University of Sheffield spin-out Productive Machines raises £2.2m Seed funding for machine tool AI

Productive Machines will use the funding to deliver its AI technology as a fully-automated Software-as-a-Service product, as well as expanding its team of eight people to more than 20.

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) led the round with participation from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, ACT Venture Partners and Fuel Ventures, alongside grant funding from Innovate UK.

Alexander Leigh, investment director for UKI2S and Future Planet Capital Group, said: “We are thrilled to cornerstone this investment into a UK-based deeptech University spin out from Sheffield.

"We are excited by the technology’s ability to reduce energy consumption by up to 25 per cent, in addition to the improvement in surface quality, yield, and waste reduction, all of which offers the potential to bring high value jobs back to the UK in the machining industry.”

Founded by Dr Erdem Ozturk and Dr Huseyin Celikag, Productive Machines is aiming to commercialise the results of a six-year AMRC research project on machining dynamics.

The research covered process and machine tool interactions, including how cutting forces and resulting vibrations affect machine tool performance.

Productive Machines has developed a computational model to predict and mitigate the influence of such vibrations in metal and composite milling jobs.

The model uses a digital twin to determine the best parameters for each machine tool and production run, with a view to eliminating wasteful configuration experiments and ensuring that milling jobs are right the first time.

The technology has already been deployed at ten major manufacturers, including Renault and MASA Aerospace.

Dr Erdem Ozturk, CEO at Productive Machines, said: “Manufacturers want to reduce costs, improve quality and cut carbon emissions. But most don’t want to buy complex software products or hire PhD-level engineers to make them work.

"We are meeting all of their goals. The results of our research and innovation are proven with major manufacturers, and this investment enables us to make the significant benefits more accessible to manufacturers of all sizes, anywhere in the world.”

Keira Shepperson, director at British Business Bank, said: “With funding from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, Productive Machines will now be able to make an even greater impact on manufacturers by providing them with cost-cutting and efficiency improvements. The sector is brimming with opportunities for new ways of working and it’s encouraging to see Northern companies leading the way.”