Bright Machines

Bright Machines, Inc.
Company type	Privately held company
Industry	Software, robotics, manufacturing
Founded	May 2018; 6 years ago; Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Founders	Lior Susan; Amar Hanspal;
Headquarters	2445 16th Street ; San Francisco, CA 94103
Key people	Lior Susan (Co-Founder, Chairman); Chris Stori (CEO); Sviat Dulianinov (Chief Strategy Officer);
Number of employees	200 (2024)
Website	brightmachines.com

Bright Machines is a software and robotics company whose applications focus on automation for the manufacturing industry.^[1] The San Francisco-based company has two primary products. First, Bright Machines employs “micro-factories“ made up of robot cells for the purpose of automating electronics manufacturing and inspection. Second, Bright Machines offers software tools for the purpose of improving efficiencies in the manufacturing process.^[2]

History

Bright Machines was founded in May 2018 as a spin-off of Flex Ltd., initially operating under the stealth startup name AutoLabs AI. In October 2018, the company rebranded as Bright Machines and raised $179 million in a Series A funding round led by Eclipse Ventures.^[3] In October 2022, the company announced a $100 million Series B funding round led by Eclipse Ventures, along with an additional $32 million in debt financing led by Silicon Valley Bank and Hercules Capital.^[4] In June 2024, the company raised $126 million in Series C funding, with $106 million in equity led by investments from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, with participation from NVIDIA, Microsoft, Eclipse, Jabil, and Shinhan Securities, and $20 million in venture debt from J.P. Morgan.^[5] In September 2024, the company announced Chris Stori as the new CEO.^[6]

Products

Bright Machines makes software and robotic modules that assemble small goods, such as household appliances, tools, and electronics. The modules can be plugged together to create a small assembly line, and the robots can be programmed through the company's software to follow instructions.

References

^ "Bright Machines wants to put AI-driven automation in every factory". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
^ "Autodesk, Flex veterans raise $179 million for manufacturing startup". reuters.com. Reuters. October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
^ "Bright Machines lands $179M to bring smarter robotics to manufacturing". techcrunch.com. Oath Tech Network. October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
^ Heater, Brian (31 October 2022). "Manufacturing firm Bright Machines raises $132M after unfulfilled SPAC deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
^ Cherney, Max. "AI-focused manufacturing startup raises $106 million, from Nvidia and others". Reuters.
^ Albergotti, Reed. "Nvidia-backed robotic manufacturing startup taps new CEO with an eye to AI".

[1] "Bright Machines wants to put AI-driven automation in every factory". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-04-29.

[2] "Autodesk, Flex veterans raise $179 million for manufacturing startup". reuters.com. Reuters. October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.

[3] "Bright Machines lands $179M to bring smarter robotics to manufacturing". techcrunch.com. Oath Tech Network. October 23, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.

[4] Heater, Brian (31 October 2022). "Manufacturing firm Bright Machines raises $132M after unfulfilled SPAC deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 November 2022.

[5] Cherney, Max. "AI-focused manufacturing startup raises $106 million, from Nvidia and others". Reuters.

[wsj2-6] Albergotti, Reed. "Nvidia-backed robotic manufacturing startup taps new CEO with an eye to AI".

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