The
architecture, engineering and construction industry has undergone significant
changes in recent years yet one major challenge they face is the slow and
costly manufacture of large components as part of their installations. Enabling
the industry to move faster and efficiently, SAEKI has today launched from
stealth with a $2.3M seed funding
round to create fully automated plants with industrial robots using 3D
technology to create anything from wings for aircraft to construction site
installations.
The
funding round was led by Wingman Ventures including participation from Vento
Ventures, Getty Capital and angel investors. Founded in 2021 by Andrea
Perissinotto, Oliver Harley and Matthias Leschok, SAEKI works with the
architectural design, engineering design and construction services industry to
turn complex designs into reality, save concrete and CO2 having developed a new
method to produce custom concrete formwork cost-effectively. They achieve this
by combining 3D printing, milling, with large industrial robots that can print
formwork up to many metres in length, very efficiently and when it comes to
design complexity, the opportunity is unlimited.
Currently,
to develop a lightweight carbon fibre element, or to build a topologically
optimised concrete floor slab, buyers would have to wait months and spend vast
sums of money to receive a first sample and only then build a prototype, let
alone consider reiterating for any flaws. With SAEKI this bottleneck is
removed, enabling buyers to rapidly innovate, grow their services and offerings
in ways they have not been able to before. Indeed, for large scale items, this
has not been previously possible.
Andrea Perissinotto, Co-Founder of SAEKI, commented: “From what we build underground, to what we
build on earth, to what goes to space, from the construction to aerospace
industries, there is a need for large, one-off (custom) components, that are
mostly used once a couple of times at most, then scrapped. Manufacturing these
parts, from the moulds to make concrete elements to the tooling required to
build composite rockets, is labour intensive, has long lead times, and is very
expensive. Moreover, these factors delay hardware iteration to get to the
final product.”
“For vast swathes of industry it’s not
practical to own and manage robots that can create what you need quickly. We
are at the forefront of addressing this and democratising access to the best
tools and creating productive, sustainable and effective outcomes for industry.
Long lead times for large components will be a thing of the past and we can
provide faster and cost effective iterations. Our comprehensive approach sets
us apart - it's not just about being faster or cheaper; it's about providing a
complete solution that caters to the entire spectrum of challenges, which is
resonating well with our customers.”
SAEKI
is focused on building a partnership of trust, support, and mutual growth with
its customers. The team currently works hand-in-hand with customers,
understanding their unique challenges, and tailoring the microfactories to
address their specific needs. This collaborative approach will help the
business unleash its full potential.
SAEKI
is building its first production hub, which will be the blueprint for further
expansion. In an industry bottlenecked by manual processes, the company takes
on the difficult challenge of solving manufacturing problems, acting as a
catalyst and enabler for radical growth and progress across industry.
The
production hub will offer industrial robots built by SAEKI. The robots will
combine multiple digital manufacturing methods, from 3D printing, milling,
inspection to creating an all in one low waste production process and
recyclable materials. The robots will act as microfactories; self-contained
units able to do all the manufacturing steps, easily deployable for localised
manufacturing. Additionally, SAEKI will offer a quoting platform tailored to
the customers' own business needs to remove the complex opaque approach
currently in the market.
Edouard Treccani, Principal
at Wingman Ventures commented: “We're thrilled to join forces with SAEKI as lead investor of their
pre-seed round. Their groundbreaking approach to distributed additive manufacturing
has the power to revolutionize sectors from aerospace to construction through
disruptive tech, local production and sustainable materials. We look forward to
supporting them as they embark on their mission to create yet another deep-tech
champion from Switzerland.”
SAEKI
is building a platform that will allow our customers to transcend the limits of
traditional manufacturing, where size, complexity, and efficiency are no longer
obstacles but catalysts for progress. In doing so, SAEKI envisions a network of
decentralised, robot operated production hubs around the world.
Matthias Leschok, Co-Founder at SAEKI added: “In 10 years from now SAEKI envisions
lights-out factories filled with SAEKI microfactories autonomously producing
complex, material and weight saving formwork for the construction industry,
fixtures and tooling for super-sonic jets or composite moulds for the next
generation formula one cars. SAEKI’s mission is to empower design freedom to be
efficient and sustainable - irrespective of the final product.”