US-based no-code manufacturing app platform Tulip completed a $39.5m series B round on Tuesday that was backed by cutting machine tools manufacturer DMG Mori.
Vertex Ventures, a venture capital subsidiary of Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, also took part in the round, as did VC firms New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Pitango Venture Capital.
Spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab in 2012, Tulip has built a platform that allows manufacturing engineers to develop apps for use on the shop floor without writing any code, starting either from scratch or customising an app template.
The system includes analytics capabilities, allowing factory workers to generate real-time reports and visualisations. DMG Mori, an existing client of Tulip, made its investment in connection with a strategic partnership and will integrate Tulip’s technology with its machine tools.
Tulip intends to open an office in Munich, in DMG Mori’s home country of Germany, to collaborate with the corporate and drive expansion efforts across Europe. The funding will also fuel Tulip’s growth in Japan, the Middle East and Africa.
NEA had led the company’s $13m series A round for in 2017, with participation from Pitango and assorted angel investors. C4 Ventures supplied an undisclosed amount of funding the year before, while unnamed private investors provided seed capital at an undisclosed date.
Natan Linder, chief executive of Tulip, said: “We could not have asked for a better partner. While Tulip is already working with many of the largest global manufacturers, the machining SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) market has always been core for us.
“DMG Mori and Tulip will be able to together offer software that has never before been available for SMEs. With the Manufacturing App Platform and our new no code machine monitoring capabilities machining customers will be able to significantly improve productivity.”
