BMW i Ventures Joins the Bright Machines Journey

The pace of technology innovation in the auto industry over the last decade has been remarkable. Cars are becoming increasingly intelligent with new electrification, autonomy, connectivity and infotainment capabilities. While deemed a luxury just 10-15 years ago, nearly every new car today is equipped with some type of connected car technology.

This proliferation of intelligent systems in vehicles has presented a massive opportunity for Bright Machines to make a tremendous and immediate impact on the way these systems are manufactured. With intelligent software and flexible factory robots, our vision is to enable our customers to effortlessly develop the next generation of products.

Today, we’re excited to share that BMW i Ventures, BMW’s venture capital fund, has announced an investment in Bright Machines – a testament to our vision and our contributions to the automotive manufacturing space. We are thrilled to have the support of BMW i Ventures as we help our customers meet growing demands for intelligent systems and new, integrated technologies.

You can read more about it here.

BMW i Ventures Announces Investment in Bright Machines

Mountain View, CA, (March 7, 2019) — BMW i Ventures today announced an investment in Bright Machines, the company delivering intelligent, software-defined manufacturing for the next generation of products.  Bright Machines is helping computer, electronic and automotive brands improve product quality, throughput and factory optimization, while cutting costs and time to market.

“Bright Machines is helping to usher in a new era of manufacturing where intelligent, software-defined machines build products autonomously and efficiently,” said Marcus Behrendt, partner, BMW i Ventures.  “Bright Machines is poised to revolutionize the factory of the future, and we’re thrilled to help be a part of their journey.”

Headquartered in San Francisco, CA with offices worldwide, Bright Machines was founded in 2018 to bring intelligence to the factory, enabling manufacturers to autonomously build physical products. Bright Machines delivers software-defined manufacturing by combining the best in robotics and software with machine learning, computer vision and data science. Software-Defined Manufacturing brings automation, greater clarity, flexibility and speed to the manufacturing process.

“The auto industry’s continued shift toward electric and autonomous vehicles is being driven by the production and scale of new, integrated technologies,” said Amar Hanspal, CEO, Bright Machines.  “We are thrilled to have the support of BMW i Ventures to bring our vision for intelligent, software-defined manufacturing and the advantages of scale, quality, and traceability to one of the world’s most innovative and demanding industries.”

About BMW i Ventures

BMW i Ventures, BMW’s EUR 500 million venture capital fund, invests money and resources in startups in the fields of autonomous driving, digital car and automotive cloud, e-mobility, artificial Intelligence and data, industry 4.0, shared and on-demand mobility, customer digital life, and energy services. The firm has already partnered with innovative companies such as Carbon3D, Chargepoint, Claroty, DesktopMetal, Graphcore, JustPark, Life360, Moovit, Nauto, Scoop, Stratim, Turo, Xometry, Zendrive and Zūm. BMW i Ventures invests in all stages from seed and incubation to growth companies.

To learn more about our capabilities in building the backbone of AI, visit Bright Machines.