Manufacturing dates back about 2.5 million years, when early hominins fashioned stone tools. Since then, it\u2019s been an industry formed and reformed by technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And as AI has become the axis on which all technology turns, it makes sense AI would make its way into factories of all kinds\u2014but startups focused on AI in industrial applications are still rarer than you may think, said Devin Bhushan, founder and CEO of Squint.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor whatever reason, it can still feel like a forgotten industry by a lot of the tech world,\u201d said Bhushan. \u201cEven today, it can be hard to, say, get together for an industrial founders dinner. There\u2019s not a group I can meet up with. There\u2019s not that many people [in Silicon Valley] serving it. When we look at our competitors, our biggest competition is binders\u2014physical binders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bhushan\u2019s Squint uses AI and augmented reality (AR) technology to capture and document the expert knowledge of experienced factory operators. The idea is this: to use AI to turn everyday workers into experts and to make the invisible backbone of the economy smarter, safer, and more efficient.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve basically built a manufacturing intelligence platform\u2026 that uses AI to extract that knowledge from operators who have been in the environment for 30 years. They have all this stuff up here,\u201d said Bhushan, gesturing to his head. \u201cWe extract it by watching them do the work. Then AI auto-documents it and creates procedures. From there, we can enable anyone to be an expert on pretty much any task.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Squint has raised a $40 million Series B at a valuation of $265 million, Fortune has exclusively learned. The Westly Group and TCV led the round, with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital and Menlo Ventures. Bhushan founded the company in 2021, and the company\u2019s current customers include PepsiCo<\/a>, Michelin<\/a>, and Ford<\/a>, tens of thousands of operators at hundreds of factories. The round comes at a time when \u201cevery industrial company in the world is searching for ways to keep their workforce\u2026 ahead of the curve,\u201d said Steve Westly, founder and managing partner at The Westly Group, via email. This is, of course, both because of Trump-fueled geopolitical tensions rising around manufacturing and the rise of AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn our factories, there\u2019s more desire to insource,\u201d said Sequoia partner Jess Lee. \u201cThere\u2019s more pressure and incentive to move manufacturing back here. For geopolitical reasons too, there are folks in some of the essential critical industries to manufacture here\u2026 In order to make that possible, factory productivity really matters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n To Lee\u2014who met Bhushan when both were at Yahoo, he as an engineer and she in the aftermath of the company\u2019s acquisition of her startup Polyvore\u2014the realm of physical work is vast and filled with untapped potential.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe world of tech is so white collar-focused, so much about digital work,\u201d Lee told Fortune. \u201cBut the world of physical work is enormous, and it supplies us with all the things that power even the digital industry. I think tech has barely scratched the surface of modernizing that, and I think that\u2019s where some of the next biggest tech companies are going to be created.\u201d<\/p>\n Bhushan once built features for Yahoo\u2019s fantasy sports platform, where he also met Tim Tully, partner at Menlo Ventures, who led Squint\u2019s pre-seed on the idea that \u201cthere was a thirst for richer experiences in manufacturing,\u201d a thesis that he says via email has \u201crung true.\u201d<\/p>\n Though he\u2019s moved on from building the platform millions play fantasy sports on, Bhushan keeps sports metaphors close.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have this saying inside the company\u2014it\u2019s our number one value: \u2018Dunk the three,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cDo the thing no one has ever done. No one\u2019s ever dunked a three in an NBA game, right? But when someone dunks a three, it\u2019ll become a stat. Then, more people will dunk threes. That\u2019s how it works.\u201d<\/p>\n But no one can dunk a three, I point out.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Michael Jordan did in Space Jam,\u201d Bhushan laughed. \u201cHe extended his hand, and dunked the three. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do with our tech.\u201d<\/p>\n See you tomorrow,<\/p>\n Allie Garfinkle Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter. Subscribe here<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Venture Deals<\/p>\n – Strand Therapeutics<\/a>, a Boston, Mass.-based mRNA-based therapeutics company, raised $153 million in Series B funding. Kinnevik led the round and was joined by Regeneron Ventures, ICONIQ, Amgen Ventures, Alderline Group, JIC-VGI, LG Technology Ventures, and Gradiant Corporation, and existing investors.<\/p>\n – Confido<\/a>, a New York-based AI financial operating system for consumer brands, raised $15 million in Series A funding. Footwork led the round, with participation from Watchfire Ventures, Barrel Ventures, Liquid 2, Boulder Food Groups, and Y Combinator.<\/p>\n – Life Safety Inspection Vault<\/a>, a Pocatello, Idaho-based compliance platform for fire departments, raised $28.7 million in funding from Mainsail Partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n – Coverd.us<\/a>, a New York City-based fintech platform designed to gamify financial wellness, raised $7.8 million in seed funding. Yolo Investments led the round and was joined by a16z speedrun, Volt Capital, WndrCo, Arbitrum Gaming Catalyst, Tusk Ventures, and others.<\/p>\n – Studio Atelico<\/a>, a San Francisco- and London-based developer of an AI engine for video games, raised $5 million in seed funding from Air Street Capital and angel investors. <\/p>\n – Cuttable<\/a>, a Melbourne, Australia-based AI creative agency, raised AU$4.5 million ($2.9 million) in seed funding. Square Peg led the round and was joined by Rampersand and Brand Fund.<\/p>\n – Riva<\/a>, a London-based global payments firm, raised $3 million in funding from Project A and others.<\/p>\n Private Equity<\/p>\n – Altus Fire & Life Safety, backed by Apax Partners, acquired Star Fire Protection<\/a>, a New York City-based fire alarm company. Financial terms were not disclosed.\u00a0<\/p>\n – Mutares agreed to acquire the crane business unit of Hyva<\/a>, an Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based provider of innovative and highly efficient transport solutions for the commercial vehicle and environmental service industries. Financial terms were not disclosed. <\/p>\n Exits<\/p>\n – EIG agreed to acquire a 49.87% stake in Transportadora de Gas del Peru S.A.<\/a>, a Lima, Peru-based manager of natural gas and natural gas liquids pipelines. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n IPOs<\/p>\n – Bullish<\/a>, a Cayman Islands-based crypto exchange, now plans to raise up to $990 million in an offering of 30 million shares priced between $32 and $33. The company posted $167 million in revenue for the year ending March 31, 2025. Pu Luo Chung VC, Alexander See, Bullish Global, Galaxy Digital Ventures, Camomille Global Opportunities Fund, and EFM Global Growth Master Fund back the company.<\/p>\n Funds + Funds of Funds<\/p>\n
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