CloEE Funding News – Finnish Startup CloEE Secures €520k In Pre-Seed Round

The funding will help the company scale its solution for current clients and expand its sales efforts in the Nordics, Italy, and the US.

The round was led by angel investor Miro Vertanen and the Innovestor Angel Co-fund, with support from Cariplo Iniziative and three members of the Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN).

“We are developing CloEE in direct response to manufacturers’ need for an affordable, truly plug-and-play solution,” said Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi, CEO and Co-founder of CloEE. “While everyone is eager to adopt AI, the reality is that AI is only as good as the data it receives. CloEE solves this challenge by delivering seamless connectivity and applying advanced AI to analyse data directly from industrial machines. In our experience, 70% of manufacturers struggle to reach even 50% equipment efficiency, largely due to inadequate data collection and analysis.

“With CloEE, our customers quickly become our strongest advocates – our platform expanded across one of our clients’ facilities organically, without any extra sales effort. Currently, we’re piloting CloEE with a US customer operating 100 facilities, and we’re already in discussions for a three-year contract covering 10 of them.”

With experience connecting 25,000 machines across 25 countries, CloEE helps manufacturers tackle key challenges such as production downtime, delivery delays, low OEE, high defect rates, and increasing energy costs—while supporting their sustainability goals.

Lead investor Miro Vertanen commented, “CloEE is leading the shift from outdated manufacturing processes to a new era of smart, data-driven operations, delivering real impact to the bottom line, especially as mid-sized enterprises in the US and beyond embrace digital transformation. We selected the CloEE team for their in-depth industry expertise and proven track record of driving large-scale digital transformation projects in the manufacturing industry. Their hands-on experience with over 100 IoT deployments, combined with their ability to execute at a fast pace, makes them exceptionally well-suited for international expansion.”

CloEE reports that its AI platform has helped customers achieve up to €867k in annual revenue growth, cut energy consumption by 30%, and reduce emergency stops by 95%—all with zero implementation cost. The solution is designed to maximise savings and minimise disruption.

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The company highlights that tracking and improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is key to boosting shop floor performance. Automating operations effectively can increase productivity by 20–30% and reduce quality defects by 15–25%, directly improving profitability. Even small changes, like reducing equipment downtime by just 10%, can drive significant results without large investments.

CloEE’s solution can be installed on-premise, offline, or in the cloud within just two weeks, eliminating the need for long or expensive setup processes.

Andrea Beretta, Senior Director Sartup Operations & Investments at Cariplo Factory, added: “CloEE perfectly embodies the spirit of SkyDeck Berkeley Europe, Milano: robust technology, a visionary team, and strong international potential. Throughout the programme, we witnessed their distinctive approach to industrial manufacturing evolve with both speed and precision. The organic adoption of their solution by major players like Hyundai clearly demonstrates their ability to deliver real, scalable impact.”

The global AI in manufacturing market is projected to grow from around €5.1 billion in 2024 to more than €199.5 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 44%.

This surge is fueled by the increasing use of AI for automation, predictive maintenance, and quality control, with North America and Asia-Pacific emerging as frontrunners in adoption.

“At CloEE, we actively collaborate with universities and associations to understand the evolving challenges of manufacturing. Our goal is to build a truly user-friendly platform for the next generation of engineers. With more than 8 million manufacturing jobs worldwide projected to go unfilled by 2030 – especially those requiring advanced digital skills—making technology accessible is critical.

Even experienced engineers often struggle with existing systems, so we designed CloEE to speak a human language. I believe it will become an essential tool for Gen Z in the factories of the future,” said Julia Sabitova, COO and Co-founder of CloEE.

CloEE currently operates with a team of eight and an R&D center based in Helsinki. The company’s goal is to onboard its first 20 recurring customers by 2025, after which it plans to raise its next funding round.

The newly secured capital will be used to advance R&D, particularly in exploring how AI agents can revolutionize — and potentially replace — traditional heavy manufacturing platforms.

About CloEE

Founded in 2022 by Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi and Julia Sabitova, CloEE is an AI-powered digital advisor for discrete manufacturing. It uses generative AI to analyse real-time data from equipment, MES, and ERP systems, providing actionable insights to help manufacturers continuously improve.