KFactory, the Bucharest-based Industry 4.0 SaaS automation platform, has raised €600K in a round led by Fortech Investments, a Cluj-based CVC, joined by SIF Transilvania, a closed-end financial investment company, and early-stage VC Sparking Capital. This news comes after the startup raised over €200K in 2020 and launched their Green Virtual Engineer last year.
KFactory is working on enhancing operational performance for manufacturing companies. Their solution includes a team of virtual engineers that oversee production, manufacturing, and other processes to monitor carbon footprint and energy efficiency.
This round of investment will be used to accelerate their international expansion on the DACH market – Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The team also intends to grow its network of partners, keep developing the product, boost performance, sustainability, and digitize factories.
Vlad Cazan, KFactory co-founder and Sales Leader, shared in the official press release that 2021 has been a year of growth for the startup. They have increased the customer base by 500% and have over 300 factory machines connected to their platform.
While Adrian Dima, KFactory co-founder, and Product Leader, shared:
“Our customers acknowledge the added value of KFactory by gaining critical insights on their operational processes and improved production performance. With this funding, we aim to expand KFactory functionalities, to be more human-centric, focused on innovation and sustainability.”
KFactory was founded in 2018 by Vlad Cazan and Adrian Dima. Cazan has a background in business administration and innovation processes, having held previous positions of high management; and Dima has a background in engineering and has previously worked as a software development manager.
The startup is currently present in Romania, Portugal, Germany, and the US. Their goal is to make the KFactory solution available globally so people can control operations remotely from anywhere and increase productivity by 25%.
The industrial market in Romania
The KFactory team shared with us that Industry 4.0 or the market for the digitalization of production companies is one of the largest because the industrial sector lacks digitalization.
“There is an increasing trend of digitalization of operational processes, strongly accelerated by the multiple crises superimposed on the market: the pandemic crisis, as well as the increased costs of the utilities, and the chip crisis,” Cazan shared with The Recursive.
Last year, the industrial sector in Romania showed signs of recovery. And Radu-Claudiu Rosca, CEO of SIF Transilvania, confirmed in the press release that this round allows the company to invest in the growth of the Romanian economy.
