Makersite, which helps companies get a close up view of the environmental impact of their entire supply chain, has raised €60m in Series B financing led by Lightrock and Partech.
SE Ventures, and all of Makersite’s Series A investors, including Hitachi Ventures, Kompas VC, Translink Capital and Planet A participated in the round.
Manufacturing is responsible for 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to data from Breakthrough Energy, a series of organisations founded by Bill Gates to develop clean energy solutions. Under pressure to decarbonise, manufacturers are increasingly looking for solutions to help them meet new standards and create greener and more resilient supply chains.
Stuttgart-based Makersite’s AI-driven cloud platform builds a digital twin of a company’s product and supply chain, mapping out how materials and components are made, their cost, environmental footprint and potential compliance risks. This helps companies make more sustainable and cost-effective decisions when designing products.
“Sustainability has changed from ESG reporting three, four years ago back to what really drives value for businesses. We probably were a little misguided in recent years where we thought reporting on ESG is going to save the world, and it doesn’t really. At the end of the day, you have to fix the products that are creating the damage,” Makersite CEO Neil D’Souza tells Sifted.
“100% of the impact you see in the world comes in the products we make and use. It's not about eating less meat or driving a car less or flying less.”
D’Souza says the business case for companies to create more sustainable products is clear.
A study by PwC published in July showed businesses are anticipating that one third of their revenue will come from practices associated with the climate transition in 2030, which could come in the form of new offerings such as refurbished products or sustainability services.
Additionally, US president Donald Trump’s tariffs on various countries have demonstrated the need for companies to understand their supply chains, adds D’Souza.
Makersite’s customers include Microsoft, Daikin, Cummins, Barco and Schneider Electric.
The company says Microsoft has reduced the carbon footprint of its Surface Pro 10 laptop by 28% in just two years by using its platform.
Makersite will use the fresh capital to enrich its data to “capture more and more of the supply chain,” says D’Souza. It’ll also invest in its AI and tech infrastructure and get more partners on board.
In January this year, it announced a partnership with American software and services company PTC to integrate the company’s enterprise PLM (product lifestyle management) product Windchill with Makersite.
D’Souza also wants to grow its headcount from 155 people to 200 people by the end of the year.
“In the next 10 years we will put a billion new products on the market in just North America and Europe. That's a massive opportunity,” says D’Souza. “If we can make those the most sustainable they can be, they will be more successful, and they will replace a lot of the existing stock that we have — and that's what creates change.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Makersite is profitable. The company was actually profitable until 2022 at the time of its Series A. Since then, it has focused on doubling its revenue and investing in growth.
