The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” It’s a message with universal meaning, but will strike a particular chord with anyone in the tech startup ecosystem.
Here at Seebo, our “thousand mile” journey started just a few short years ago. Since then, our company has grown in leaps and bounds – and each achievement and recognition is a building block for our future success. So, as we look forward to another exciting year of innovation, it’s worth taking stock of the year that was.
Record growth and funding
Perhaps the most significant development of 2021 was Seebo’s $24 million funding round. That round – led by Vertex Ventures with participation from 10D, The Phoenix and Leumi Partners – brought Seebo’s total funding to $46 million.
Our latest funding round capped a period of record growth, as manufacturers increasingly understood the important role of Process-Based Artificial Intelligence in succeeding in an increasingly complex and competitive environment. That customer recognition was best illustrated in the number of leading manufacturers who expanded their use of our solution across multiple production lines, after seeing impressive results at lines where it was already deployed.
Seebo makes top 5 on International Business Times’ AI startup list
Speaking of recognition, Seebo added another feather to our hat (following 2020’s recognition by the World Economic Forum), by being included in International Business Times’ list of “Top AI Startups & Scaleups”.
Seebo ranked 4th out of 111 top startups – and took the top place among AI startups in the manufacturing industry.
Barilla share their amazing success story – from zero data to 37% reduction in waste losses
Of course, the most valuable form of recognition comes from our customers themselves.
In a webinar with the American Bakers Association, Barilla’s VP of Global Manufacturing Strategy & Global Capital Planning shared his fascinating journey with Seebo.
Giovanni Ballerini’s experience at a major production line in Italy is one that will resonate strongly with many baked goods manufacturers: in just four months, they went from having no data whatsoever, to cutting waste losses by 37%, using Seebo’s Process-Based Artificial Intelligence solution.
Business Insider names Seebo as one of 10 startups “set to boom” in 2022
Another publication to take note of Seebo’s exponential growth was Business Insider, naming Seebo among the 10 AI startups that raised “the biggest Series A and B rounds of the last 2 years and are poised to boom.”
2021’s a wrap – what’s coming in 2022?
With a growing roster of top-tier customers, accelerating expansion of the Seebo solution across factories, and a world-class team that’s set to double – 2022 will likely be our greatest year yet.
And while we can’t predict the future, one major focus that will certainly continue into the new year is our mission to enable manufacturers to run production processes that are both more sustainable and more profitable – by aligning and optimizing conflicting business objectives such as emissions, quality, throughput and yield.
The past 2 years have seen unprecedented adoption of the Seebo solution, as it becomes clear that Artificial Intelligence is defining the future of manufacturing. Those manufacturers who are quickest to embrace AI will pull ahead of the competition in the next decade, while leading the charge for a more sustainable model of manufacturing.
Lior Akavia is the co-founder and CEO of Seebo