UK-based manufacturing software startup CloudNC on Wednesday announced a $20 million B extension round, bringing the total amount raised over its lifetime to $128 million. The company’s last major raise was four years ago, its co-founder and CEO Theo Saville told TechCrunch.
Saville launched CloudNC in 2015 with Chris Emery, now the company’s chief scientific officer, and offers CAM Assist software powered by AI that automates computer numerical control (CNC) machining parts. CNC is the process of using computer-controlled machines to precisely cut or shape materials into parts that are then used in the automotive, defense, or consumer hardware industries.
Before a part can be cut, Saville said, a machinist or computer-aided manufacturing programmer has to decide issues such as how a part should be clamped or what tools should be used, Saville said.
They typically use powerful CAM software to help with this ideation phase, and while some of these tools can help users create part features or known part patterns, that’s different than looking at the part and generating an execution strategy that an expert would actually want to use.
“Traditional CAM systems are powerful, but in most workflows they are still tools that allow programmers to manually specify how a part should be machined,” Saville said. This is where its CAM Assist comes in, software that connects to traditional CAM systems, such as Autodesk Fusion or Mastercam, to help machinists and programmers make more efficient strategic manufacturing decisions.
“You select appropriate tools, approach directions and feeds and cutting speeds, and then write the necessary code to tell the CNC machine what to do,” Saville said.
From there, the user reviews, edits and approves the results. Saville said the goal was to help skilled workers become more “efficient and productive,” rather than removing expert judgment from the process. If “traditional CAM is a powerful toolset,” he said, then “CAM Assist is more like an expert assistant sitting next to the programmer, automating much of the initial thinking and repetitive setup so the human can review, improve and approve the approach.”
Saville said more than 1,000 machine shops around the world use CAM Assist, and 80% of the company’s customer base, which includes both manufacturers and enterprises, is in the U.S. With a team of 80 employees, the company’s biggest goal is to expand adoption.
“This makes this the right time to raise additional capital,” he said. Investors in the round include Nimble Ventures, which led the round, Calculus Venture Capital, Entrepreneur First and LM Capital, the venture arm of Lockheed Martin. “The funding allows us to support broader adoption of CAM Assist, strengthen our go-to-market operations, expand into new and existing markets, and develop new products like Quote Agent.”
The premise behind Quote Agent, which targets manufacturers, is similar to CAM Assist. Helps shops evaluate the estimated cost and risk of a new project so they can act faster to accept (or reject) new work. He related this somewhat to geopolitics, pointing out, for example, how machine shops in the US are looking to shore up and how, at the same time, there is a shortage of qualified workers in manufacturing.
“Mechanical shops need to quote faster, schedule faster and deliver more with the people and machines they already have,” he said, adding that Quote Agent is scheduled to launch next month.
“There are more ways to machine a typical CNC part than there are atoms in the universe,” he continued. “We’ve spent years attacking that specific problem, with our own factory, our own software team, and a lot of hard lessons from real machining. It’s been a long process to get to where we are today.”
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