Manufacturing technology business Fractory has raised £4.2 million in funding.
Fractory, which employs 70 people, is headquartered in Manchester’s Bonded Warehouse. This year it featured on our FactoryTech 50 ranking and placed 32nd in the Financial Times’ ranking of Europe’s 1,000 fastest-growing companies.
An online platform connecting engineers with production capacity, it has automated the manufacturing procurement process so that engineers simply upload design files to get instant quotes and delivery times, with Fractory taking responsibility for every aspect of the order.
Its customers also use the platform for series manufacturing, project manufacturing and prototyping.
Trading since 2017, the firm was founded by mechanical engineer Martin Vares along with Joosep Merelaht and Rein Torm.
The round is led by new early-stage investment company Kvanted, whose focus is on companies building industrial technologies in Northern Europe.
Other participants in the funding round include all those venture capital groups, angel investors and entrepreneurs who have bought into Fractory since it launched, amongst them Superhero Capital, OTB Ventures, Trind Ventures, United Angels VC, Startup Wise Guys and Verve Ventures.
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“Kvanted understands exactly what we are doing. They have a longer-than-average investment period to align with the lengthier development cycles in industrial tech,” said Vares. “And they act as a connector, in our case bringing innovative technology providers together with traditional industrial companies.
“Kvanted has broad industry experience and unique networks, and their fund investors include prominent industrial players such as Oras Invest. It’s the best possible strategic partnership for Fractory at this stage.”
Kvanted, which has raised its first fund of €70 million, is based in Finland. Fractory is its first investment.
Founding partner Axel Ahlström added: “There’s a lot of untapped potential in the industrial sector, and our aim is to accelerate industrial innovation, connecting industrial technology startups with established corporations.
“Fractory, which is one of those startups, is already on an impressive trajectory, with increasing client numbers, and our aim is to help it become more widely adopted across industry. Fractory’s important position in the world of manufacturing is clear to us and we see the scope for its growth increasing through this partnership.”