French automation company Inbolt announced $12.5 million in funding to support its expansion in the U.S., where it opened a Detroit office in 2026, and the Asia-Pacific region. It will also fund the company's entry into two new sectors: data centers and electronics manufacturing.
The latest round was led by new investor Shift4Good, a venture capital firm focused on decarbonizing transportation and energy. It also featured contribution from Bridges Climate Transition Partners, BNP Paribas Développement and Ora Global, bringing Inbolt’s total funding to $34M.
Blind spots on the factory floor
Even in highly automated factories, most industrial robots cannot perceive part misalignment, tooling wear or the small variations that occur naturally on every production line. As a result, when something shifts slightly out of position, the robot either stalls, throws an error or produces a defective part.
Multiplying this issue across a factory floor can lead to costly consequences. According to a 2025 ABB survey of 3,600 industrial leaders, unplanned downtime can cost as much as $500,000 an hour, with 44% reporting equipment-related stoppages at least once a month.
Giving robots sight
Inbolt proposes a combination of 3D vision and a hardware-agnostic AI software layer that gives robots the ability to perceive their environment and adjust their control loops in real time. The system can be deployed on both new and existing production lines, allowing manufacturers to upgrade automation without replacing installed equipment. It also runs natively on major robot platforms including FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa, Comau and Universal Robots.
The company has deployed on over 200 robots in more than 100 factories across three continents, with clients including Bosch, Beko, Flex, Ford, Stellantis and Toyota.
