Katana, a leading global developer of 3D metal printers, has announced the successful completion of an oversubscribed Series A funding round. European venture capital firm Atomico led the $11 million investment, which was supported by existing investors and participated in by numerous angels. The venture capital will be used to fuel Katana’s growth in international markets and help set the stage for a full-scale commercial launch.
This news follows the company’s recent launch of its first product, Katana Printer 1, in May 2019. The state-of-the-art 3D printing machine offers manufacturers superior performance and improved cost efficiency when producing small components from high grade steel alloys such as titanium or maraging steel.
Atomico’s Founder and CEO Niklas Zennstroem commented: “Katana is well-positioned to shape the next industrial revolution – solving 3D printing’s toughest challenges in speed, quality and material selection with their innovative technology.” Executive Chairman Mats Johansson added: “The demand for our product is coming from all around the world”. With this recently secured A Round funding, Katana will have an invaluable platform from which it can grow rapidly internationally and build on its already strong reputation as leader of a new generation in 3D production technology.
Overview of Katana
Katana, a Swedish software company, recently closed an $11 million Series A funding round, led by the European venture capital firm Atomico. This new funding round indicates a strong vote of confidence in the company and provides additional resources to continue its expansion.
In this article, we will discuss Katana’s mission, product offerings, and how this funding round will impact its growth.
What is Katana?
Katana is an AI-powered robotics software for manufacturing businesses. It is the first cloud-based end-to-end platform that offers unified processes to digitally control and optimize every stage of production from raw material procurement to finished goods delivery.
Katana’s core technology has been proven in some of the largest electronics factories around the world, including Foxconn, where it has saved millions of dollars for customers in labor costs and other efficiencies. The company’s mission is to automate the physical parts of businesses with data and software that can drive intelligence into the “body” of a production metabolism just as brains do with life.
The Series A funding round was led by European venture capital firm Atomico, which specializes in investments in high growth technology companies, with participation from existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners and AngelLab Ventures as well as Techstars Ventures partner Jeremie Bacon. The $11 million will be used to expand Katana’s offering worldwide, including its current operations in Russia and Finland.
What services does Katana offer?
Katana provides management software and services to digitally transform production operations of small- and medium-sized manufacturers. By using its cloud-based platform, customers have access to real-time visibility into their entire production processes, including order management, material tracking, sourcing & procurement, shop floor scheduling, inventory optimization and reporting. Katana helps product manufacturers succeed in today’s digital world through advanced tools and automation technology.
Katana allows users to create better shop floor designs while managing parts in the optimal sequence within their production line. It also automates communication exchanges between departments and automates purchasing with its integrated marketplace for supplier ordering and parts delivery. The software further helps identify opportunities for improvement by providing insights about performance against customer demand for each process or product at a given time. This data can be used to inform decisions about maximizing efficiency across operations that are otherwise difficult for business owners to access on their own.
Katana’s recent $11 million Series A funding round was oversubscribed by European venture capital firm Atomico — joining previous investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) Edge Fund and Serena Ventures — further demonstrating a strong market demand for this digital transformation of supply chain management technology.
Overview of Atomico
European venture capital firm Atomico has recently led the $11 million Series A funding round to Katana.
Atomico is a venture capital firm that invests in startup companies in Europe, North America, and beyond. It is led by founder and CEO Niklas Zennström, who became a billionaire through his previous business, Skype.
As a global venture capital firm, Atomico has a strong presence in the European market and has invested in numerous high-growth startups.
Let’s take a look at Atomico and its investments in more detail.
Who is Atomico?
Atomico is a European venture capital firm founded in 2006 by Mattias Ljungman, Niklas Zennström and the late Taavet Hinrikus. The company focuses on partnering with talented entrepreneurs around the world to build category-defining technology companies that are defining their respective markets and disrupting incumbents.
Atomico backs founders at every stage of growth — from seed investments, helping founders overcome the initial challenges as they start up their businesses, to Series A rounds to fuel scaling and expansion. The firm has invested in over 100 companies since its founding, including ridesharing apps like Gett, international search engine Swiftype and connected home devicemaker Petcube.
Atomico’s portfolio includes several notable exits, such as King Digital Entertainment which was acquired by Activision Blizzard in 2016 for $5.9 billion; online marketplace Farfetch which went public on the NYSE with an initial public offering of $885 million; Devoted Health which closed a $300 million funding round and is valued at $1.8 billion; and robotics startup Savioke which was acquired by SoftBank Robotics America for an undisclosed sum.
What is Atomico’s investment strategy?
Atomico is a European venture capital firm founded in 2006 by entrepreneur and investor Niklas Zennström. The firm focuses on seeking out and investing in innovative founders with high potential to become successful global players, typically at the Seed and Series A stages.
Atomico seeks companies that are creating new markets, developing cutting-edge technology, or pushing the boundaries and leading the way in business models. Atomico has invested in more than 150 companies from 20 countries spanning Europe, the United States, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The firm offers more than just capital investment for its portfolio companies – it also offers valuable expertise throughout their journeys as start-up to scale-up firms. Through its wide global network of people, Atomico offers advice on growth strategies, talent acquisition and scaling processes as well as providing guidance on maximizing value when they eventually exit their investments.
Katana’s Series A Funding Round
Katana, an analytics startup, announced an $11 million Series A funding round led by European venture capital firm Atomico. This is an impressive feat for the company and the funding round was oversubscribed due to investor interest.
This round of funding will enable the company to grow their team and expand their product offering.
Let’s take a closer look at what this round of funding means for Katana.
How much was the Series A funding round for?
Katana, a customer relationship management (CRM) software company, has raised $11 million in Series A funds. The round was led by European venture capital firm Atomico, with participation from Nauta Capital and various other investors. Additional funding came from angel investors and the founding team members themselves.
Stemming from the success of their Series A funding round and after witnessing strong demand for their SaaS solution, Katana announced that it had ceased taking additional funds to close out the round – significantly overshooting their initial goal amount. This reinforces their already significant competitive edge amongst CRM vendors as they strive to become a leader in customer data organization and analytics capabilities.
According to Ville Typpö, Cofounder & Head of Sales & Marketing at Katana: “This is an incredible validation of our product-market fit that we’ve built together with our customers especially considering the competitive landscape.” By closing out at over $11 million, this represents one of the most prominent Series A rounds within European enterprise software this year. As they continue to expand their operations more aggressively throughout Europe and beyond, Katana looks forward to utilizing this additional financial backing while pressing on with growth and development plans going into 2021 and beyond.
Who led the round?
European venture capital firm Atomico led the $11 million Series A funding round to Katana. The round also saw participation from existing investors such as Hotanka’s Northzone, along with new investors including Speedinvest and Proseed VC. The investment will be used to further develop the use of software to make industrial production more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable.
Additionally, Atomico’s General Partner and EdTech Lead Gonzalo SanchezGil-Blas has also joined The Katana Board. Commenting on the announcement, Tomi Poutanen, CEO of Katana said: “We are delighted to have achieved such a successful Series A investment round, signalling the ongoing commitment of our investors in supporting us as we become an integral part of industrial production processes worldwide”.
European venture capital firm Atomico leads the $11 million Series A funding round to Katana
Katana’s Series A funding round was oversubscribed, led by European venture capital firm Atomico. Other investors in the round included Notion Capital, Wingman Ventures, Speedinvest and JME Ventures as well as angel investors such as Joi Ito and Koichi Sugiyama.
This group of investors brings a wealth of experience in the business world and is committed to helping Katana achieve its goal of providing personalized nutrition guidance for individuals on their wellness journey. Together with Katana’s current stakeholders, these strategic investors will allow the company to scale up to further accelerate its growth.
Impact of the Funding Round
The $11 million Series A funding round to Katana lead by European venture capital firm Atomico is a huge milestone for the company. This injection of funds will have a positive impact on the growth and expansion of the company.
Let’s take a closer look at the potential impacts of this funding round.
How will the funding be used?
Katana, a cloud-based health IT platform that uses AI to interpret medical images and generate insights from them, has received $11 million in its Series A fundraising round. The European venture capital firm Atomico led the round, with support from its global syndicate of investors. The funding will be used to accelerate the adoption of Katana’s platform, drive research and development initiatives, and strengthen their team.
Specifically, these funds will be used to grow the team at Katana and add strategic hires to expand on their product offering and gain skills across a variety of areas including engineering, design, business development and product management. Additionally, this new funding will be used to expand the company’s presence in Europe by setting up additional offices or investing in R&D partnerships with key universities and institutions across European markets as well as gaining access to new data sources by expanding into new jurisdictions which are typically not available through traditional routes.
Finally, this new round of funding is set to allow for further exploration into Inference InsightsTM – Katana’s proprietary AI algorithms which offer clinicians immediate access to detailed far more quantitative information about complex medical conditions such as cancer or cardiovascular diseases from medical images alone without lengthy analysis from the provider. This level of detail has never before been available in medical imaging and could drastically reduce waiting times for diagnosis which would significantly improve care for patients all over the globe in both developed countries as well as those currently underserved.
What does the future hold for Katana?
The series A funding round for Katana has been highly successful and this is good news for the startup. This increased financial backing will help Katana to grow their development team, expand their operations and make strategic investments.
However, the increased capital also comes with expectations from the investors; they will want to see consistent growth and tangible returns on their investments within the foreseeable future. In other words, Katana will have to deliver on their growth plans in order to succeed.
The influx of funds gives Katana an opportunity to take advantage of new resources and develop a sound strategy for future growth. They can focus resources on developing solutions that meet customer needs or innovate in areas like artificial intelligence and machine learning that can help drive exponential growth.
Furthermore, Katana can explore potential partnerships with larger companies within their industry or look into international markets that could be potential sources of revenue. Their strong financial footing puts them in an excellent position to make bold moves that could further increase company value.
The current state of affairs suggests that Katana is well-positioned for the future but only time will tell whether or not they are able to deliver on the promise of this funding round.
tags = European venture capital firm, Atomico, Katana, $11 million, Estonian manufacturing software development company, katana erp smbs series 16mheartechcrunch, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for SMBs
