve highlighted many times in this newsletter. This facility marks a milestone in Amazon's strategy to integrate automation into logistics while maintaining its reliance on a skilled workforce.
🤖 Robot learning and Humanoid development by NVIDIA
It’s very exciting to follow NVIDIA’s progress these days. In November, the company has introduced powerful tools to accelerate robotics innovation, including frameworks for training robots, optimizing data processing, and developing advanced humanoid capabilities. Key offerings like the Isaac Lab framework and Cosmos tokenizer make it easier and faster to build robots that learn, perceive, and interact effectively. New workflows simplify complex tasks like motion control, navigation, and dexterous manipulation, while scalable solutions streamline AI development. These tools empower developers to push robotics forward with greater efficiency and precision. 2025 will be a very exciting year for progress in the robotics space. I’m also very keen and interested in any robotics open-source models.
♻︎ Bosch strategy and how it makes money
Some of you are probably following Dan Mottram on LinkedIn where he is frequently sharing various infographics. His infographics on Bosch recently caught my eye. Dan has published one graphic how Bosch makes money and another one on Bosch strategy that you can find below. I think it shows you nicely where Bosch is placing its strategy bets, especially in the semiconductors and autonomous vehicle space. It also underlines the importance of partnerships in the industry. For automotive semiconductors, Bosch has partnered for example with Microsoft, ARM, and NVIDIA.
II. About industrial Startups and Companies
🤖 General-purpose robot foundation model by Physical Intelligence
Physical Intelligence has published a post that includes several videos about its general-purpose robot foundation model (π0). This model integrates images, text, and actions to enable robots to perform diverse tasks based on text instructions or fine-tuning. Unlike LLMs, π0 acquires physical intelligence from embodied experience, directly generating motor commands to control various robots. Watch yourself here.
🤑 Dexory has raised a $80M Series B led by DTCP
Dexory has raised $80M in a Series B funding round led by DTCP, bringing its total funding to $120M over three years. The company plans to expand its AI-powered DexoryView platform, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots, particularly in the U.S. market. With its solutions for real-time warehouse visibility and digital twin creation, Dexory is transforming supply chain operations, helping customers like GXO and Maersk achieve improved inventory accuracy, reduced manual tasks, and optimized efficiency.
🤑 Juna AI has raised a $7.5M seed round led by KPCB
Berlin-based Juna AI has raised a $7.5M seed round led by KPCB to help manufacturing facilities transform into smarter, self-learning systems. Juna focuses to optimize industrial processes in heavy industries such as steel, cement, and chemicals by integrating its AI agents with manufacturers’ production tools. The company’s technology uses reinforcement learning to analyze historical and real-time data, helping factories fine-tune machinery for improved efficiency, reduced waste, and lower carbon footprints.
🤑 BrightAI has raised a $15M seed round led by Upfront Ventures
BrightAI, co-founded by Alex Hawkinson in 2019, uses AI, real-time data and connected sensors to monitor and predict issues in critical infrastructure sectors, such as pest control, HVAC, and waste management. The company has just raised its first round of $15M in seed funding from Upfront Ventures to expand its platform. Before that, the company has bootstrapped its platform which currently serves over 250,000 sensors and generates already $80M in revenue. Chapeau!
📷 Slide deck for Endeavor’s Seed round
Endeavor, a startup that is developing an AI platform for manufacturing companies, has just raised a $7M seed round led by Craft Ventures. The company lists use cases such as sales automation and inventory optimization on its homepage. As part of the fundraising announcement, Business Insider has published the pitch deck Endeavor has used to raise this round. A rare look behind the curtain.
III. Additional funding news in short 👇
👉 Zetwerk (IND): has raised a $90M round led by Rakesh Gangwal, Khosla Ventures, and Baillie Gifford for its global manufacturing marketplace. Read more…
👉 Nimble (US): has raised a $106M Series C led by FedEx for its AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment technology. Read more…
👉 Path Robotics (US): has raised a $100M round co-led by Matter Venture Partners and Drive Capital for its AI-enabled robotic welding solutions. Read more…
👉 Simbe (US): has raised a $50M Series C led by Goldman Sachs for its store intelligent platform for retail. Read more…
👉 Slip Robotics (US): has raised a $28M Series B led by DCVC for its automated truck-loading robots-as-a-service. Read more…
👉 Synthavo (DE): has raised a €4M seed round led by Samaipata and Senovo for its AI-driven solution for automated spare part identification. Read more…
IV. Additional content and the I4.0 Landscape
I’ve updated the landscape one year ago and will do another update soon. There are ca. 600 active startups in my Industry 4.0 landscape. Click on the link for a larger version. If you think there is something missing, then please let me know.
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Hi Robin, when next you updated the market map, we (www.sirenopt.com) are a fit for the Inspection/QC section. cheers, James