CHF15m for EthonAI

For chocolate giant Lindt, producing the perfect Lindor truffles involves numerous interdependencies, such as the quality of the raw material, humidity, temperature and variations in machine age and local factory infrastructure. To maintain quality while delivering billions of Lindor truffles every year, Lindt relies on EthonAI's causal AI tools to model the relationship between various physical processes and the quality of the resulting truffles and make suggestions for improvement. 

Founded in 2021, EthonAI uses advanced AI methods to analyse and improve the quality of manufacturers' products and processes by enabling them to combine process and quality data on a single platform. The recently launched Manufacturing Analytics System (MAS) uses AI to give engineers and managers a 'sixth sense' of what is happening on the factory floor - helping them to spot errors, identify inefficient processes, improve quality and reduce waste by up to 50%. Like a range of AI-driven tools that enhance the capabilities of factory managers and engineers, the MAS creates a real-time picture of what is happening, analyses the causes of problems and predicts what can be done to solve them.  

‘Manufacturing is at a critical juncture, and companies that fail to adapt with AI risk falling behind. Factories are producing mountains of data and AI is the key to unlocking insights to drive operational excellence,’ says Julian Senoner, CEO of EthonAI. ‘Global supply chains are trembling, and the EU and US are seeking to rebuild manufacturing capabilities. We’re in the throes of a global rethinking of how manufacturing is done – with digitalization, data and AI at the center. That’s exactly where EthonAI is positioned.’ 

‘Factories have truly come “online” in the last few years, with the growth of sensors to measure everything from the temperature of a boiler to the vibration of a motor,’ says Katharina Wilhelm, the partner at Index Ventures who led the investment. ‘But data is only valuable if you can digest it, make sense of it, and use it to drive decisions. That’s where EthonAI comes in – helping you to make sense of the data and quickly spot problems, point to bottlenecks and drive operational excellence overall. It turns the paradigm of manufacturing from a piecemeal and reactive one into an intelligent and proactive one.’ 

EthonAI already has a diverse customer base of Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders across the globe – including Siemens Smart Infrastructure and Lindt & Sprüngli.The team will now focus on deploying resources to grow its platform capabilities and expand its enterprise offering to meet the needs of customers already scaling the MAS across multiple factories. 

(Press release / SR)