Bright Machines Raises $132M to Expand Intelligent Automation in Manufacturing

New software, artificial intelligence, and robotics are making manufacturing smarter and more flexible. Bright Machines Inc. yesterday announced $132 million in debt and Series B equity funding. The San Francisco-based company said it plans to use the financing to continue expanding into high-demand industry verticals and to develop new software and services to complement its existing product portfolio.

“We founded Bright Machines with a singular mission to enable our customers to transform the way they have historically approached product assembly,” said Lior Susan, co-founder and CEO of Bright Machines. "We are excited to partner with the industry in creating a more streamlined ‘design-to-make’ process in which every product can be manufactured closer to the end consumer."

"In today’s unpredictable, global environment, this mission is more important than ever," he added. "We believe our solutions provide an essential pathway for the industry’s transition to more local, resilient, and sustainable operations. I am proud of the positive impact we’ve made to date and excited for this next phase in our journey.”

Founded in 2018, Bright Machines claimed that it is "pioneering an innovative approach to intelligent, software-defined manufacturing automation." It said it has taken a "full-stack" approach to product design and production.

The company operates research and development and field operation centers in San Francisco; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Guadalajara, Mexico, with additional support in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Bright Machines tallies accomplishments

Bright Machines said its strong performance has helped build investor confidence. It cited the following advancements to its technology and its impact on the industry:

• Launched the Bright Machines Microfactory to intelligently automate the final assembly of electronic products
• Introduced the Brightware Platform to power Bright Machines Microfactories and give operators the ability to run, monitor, and control assembly lines
• Served more than 40 global manufacturing companies through both direct OEM customer relationships as well as electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturing (ODM) partners
• Deployed more than 100 microfactories in 13 countries for projects across high-growth industry verticals, and doubling bookings from 2021 to 2022
• Helped customers achieve key success metrics, including up to 75% more units per hour and 65% fewer defects per production run
• Recognized for technology that could reduce carbon intensity by 51% per unit or 5.5 MMtCO2 (million metric tons of carbon dioxide) per year, the equivalent of planting 6.5 million trees annually
• Received multiple industry awards, including Inc. Best in Business: Manufacturing; Forbes America’s Most Promising AI Companies; and American Business Awards Tech Startup of the Year: Software, as well as being recognized as a BloombergNEF Partner and World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer

Eclipse Ventures leads funding

Eclipse Ventures led the equity portion of the funding, worth $100 million. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Hercules Capital Inc. led the debt portion of the funding, worth $32 million. This round of investment brings the total raised by Bright Machines to $330 million.

“By offering an intelligent automation platform that is fast, flexible, and cost-effective enough to scale with their customers’ businesses, Bright Machines is uniquely positioned to address a critical gap that has persisted in manufacturing for several decades,” said Greg Reichow, a partner at Eclipse Ventures. “Its software-driven microfactories are key to moving production operations into a future that does not rely on highly repetitive and labor-intensive processes.”

Eclipse Ventures said it has more than $2.7 billion in assets under management, over 70 portfolio companies, and a team of investors with expertise in technology, manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, healthcare, and consumer products. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm said it can help create and scale complex operations and make physical industries more efficient, resilient, and profitable.

Microfactory maker to build on industrial base

Bright Machines said its latest funding round "comes at an important inflection point" as it "continues to reshape the $250 billion industrial automation market." The company said its manufacturing experience and strong domain knowledge, as well as software and hardware engineering expertise will help it advance intelligent automation.

In addition to refining and extending the capabilities of its flagship product, the Bright Machines Microfactory, the company plans to use the funds to accelerate its Brightware software roadmap. It also plans to expand its service offerings, strengthen its partner network, and grow its installed base of customers.

Bright Machines also plans to unveil an Integration Hub in Guadalajara later this year and a Customer Experience Center in San Francisco in early 2023.