Inbolt, a Paris-based industrial robotics company, has raised US$12.5 million in a funding round led by Shift4Good with participation from Bridges Climate Transition Partners, BNP Paribas Développement, and Ora Global. The investment brings the company’s total funding to US$34 million and will support expansion across the United States and Asia Pacific. It will also fund Inbolt’s entry into data centers and electronics manufacturing, two sectors where precision automation is becoming more critical.
Addressing Factory Floor Blind Spots
Even in highly automated factories, most industrial robots are effectively blind and cannot perceive part misalignment, tooling wear, or small variations that occur on production lines. When a component shifts slightly, a robot may stall, report an error, or produce a defective part. According to a 2025 ABB survey of 3,600 industrial leaders, unplanned downtime can cost as much as US$500,000 per hour, and 44% of respondents reported equipment-related stoppages at least once a month.
How Inbolt Gives Robots Sight
Inbolt combines real-time 3D vision with a hardware-agnostic AI software layer that allows robots to perceive their environment and adjust control loops in real time. The system can be deployed on both new and existing production lines, enabling manufacturers to upgrade automation without replacing installed equipment. It runs natively on major robot platforms including FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa, Comau, and Universal Robots.
Deployment Across Global Manufacturing
Inbolt’s technology is already used across automotive, electronics, and data centers, with deployments on more than 200 robots in over 100 factories on three continents. Clients include Bosch, Beko, Flex, Ford, Stellantis, and Toyota, which reflects the company’s traction among global manufacturers. Founded in 2019 by Rudy Cohen, Albane Dersy, and Louis Dumas, Inbolt is headquartered in Paris.
Funding and Expansion Plans
The US$12.5 million round was led by new investor Shift4Good, a venture capital firm focused on decarbonizing transportation and energy. Bridges Climate Transition Partners, BNP Paribas Développement, and Ora Global also participated. The funds will support Inbolt’s expansion in the United States, including its Detroit office opened in 2026, and in Asia Pacific, as well as entry into data centers and electronics manufacturing.
Investor Confidence
Shift4Good Partner Julien Baumont said the firm was impressed by Inbolt’s ability to turn sophisticated technology into a robust solution already used by leading manufacturers in automotive and beyond. Bridges Climate Transition Partners Partner Christophe Defert noted that nearly 5 million industrial robots worldwide mostly run blind, causing jams, breakdowns, and idle time. He added that Inbolt’s physical AI has solved this problem in difficult production environments rather than only in laboratory demonstrations.
Recent Recognition and Momentum
Inbolt was ranked third on the Sifted 100 France and Benelux list, which highlights the region’s fastest-growing startups, on the strength of a two-year revenue CAGR above 500%. The company’s technology was also featured by The New York Times in a report on a Stellantis assembly plant in Detroit becoming a top performer. This recognition highlights the commercial relevance of Inbolt’s technology in industrial settings.
Rudy Cohen, co-founder and CEO, said robots have been running blind for fifty years and that fixing the problem is not about better hardware but about giving every robot intelligence to see and adapt in real time. The new capital is intended to bring that capability to manufacturers everywhere, not only those with deep integration budgets. Inbolt’s expansion will focus on supporting more factories with flexible, scalable automation across the United States and Asia Pacific.