Fractory, a Manchester-based, Estonian-founded startup that connects engineering companies with the manufacturing market, has raised €4.8 million with the help of strategic investors.
Fractory was founded in 2017 by mechanical engineer-turned entrepreneur Martin Vares along with Joosep Merelaht and Rein Torm. The company is a cloud manufacturing platform that connects engineering companies with the manufacturing market in real-time, allowing engineers and purchasing managers to make the switch from data collectors to decision-makers.
Using Fractory’s platform, engineers can access a wide range of manufacturing methods just by uploading their CAD files. The startup’s algorithm chooses a manufacturing partner best suited for the job, taking prices, location, required materials and manufacturing methods into account.
The company is based in Manchester, UK and operates mainly in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. It employs 64 people, and the turnover in 2022 was nearly €15 million.
The additional capital will be used for expansion in existing markets, mainly in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.
The €4.8 million round is led by a brand-new early-stage investment company, Kvanted, whose focus is on companies building industrial technologies in Northern Europe. Other participants in the funding round include the venture capital groups, angel investors and entrepreneurs who have bought into Fractory since it launched in 2017, among them Superhero Capital, OTB Ventures, Trind Ventures, United Angels VC, Startup Wise Guys and Verve Ventures.
