Concept: California’s tech startup Instrumental Instrumental has debuted a manufacturing optimization platform that enables users to accelerate time-to-market, improve yields, eliminate rework, and save engineering time. The cloud-based AI manufacturing optimization platform helps customers solve crucial issues in their manufacturing operations.

Nature of Disruption: The manufacturing optimization platform detects defects, identifies root causes, and delivers actionable insights to users for improving their manufacturing system. It leverages AI to automatically find defects and anomalies in images or data as they occur. The platform is a combination of hardware and software. The hardware consists of cameras that are installed on manufacturing lines to detect anomalies in the manufacturing line. The AI-based platform collates images from key states of assembly, leverages AI and smart algorithms to discover defects and issues, and correspondingly present those issues in a traceable data record that can be accessed remotely. It supports on-site data processing to prevent upload/download lag. The platform supports Instrumental Data Streams which enable the customers to load automatically load additional product data including functional test results or measurements from third-party systems into the platform. It can offer value in early engineering validation builds through ramp and mass production, by constantly finding, categorizing, and monitoring defect types. Instrumental claims that the new platform enables organizations to overcome the issues associated with new product introduction (NPI) and mass production.

Outlook: Companies operating in the manufacturing sector, particularly electronic devices are optimizing their manufacturing processes to reduce the economic wastage associated with manufacturing activities. Instrumental claims that the AI-based manufacturing optimization platform supports the end-to-end manufacturing optimization workflow offering ongoing real-time monitoring and continuous improvement. In February 2022, Instrumental raised $50M in a Series C funding round led by BAM Elevate. The startup aims to leverage the funding to expand research and development for new products and make critical hires in engineering and go-to-market teams. Some of the prominent brands using the platform include Axon, Bose, Cisco Meraki, Honeywell, and SolarEdge.

This article was originally published in Verdict.co.uk