British software startup CloudNC has completed a $20 million Series B financing round, raising its total funding to $128 million. The company develops AI software for CNC machining processes, with the goal of shortening programming and quotation processes and improving the efficiency of existing staff and equipment in factories.
Cumulative financing has risen to $128 million.
This round of financing was led by Nimble Ventures, with participation from Calculus Venture Capital, Entrepreneur First, and Lockheed Martin's venture capital firm LM Capital. Theo Saville, co-founder and CEO of CloudNC, stated that the company's last major financing was four years ago.
CloudNC was established in 2015, co-founded by Theo Saville and Chris Emery. The latter currently serves as the Chief Science Officer. The company is headquartered in the United Kingdom and currently has approximately 80 employees.
Main products integrated with traditional CAM systems
The core product of CloudNC is CAM Assist driven by AI, which is used for some of the preliminary programming tasks in automated CNC machining. CNC machining typically requires technicians to decide in advance how the parts will be fixed, which tools to use, as well as parameters such as cutting paths and speeds.
The company states that CAM Assist can be integrated with traditional CAM systems such as Autodesk Fusion and Mastercam, assisting operators in selecting the appropriate cutting tools, feed directions, and cutting parameters, and generating part of the machine tool execution code. The final results still need to be reviewed, modified, and confirmed by the user.
Saville indicates that this product is not intended to replace experienced programmers, but rather to automate repetitive initial judgments and preparatory work, allowing technicians to focus their time on review and optimization.
Used by over a thousand machining factories
CloudNC indicates that over 1,000 machining factories around the world are using CAM Assist, and approximately 80% of the company's customers are located in the United States. The company's current focus is on expanding the range of products in which it is used, hence the decision to continue financing at this stage.
In addition to CAM Assist, CloudNC is also working on a new product called Quote Agent targeting the project quotation phase of manufacturing enterprises. This tool is used to assess the estimated costs and risks of new orders, helping factories to decide more quickly whether to accept them or not. Saville indicates that this product is planned to be launched next month.
He also mentioned that some machining factories in the United States are promoting the return of manufacturing, but the industry is simultaneously facing a shortage of skilled workers. Against this backdrop, factories need to complete quotes, programming, and deliveries more quickly with the existing staff and equipment.
