Lupfig-based SAEKI, a startup on a mission to build a network of decentralized, lights-out factories combining digital manufacturing and robotics to produce large-scale parts at lightspeed, raised €2.1 million seed led by Wingman Ventures including participation from Vento Ventures, Getty Capital and angel investors.
The fresh capital will make possible to create fully automated plants with industrial robots using 3D technology to create anything from wings for aircraft to construction site installations.
Founded in 2021 by Andrea Perissinotto, Oliver Harley and Matthias Leschok, SAEKI works with the architectural design, engineering design and construction services industry to turn complex designs into reality, save concrete and CO2 having developed a new method to produce custom concrete formwork cost-effectively. They achieve this by combining 3D printing, and milling, with large industrial robots that can print formwork up to many metres in length, very efficiently and when it comes to design complexity, the opportunity is unlimited.
The architecture, engineering and construction industry has undergone significant changes in recent years yet one major challenge they face is the slow and costly manufacture of large components as part of their installations.
Currently, to develop a lightweight carbon fibre element, or to build a topologically optimised concrete floor slab, buyers would have to wait months and spend vast sums of money to receive a first sample and only then build a prototype, let alone consider reiterating for any flaws. With SAEKI this bottleneck is removed, enabling buyers to rapidly innovate, and grow their services and offerings in ways they have not been able to before. Indeed, for large-scale items, this has not been previously possible.
“We joined the program as engineers and left as entrepreneurs; Venture Kick made the leap possible. Their guidance, workshops, and mentorship were invaluable, helping us take SAEKI from vision to reality,” said Andrea Perissinotto, CEO and Co-founder of SAEKI.
SAEKI is focused on building a partnership of trust, support, and mutual growth with its customers. The team currently works hand-in-hand with customers, understanding their unique challenges, and tailoring the microfactories to address their specific needs. This collaborative approach will help the business unleash its full potential.
SAEKI is building its first production hub, which will be the blueprint for further expansion. In an industry bottlenecked by manual processes, the company takes on the difficult challenge of solving manufacturing problems, acting as a catalyst and enabler for radical growth and progress across the industry.
The production hub will offer industrial robots built by SAEKI. The robots will combine multiple digital manufacturing methods, from 3D printing, milling, and inspection to creating an all-in-one low-waste production process and recyclable materials. The robots will act as micro-factories; self-contained units able to do all the manufacturing steps, and easily deployable for localised manufacturing. Additionally, SAEKI will offer a quoting platform tailored to the customers’ own business needs to remove the complex opaque approach currently in the market.
SAEKI is building a platform that will allow its customers to transcend the limits of traditional manufacturing, where size, complexity, and efficiency are no longer obstacles but catalysts for progress. In doing so, SAEKI envisions a network of decentralised, robot-operated production hubs around the world.
