From Factory Floor to Funding Round

Most AI headlines celebrate generative models or creative automation.
But the real transformation often happens in quieter spaces — factory lines, optical scanners, assembly sensors.

Delvitech, a Swiss deep-tech firm building AI-native automated optical inspection (AOI) systems, just secured a $40 million Series B to scale its manufacturing capabilities and expand into India (IndianWeb2, Nov 2025).
The round was led by EGS Beteiligungen (EGSB) — the investment arm of the Ernst Göhner Foundation — with participation from CREADD Ventures and several European investors.

This isn’t just another industrial AI raise. It represents a pattern we’ve been waiting for — AI funding reaching the hardware layer of the world’s economy.

What “AI-Native Optical Inspection” Actually Means

Traditional optical inspection relies on preset rules and manual calibration.
Every time a new component appears on the line, the system needs human reprogramming.

Delvitech’s platform removes that bottleneck. Its self-learning neural networks continuously adapt to changing production dynamics, detecting defects on PCBs and semiconductor components without extensive manual setup.

The result is a system that gets smarter as it inspects — not just faster. It moves AOI from “error detection” to “error prevention,” enabling predictive quality control and reducing costly line downtime.

This is what founder and CEO Roberto Gatti calls “AI-native design”: hardware and AI co-developed from day one rather than AI bolted onto legacy equipment.

The Technology Edge

At Productronica Munich 2025, Delvitech unveiled new HORUS optical heads capable of capturing images in just 60 milliseconds (XP version) and achieving 3-micron resolution (HD version).
Their new conveyor system performs dual-side PCB inspection and dual-lane handling for faster throughput.

A key component is Delvitech’s Training Manager software, which allows on-machine learning both online and offline, so performance improves continuously without stopping production.

This blend of Swiss-engineered hardware and neural architecture creates something rare in manufacturing AI: a system that learns on the line, not just in the lab.

Why This Matters Now

Generative AI dominated software; Delvitech’s success shows how AI is crossing into industries where accuracy and uptime matter more than style.
Investors see the writing on the wall — the next AI wave is physical.

Delvitech’s growth numbers speak for themselves: 400 percent sales growth forecast for 2025, global subsidiaries across the US, India, Germany and Italy, and plans to manufacture 200 AI inspection units per month by 2030.

The company is also bringing AI pioneer Prof. Jürgen Schmidhuber onto its board — a signal that this isn’t just industrial automation; it’s applied AI at research depth.

The BitByBharat View

For years, AI was about language and images. Now it’s about precision, speed, and production.
Delvitech is proof that the industrial world is entering its AI-native phase.

This is how you know a technology is maturing: when it starts optimising processes that no one posts about on LinkedIn but everyone relies on in the real economy.

As someone who has watched factories struggle with manual inspection and slow line restarts, this feels like the moment AI finally earns its industrial badge.
It’s not a demo; it’s deployment.

The Dual Edge (Correction vs Opportunity)

Correction:
Industrial AI moves slower because stakes are higher. It takes time to validate AI in regulated, hardware-dependent settings. Expect longer sales cycles and heavy integration costs.

Opportunity:
When AI finally lands in factories, it stays. Switching costs are massive, and value is measurable. This is where durable AI businesses will be built — fewer users, higher margins, deep defensibility.

Implications

For Founders:
There’s white space in industrial AI. Don’t chase consumer agents — look for workflows where errors hurt and standards exist. Funding is following precision, not buzz.

For Engineers / Builders:
If you’ve worked on computer vision, start studying manufacturing domains. You’ll find use cases that demand both machine learning and mechanical thinking.

For Investors / Analysts:
The hardware interface of AI is where the next defensible moats will form. Models can be cloned; factory integration cannot.

Closing Reflection

We talk about AI as if it’s a cloud-only phenomenon. But the real economy lives in factories, not tabs.
Delvitech’s funding marks a simple truth — AI is now touching things you can hold.

The future won’t be all about talking machines. It will be about machines that see better, work smarter, and never get tired of inspecting the details.

(IndianWeb2, Nov 2025)