The investment is expected to help drive the adoption of AI machine vision for manufacturing.
LOS ANGELES—Elementary, an innovator in AI-powered machine vision, reported what it called a “significant milestone” in its mission to redefine manufacturing automation with its AI-powered vision inspection. The company said in a release that it secured a strategic investment from Rockwell Automation, a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation.
The investment by Rockwell Automation is reported to signify strong support for Elementary’s visionary approach to elevating manufacturing quality standards. According to Elementary, it is dedicated to “closing the loop on quality,” leveraging advanced AI algorithms to ensure “unprecedented accuracy and consistency in quality assurance processes.” The new injection of capital enables Elementary to continue enhancing its product offerings, paving the way for what the company described as a “new era in AI-powered digital transformation within the manufacturing industry.”
Rockwell’s recent 9th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing 2024 report surveyed more than 1,500 manufacturers around the world. It reportedly found that “quality is the number one focus for smart manufacturing” and “45 percent of those manufacturers surveyed plan to use AI/ML to improve their quality control.”
With quality being the most prominent application of AI for global manufacturers, Elementary said that its vision AI and cloud quality platform is positioned to take advantage of these goals and deliver value alongside Rockwell. The relationship expands Rockwell’s existing AI capabilities across its portfolio and helps customers deliver superior products and services, according to Elementary.
“Our customers rely on Rockwell to bring cutting edge AI solutions to market, ranging from improved quality [to] generative design, more effective operations, and intuitive maintenance, in order to remain competitive,” said Rockwell Automation Vice President-Industry Solutions Arvind Rao, in the release. “We believe Elementary’s vision AI, when integrated with our automation, data connectivity, and QMS offering, represents a leap forward in delivering an end-to-end closed loop quality solution, and we are excited about the value it will deliver to our customers.”
“To have the support of Rockwell Automation—a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation—is a testament to the potential and importance of Elementary’s technology in the ongoing transformation happening with AI for manufacturing,” said Elementary CEO and Founder Arye Barnehama, in the release. “This partnership ushers in an exciting chapter for us, promising innovation, growth, and the pursuit of excellence in AI-powered machine vision and quality solutions, and how they deliver value alongside the top industrial and automation controls platform in North America.”
The investment fortifies Elementary’s resources, boosting its capacity to develop and deploy technologies that drive digital transformation. Elementary’s innovative AI-powered quality solutions, combined with industrial control systems, are said to enable closed loop quality, preventing future defects by providing feedback. Toyota Ventures, an existing investor in Elementary, also played a key role in the funding round alongside Rockwell, reaffirming confidence in Elementary’s mission to close the loop on quality.
Elementary said in the release that the strategic collaboration reinforces its position as a “disruptive force in the smart manufacturing automation sector and sets a clear trajectory for the company’s growth and the industry’s evolution.”