PreScalar, a test and data platform for advanced manufacturing, has raised US$7 million in Seed funding to help factories update, test, and track firmware directly on production lines. The round was co-led by Dynamo Ventures and BMW i Ventures, with participation from Blue Wire Capital, Uplift Ventures, and Antler. Founded in 2025, the company is commercializing manufacturing infrastructure that its founders previously built inside leading hardware organizations.
The Challenge of Outdated Firmware
Many components arrive at production lines with firmware that is already outdated, leaving manufacturers with limited options. They often must either reprogram parts manually or send them back, which creates delays, adds costs, and weakens traceability. PreScalar addresses this problem by placing modular test stations directly on the production line where firmware can be updated, validated, and recorded.
A Founding Team with Firsthand Experience
PreScalar was founded by Skyler Salman, Ben Fredrickson, and John Cathcart, who held senior testing, software, and product launch roles at Cruise, Waymo, Rivian, Google, Lucid, and Chrysler. The founders built similar internal systems at well-resourced companies before launching PreScalar in 2025. Their direct experience with complex manufacturing environments shapes the company's product strategy and credibility with advanced manufacturers.
How the Platform Works
PreScalar's modular hardware can be deployed as a single test station and expanded across an entire manufacturing line. The system combines test workflows, firmware management, and data collection into one unified dataset, helping teams avoid fragmented legacy tools. As deployments grow across lines, products, and suppliers, manufacturers gain increasingly comprehensive visibility into individual devices throughout production.
Leadership and Investor Perspectives
CEO Skyler Salman said hardware has fundamentally changed while manufacturing methods have not kept pace, and the funding will help bring sophisticated infrastructure to manufacturers at scale. Santosh Sankar of Dynamo Ventures noted that leading hardware companies built such systems internally, while others have been left stitching together legacy tools. Kasper Sage of BMW i Ventures added that software-defined products make manufacturing infrastructure for deployment, testing, and tracing as critical as the product itself.
Market Context and Early Traction
PreScalar targets manufacturers of complex, software-defined hardware across autonomous vehicles, automotive, robotics, consumer electronics, and defense. The global automotive software and electronics market alone is projected to reach US$519 billion by 2035, according to McKinsey. The company is already working with high-growth technology companies and large global manufacturers, though specific customer names have not been disclosed.
Pilot Contracts and Expansion Plans
At Antler's Spring 2026 US portfolio showcase, PreScalar announced pilot contracts worth more than US$100,000 with a leading autonomous vehicle company and an electronics manufacturer. The company also signed an agreement for further expansion, signaling early commercial traction. The new capital will support research and development, hardware manufacturing, hiring, and scaling commercial deployments.
A Differentiated Focus on Firmware and Traceability
Other providers offer software for manufacturing plants, including AI-based defect detection and traditional test and measurement tools. PreScalar differentiates itself by focusing specifically on firmware deployment and adding traceability to the test station. This narrow emphasis addresses a workflow gap that many legacy factory systems were not designed to handle.
PreScalar's Seed funding arrives at a time when factories are under pressure to manage constant software updates for physical products. Its modular test stations and unified data platform offer a targeted response to the complexity of software-defined manufacturing. With an experienced founding team, early customer momentum, and backing from strategic investors, PreScalar is positioned to help production lines keep pace with the software inside the devices they build.