Tulip Announces New Funding for Digital Transformation Manufacturing Operations

Tulip, a developer of manufacturing app platforms, has announced $13 million in Series A financing. New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led the round, along with participation from Pitango Venture Capital and many returning angel investors. Tulip said it will use the capital to grow its product, design, and research teams in the Smart factories and automated manufacturing sectors, while expanding its customer support capabilities in response to significant customer growth.

While automation and robotics in factory floors continue to grow, manufacturers are looking for intuitive, self-service digital tools that will drive the next wave of workforce productivity, Tulip said.

Tulip is a spinout from MIT and it developed the Manufacturing App Platform product in order to address these needs. The platform leverages Industrial IoT (IIoT) and advanced analytics to help the front-line engineer and operator on the shop floor to more easily:

• Create digital manufacturing apps that integrate operator, sensor and machine data.

• Connect tools, machines, sensors and backend IT systems with industrial IoT.

• Analyze and visualize production with real-time analytics to implement changes and continuously improve.

A recent analysis by Deloitte examining the impact of Tulip at Jabil, a global contract manufacturer, found that production yield increased by more than 10 percent, and manual assembly quality issues were reduced by 60 percent in the initial four weeks of operation. Other customers reportedly have seen over 10 percent increases in yield, and in some cases up to 90 percent reduction in new operators' training times.

“Our customers realize that modern, people-centric digital tools are key to powering digital transformation in manufacturing and increasing workforce productivity,” said Natan Linder, CEO and co-founder, Tulip. “We couldn't have asked for better partners to help accelerate our lead in this exciting marketplace. NEA and Pitango share our vision and drive to revolutionize the manufacturing software market and have unparalleled experience nurturing enterprise software market leaders. We're excited to keep building, innovating and giving customers the tools they need to transform their manufacturing operations.”