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UK-based manufacturing software startup CloudNC announced a $20 million B extension round on Wednesday, bringing its lifetime total raised amount to $128 million. The company\u2019s last major raise was four years ago, its co-founder and CEO Theo Saville told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n
Saville launched CloudNC in 2015 with Chris Emery, now the company\u2019s chief science officer, and offers AI-powered CAM Assist software<\/a> that automates parts of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining. CNC is the process of using computer-controlled machines to cut or shape materials precisely into the parts that are then used in automotive, defense, or consumer hardware industries.<\/p>\n Before a part can be cut, Saville said, a machinist or a computer-aided manufacturing programmer has to decide issues like how a part should be held or what tools should be used, Saville said.<\/p>\n They typically use powerful CAM software to help with this ideation phase, and although some of these tools can help users create part features or known part patterns, that\u2019s different from looking at the part and generating an execution strategy an expert would actually want to use.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTraditional CAM systems are powerful, but in most workflows, they are still tools that allow programmers to manually specify how a part should be machined,\u201d Saville said. This is where his CAM Assist comes in, a software that plugs into traditional CAM systems, like Autodesk Fusion or Mastercam, to help machinists and programmers make more efficient strategic manufacturing decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt selects suitable tools, approach directions, and cutting feeds and speeds, and then drafts the code required to tell the CNC machine what to do,\u201d Saville said.\u00a0<\/p>\n From there, the user reviews, edits, and approves the results. Saville said the goal was to help skilled workers be more \u201cefficient and productive,\u201d rather than removing expert judgment from the process. If \u201ctraditional CAM is a powerful toolkit,\u201d he said, then \u201cCAM Assist is more like an expert assistant sitting alongside the programmer, automating much of the first-pass thinking and repetitive setup so the human can review, improve, and approve the approach.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Saville said more than 1,000 machine shops worldwide use CAM Assist, and 80% of the company\u2019s customer base, which includes both manufacturers and companies, is in the U.S. With a team of 80 employees, the company\u2019s biggest goal is scaling adoption.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis makes this the right time to raise additional capital,\u201d he said. Investors in the round include Nimble Ventures, which led the round, Calculus Venture Capital, Entrepreneur First, and LM Capital, Lockheed Martin\u2019s venture arm. \u201cThe funding allows us to support wider take-up of CAM Assist, strengthen our go-to-market operations, expand in existing and new markets, and develop new products such as Quote Agent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The premise behind Quote Agent, which targets manufacturers, is similar to CAM Assist. It helps shops assess the estimated cost and risk of a new project so they can move faster to accept \u2014 or reject \u2014 new work. He tied this somewhat back to geopolitics, pointing to, for example, how machine shops in the U.S. are looking to reshore<\/a> and how, at the same time, there is a shortage of skilled workers <\/a>in manufacturing.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMachine shops need to quote faster, program faster, and deliver more with the people and machines they already have,\u201d he said, adding that Quote Agent is set to launch next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are more ways to machine a typical CNC part than there are atoms in the universe,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe have spent years attacking that specific problem, with our own factory, our own software team, and a lot of hard lessons from real machining. It\u2019s been a long process to get to where we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n