Connektica, which is headquartered in Montreal, announced $4.7 million (€3 million) in funding that aims to accelerate work on software for manufacturing digitalization and automation – and offer it first to aerospace and defense clients.
Connektica is a graduate of the 2020-21 Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) space stream and was the lone Canadian of that cohort, as SpaceQ previously reported. Back then, Connektica was focused on an SaaS platform for radiofrequency components aiming to slash cost – and time – to test items like satellite payloads.
The startup now has a presence in Toulouse as well, which appears key to its “why” behind the funding: Connektica says small- and medium-sized space companies on both continents are facing difficulties in manufacturing standardized products at scale.
“Defense and aerospace companies are now facing similar issues with the rearmament of Europe and Canada – focused on drones, missiles, and satellite data – which requires a rapid increase in production capacities across the entire ecosystem,” officials wrote in a statement. Hence, Connektica’s platform will help “seize this opportunity” for clients requiring “scalable and flexible solutions to standardize and industrialize their processes,” they added.
The company’s statement did not disclose the participants in the new funding round. According to Crunchbase, previous rounds included $2.7 million in seed funding in October 2022 (led by Boreal Ventures), non-equity assistance from CDL in September 2020, and $35,000 in non-equity assistance from Centech in May 2020.
Connektica’s platform aims to help manufacturers both scale production while being in alignment with standards, and is being used by companies such as Toulouse’s Anywaves and U-Space, as well as other clients in France, Canada and the Netherlands. The company aims to double its workforce (from about 20 people today), sign up 100 SME customers and achieve €3 million in recurring revenue by 2028.
“Our clients can digitize and automate complex processes, such as sequential testing, and control all their production lines from one location. With Connektica, they can also monitor their suppliers in real-time, eliminating a significant bottleneck to rapidly scale production across multiple sites, with end-to-end traceability and monitoring at every stage.” Jérémy Perrin, CEO of Connektica,” said in the statement. “We’ve seen companies develop a competitive advantage by internalizing their supply chain. However, SMEs and integrators cannot replicate this model internally, particularly in Europe and Canada,” Perrin added. Connektica’s platform would instead give “autonomy, responsiveness, and cost control”, he said.
