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Vention is a digital manufacturing platform for custom machine design and assembly.
Vention has raised $248.6M across 5 funding rounds.
Key people at Vention.
Vention has raised $248.6M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Vention develops a digital manufacturing platform that streamlines machine design and industrial automation. The company provides an integrated environment combining cloud-based engineering software with a vast library of modular, plug-and-play hardware components. This approach allows manufacturers to design, simulate, and deploy custom industrial equipment and automation solutions directly from their browser, leveraging a proprietary AI-powered platform tailored for the factory floor.
The company was founded in 2016 by Etienne Lacroix and Max Windisch. Their foundational insight stemmed from recognizing the complexities and inefficiencies inherent in traditional industrial automation processes. Lacroix, with his background in engineering and operational leadership, envisioned a more accessible and agile method for manufacturers to deploy custom machinery, thereby democratizing sophisticated automation capabilities for businesses of all sizes.
Vention’s platform is utilized by leading manufacturers and innovative enterprises across high-impact industries where operational performance and scalability are paramount. The company's vision is to empower the manufacturing industry by enabling rapid, accessible, and user-friendly automation, helping businesses quickly adapt to evolving production demands and achieve greater efficiency through advanced digital manufacturing tools.
Key people at Vention.
Vention has raised $248.6M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Vention's investors include Bicha Ngo, Alt Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Fifth Down Capital, Founders Fund, Glasswing Ventures, ICONIQ Capital, Metanoia, Mischief Venture Capital, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund.
Vention is a technology company pioneering an AI-powered platform for industrial automation, enabling manufacturers—from SMEs to Fortune 500 enterprises—to design, program, deploy, and operate custom equipment and robot cells in days rather than months.[1][5] Its unified cloud-based software, hardware, and Physical AI ecosystem disrupts traditional integration-heavy methods by offering modular CAD design (MachineBuilder™), no-code programming (MachineLogic™), rapid deployment, and real-time analytics (MachineAnalytics™), serving integrators, research labs, and factories across industries with next-day delivery in the US.[3][5] This solves the problem of slow, complex automation projects, accelerating operations with AI-assisted tools and over-the-air updates.[1][5]
Note: A separate entity at ventionteams.com operates as an AI-enabled software development services firm focused on custom solutions in AI, fintech, healthtech, and more, but the primary Vention matching the industrial automation description is vention.io, founded in 2016 in Montreal.[1][2][3]
Vention was founded in 2016 in Montreal, Canada, by a team of former leaders from McKinsey, GE, MDA, Bombardier, Cloud Foundry, Pivotal, VMware, and Autodesk, bringing expertise in engineering, manufacturing, and software to challenge outdated industrial paradigms.[1][3] The idea emerged to create the first digital manufacturing platform for machine design, starting with component-based CAD software that unified hardware and software ecosystems.[1][3] Key early traction included the 2017 launch of MachineBuilder™ and hardware ecosystem, becoming the first Universal Robots-certified platform; 2018's enclosure-free MachineMotion™ controller; and 2019's Series A funding alongside MachineLogic™ programming tools, marking consistent innovation since inception.[1]
Vention rides the wave of Industry 4.0 and Physical AI, where AI, cloud-native tools, and modular hardware converge to automate factories amid labor shortages, supply chain pressures, and demands for agile manufacturing.[1][5] Timing is ideal as manufacturers shift from rigid, months-long custom builds to scalable, software-defined systems, fueled by post-pandemic reshoring and AI advancements enabling no-code interfaces for non-experts.[3] Market forces like rising automation adoption (e.g., robotics growth) favor Vention's platform, which standardizes ecosystems and influences the sector by partnering with leaders like Universal Robots, accelerating innovation for thousands of machines in the field.[1][5]
Vention is positioned to dominate as the go-to platform for factory-floor automation, expanding AI capabilities in design/programming and deepening enterprise integrations amid surging demand for rapid, scalable manufacturing tech.[1][5] Trends like edge AI, collaborative robotics, and sustainable production will propel growth, potentially through further funding rounds or acquisitions to broaden hardware modularity. Its influence may evolve by setting de facto standards, empowering SMEs to compete with giants and reshaping automation from bespoke to plug-and-play—building the next industrial giant, as its mission states.[1]
Vention has raised $248.6M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $109.5M Series D in January 2026.