The German company attracted SE Ventures and Hitachi Ventures for a series B round that will be used to expand its product data management platform.
Schneider Electric and Hitachi’s corporate venture capital units were among the investors in a €60m ($70m) series B round for German product data software provider Makersite today.
Makersite’s AI-powered software analyses and connects data from a range of customers to help consumer goods manufacturers understand their supply chains better, meaning they can optimise production more efficiently.
The technology allows companies to track a product’s emissions footprint throughout the entire supply chain, including Scope 3 emissions or indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain.
Makersite uses artificial intelligence and graph technology to build digital twins of manufactured products. This is designed to help companies make more environmentally friendly products in a faster and cheaper way.
“We were impressed by the Makersite team’s expertise in lifecycle and supply chain intelligence,” said Julien Cristiani, general partner at Schneider Electric fund SE Ventures, in a press release announcing the deal. “Their domain knowledge, combined with a clear execution track record, stood out immediately.
“What sealed our conviction was the company’s growth and the level of automation they’ve achieved – being able to process thousands of [stock keeping units] with such speed and precision is a game-changer for supply chain visibility and sustainable product development at scale.”
Private and growth equity group Lightrock and tech investment firm Partech co-led the round, which included SE Ventures and Hitachi Ventures as well as Kompas VC, Translink Capital and Planet A.
The funding, which follows an $18m series A led by Hitachi Ventures three years ago, will support further development of the Makersite platform. The company also plans to enhance its technology and grow its team.
“This investment marks a critical milestone in our mission to make sustainable product design the default,” said Makersite founder and CEO Neil D’Souza.
“Securing this level of commitment – especially in today’s uncertain economic and geopolitical environment – demonstrates the strength of our business case and the urgency of our mission. The funding will allow us to accelerate platform development, deepen integration with our technology partners and scale our impact globally.”
