Engineering hardware startup Ethereal Machines has raised $13 million in Series A funding round led by Peak XV Partners and Steadview Capital, highlighting the growing opportunities in the manufacturing sector, buoyed by the government's “Make in India” push.
Existing investors Blume Ventures, Enam Investments, and Sandeep Singhal also participated in this round, the Bengaluru-based firm said in a statement on June 13.
It plans to use the funds to set up a new smart factory in Karnataka and hiring for software and AI engineers for new product expansion.
"We have put a smart factory in Peenya and the capacity of this has gone up by two times and we are planning to put a new factory in the outskirts of Bangalore, which will be 5X of this," Ethereal Machines co-founder Kaushik Mudda told Moneycontrol.
He said the new factory would come up over the next 12 months and span 250,000 square feet, adjacent to the upcoming Foxconn facility.
Founded in 2014 by Mudda and Navin Jain, Ethereal Machines produces computer numerical control (CNC) machines, which are used in milling works that enable engineers to create prototypes and commercial products.
"The funds from this round will also be utilised for research and development, building India’s first multi-axis CNC controller," Mudda said.
Ethereal's machines are used across aerospace and defence, medical, healthcare and consumer electronics sector.
"Over the last year, the company successfully reduced production times for customers by 25-40 percent and improved their cost efficiency by 10-30 percent. As one of the handful of companies globally mastering 5-axis CNC machining, Ethereal addresses the increasing demand for cost-effective precision engineering components through its proprietary CNC machines," Mudda said.
In July, Ethereal raised $7.3 million in a round that saw participation from Surge, a Peak XV Partners’ programme for early-stage startups, from Blume Ventures and a host of angel investors.
“Having seen the founders grow and achieve ever increasing milestones through our Surge programme, Peak XV Partners is thrilled to lead their Series A. We have strong belief in the growth of precision manufacturing as it underpins many of India’s priority areas of development," Peak XV managing director Shailesh Lakhani said.
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