Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that invests in a large number of startups twice a year. It created a new model for funding startups. Twice a year, the company invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups. The startup accelerator works intensively with the companies for three months, to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Each cycle culminates in Demo Day when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected, invite-only audience.

Y Combinator

Eight Capital to invest in distressed and special situation opportunities in India.

Eight Capital

Pioneer Fund is a fund of 420+ Y Combinator alumni, investing in the top Y Combinator startups.

Pioneer Fund

Early-stage: backing the daring — building the mighty.

10 BOND

NuVentures is an early stage venture fund based out of Bangalore, India founded by Venk Krishnan in 2015. They back tech-enabled startups by providing a quality mentorship ecosystem and financial capital. They invest in passionate entrepreneurs and teams with a drive to build globally scalable enterprises solving India-centric problems. Recent NuVentures investments include Acko, Coverfox, Daily Ninja, Geist, Pocket Aces, Scripbox, Vokal, TapChief, and Thrillophilia.

NuVentures

Pivot Robots

Pivot Robots combines off-the-shelf robots and vision sensors with our pioneering AI vision control software to enable industrial robots to adapt. Pivot Robots accomplish this by harnessing the most recent developments in core vision models.

Pivot Robots is a Y Combinator-backed startup that develops AI vision control software for robotic arms to assist manufacturers in automating labor-intensive and dangerous tasks. Its flagship product, named Proteus, enables users to automate the grinding of metal parts. The company leverages foundational vision models to reduce the traditionally large data requirement for integrating vision into industrial robots.&nbsp;

Using data and automation to achieve 24/7 production.

Smart Factory

YC-backed AI startup Pivot Robots raises funding from NuVentures

Pivot Robots is a Y Combinator-backed startup that develops AI vision control software for robotic arms to assist manufacturers in automating labor-intensive and dangerous tasks. Its flagship product, named Proteus, enables users to automate the grinding of metal parts. The company leverages foundational vision models to reduce the traditionally large data requirement for integrating vision into industrial robots.&nbsp;Notably, as of July 2024, the company was engaged in a pilot project to deploy over 10 Proteus systems at a large cast iron foundry that reportedly produces over 200 different parts a year.

<div>
 
 SparkCognition is an AI analytics startup offering four deep learning product solutions: Darwin (automated model-building software), DeepArmor (AI-powered cybersecurity), DeepNLP (NLP solution), and SparkPredict (analytics solution utilizing sensor data). These products deliver actionable insights, predict machine issues via historical maintenance data, and provide security from cyber threats. These products can be deployed across multiple industries, such as manufacturing, defense, utilities, oil and gas, and aviation. 
 
 
 SparkCognition&rsquo;s clientele comprises large companies such as Boeing, Hitachi, and British Petroleum. It has also built partnerships with Google for cloud platform services, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise to offer AI predictive maintenance on HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems, and OSIsoft to integrate SparkCognition&rsquo;s machine learning technology with OSIsoft&rsquo;s PI system to improve data and process data analytics.
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s most recent funding round was Series D funding worth USD 123 million in January 2022 from March Capital, Doha Venture Capital, B. Riley Venture Capital, AEI Horizon X, Temasek, and several others. The funds were intended to be used to invest in R&amp;D, accelerate sales and marketing, facilitate organic and inorganic growth, and also for the working capital requirements of the company. In March 2022, the company acquired Indian visual AI startup 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9370?industryIds=6">
 Integration Wizards
 </a>
 to expand its intellectual property (IP) portfolio to improve vision capabilities. The company has reported a 2x increase in revenue YoY in 2021.
 
</div>

SparkCognition

Kinta AI provides an automated production planning platform for manufacturing that uses advanced AI algorithms and simulation techniques. Using existing operational data, a SaaS solution is deployed that can be integrated with existing management execution systems (MES), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and Industry 4.0 tools in the factory. The software looks to have cross-functional communication across the factory to eliminate any bottlenecks that delay resolving breakdowns. Kinta AI has partnered with Flex (an electronics manufacturer) and BASF (a chemical company).Kinta AI’s most recent financing was a Series A funding round worth USD 5.5 million in April 2021 led by Lachy Groom’s LGF and Shine Capital. The funds will be utilized to scale operations in existing general industrial client factories and implement the Kinta AI platform in new client factories.

Kinta AI

<div>
 
 Sight Machine provides a digital manufacturing platform enabled by AI. It creates a digital twin of both assets and processes to help manufacturers improve processes, quality, and productivity. It can also gather data from machines of various manufacturers supplying actionable insights for predictive maintenance, quality improvement, capacity utilization, among other benefits. In October 2022, the company released 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13696?industryIds=6">
 Sight Machine Blueprint
 </a>
 to offer manufacturers with advanced data analytics solutions.
 
 
 Sight Machine has established partnerships with large global companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) for their cloud platforms and Fujitsu (system integrator) to help with wide deployments. Sight Machine, which caters to at least 15 verticals, such as food and beverage, electronics, and automotive, is on the move to expand into more verticals. It has global clients of Fortune 500-caliber, including Nissan, Heineken, Westrock Co., and Asian Paints. Sight Machine&rsquo;s most recent funding round was Series C funding worth USD 29.4 million in April 2019, led by LS Group. The funds were to be used to expedite the company&rsquo;s growth.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In December 2023, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25200">
 Sight Machine received a low double-digit million euro investmen
 </a>
 t from TeamViewer to improve industrial digitalization and enhance manufacturing efficiency.
 
 
 
</div>

Sight Machine

Overview uses smart cameras and AI to monitor manufacturing equipment and robots and identify defects in real time before significant damage or downtime is incurred. The technology has a repository of machine data so that there is a traceable visual record of all units. With AI, the cause of production issues and quality concerns can be identified either on-site or remotely. The company claims over time, the deep learning computer vision algorithms allow for any sudden substantial increases in production and improved yields. Funding and financialsIn February 2022, the company raised USD 10 million in series A funding to be used to expand operations and business reach.

Overview

Bright Machines combines robotics, machine learning, and computer vision to provide automation applications for the electronics manufacturing industry. Its flagship product is the “Bright Machines Microfactory,” a pre-integrated, programmable assembly line that can be deployed in existing and new production facilities. The Microfactory runs on the company's proprietary “Brightware” cloud-based software platform, offering a scalable solution that enables manufacturers to enhance supply chain resilience and adapt production capacity according to market demand. This software-defined manufacturing allows factories to change the products that they manufacture if needed. The company offers its service on a subscription-based microfactory-as-a-service (MaaS) business model.The company reportedly generated USD 83 million in revenue in 2021. In May 2021, Bright Machines reported that its revenue doubled each year since its inception (2018) and forecasts a 5-year CAGR (2020-2025) of over 84%.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsBright Machines served over 40 manufacturing companies as of October 2022.The company collaborated with Microsoft Azure in May 2024 to leverage the latter’s infrastructure to deliver a full-stack environment for all stages of the manufacturing lifecycle.The company also has distribution/sales partnerships with Anstar Corporation (April 2021), SMT Capital (April 2021), MaRC Technologies (May 2021), PAC Global (May 2021), Restronics (June 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/3618">BROCK Electronics</a> (June 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4740">Murray Percival</a> (July 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4412">Competitive Edge Manufacturing Equipment</a> (CEME; July 2021).Key competitors: None comparable (Bright Machines is the only company in the smart factory industry that offers microfactories-as-a-service, which combines intelligent software with adaptive hardware to automate manufacturing processes.)

Bright Machines

Companies that provide robotic fleet management software, robotic automation software, and inspection software.

Companies that provide an industrial IoT platform across factories as the primary offering.

Companies that provide cobots, sorting/ picking robotics, modular production robotics, and microfactories.

Companies that focus on data analytics for operations streamlining and process optimization, and may offer predictive maintenance.

Companies that provide autonomous mobile robots (AMR) or self-driving vehicles (SDV) used in manufacturing/ factory operations.

Companies that monitor the manufacturing equipment and assembly lines.

Companies that provide predictive maintenance as a primary offering. 

Creates digital twins of assets and processes to help manufacturers improve processes, quality, and productivity

Connected devices, sensors, IoT, and analytics are used to optimize factory operations

Uses advanced robotics, AMRs, and related software to improve the efficiency of factory operations

Uses connected devices and sensors to gather data—IIoT, predictive analysis, and equipment inspection

Uses AI/ML to analyze data for predictive maintenance and AI-based vision systems for line inspections

5G standard allows for faster reaction times and supports high connection densities

Uses edge computing for data processing at the edge

Some companies in the predictive maintenance space uses generative AI to generate possible alternative scenarios

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 
 Pivot Robots is a provider of industrial robotic automation solutions, and has recently raised an undisclosed amount of funding in an investment round led by NuVentures. The company is intending to use this funding to boost its workforce, especially in the realms of motion planning and computer vision. It also plans to use the funding to enhance the testing of its robots, establish a new office, and aid in its expansion to India within the next two years.
 As a startup backed by Y Combinator, Pivot Robots has developed innovative AI vision control software for robotic arms, designed to help manufacturers automate tasks that are labor-intensive and potentially hazardous. Their main product, Proteus, gives users the ability to automate the process of grinding metal parts. This process typically requires a large amount of data, but Pivot Robots has found a way to decrease this requirement through their use of foundational vision models. Currently, the company is involved in a pilot project where they are aiming to deploy over 10 Proteus systems at a large cast iron foundry, which is known for producing more than 200 unique parts annually.
 
</div> Analyst Quicktake : 
 Pivot Robots offers a similar solution to <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/30826"> Bright Machines </a> , <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/30656"> Vecna Robotics, </a> <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/29829"> Realtime Robotics </a> , and <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/29264"> Mimic </a> , which raised&nbsp; USD 126 million, USD 100 million, an undisclosed amount, and USD 2.47 million over the last two months. Pivot differentiates itself by using foundation models to reduce the large data requirement traditionally needed for integrating machine vision into robots.

Pivot Robots

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