CADDi sells AI software that helps manufacturers turn engineering drawings, parts records and production data into a system their teams can search and use. Engineers, procurement staff and quality teams can retrieve earlier designs, compare similar components and carry past decisions into new work. The Tokyo- and Chicago-based company told Fortune it has raised a $114 million Series D at a $1.2 billion valuation.
The workflow starts by connecting files and systems that normally sit apart, including 2D drawings, 3D CAD models, bills of materials, quality records, purchase histories and enterprise software. CADDi extracts geometry and specifications, identifies similar parts and links those designs to suppliers, prices and defects. A user evaluating a new component can then see whether the company already has a comparable part, how it performed and which supplier previously made it before deciding whether to reuse inventory or place another order.
The product has expanded beyond its original CADDi Drawer search tool, now called CADDi Explorer. CADDi Agent uses the resulting information to support manufacturing decisions, while six workflow products address jobs including design review, cost planning, quoting and production preparation. CADDi Design Review, for example, checks new drawings and CAD models against earlier problems with similar parts and flags potential errors before teams advance the design.
Eight new and existing investors joined the round, Fortune reported. New backers included Moore Strategic Ventures, Coreline Ventures, Toyota’s Woven Capital and Recruit Holdings’ HR Tech Fund; existing investors Atomico, Globis Capital Partners and the JPS Growth funds also participated. One new investor was not identified. CADDi said the financing brings its total funding to $234 million.
CADDi’s business is enterprise software sold to manufacturers and paired with hands-on deployment. CEO Yushiro Kato told Fortune that sales are more than doubling year over year, that the company serves customers in 22 countries and that more than half of Japan’s 100 largest manufacturers use its software. Those are company claims. CADDi employs more than 100 customer-success staff, a larger group than its sales team, as it helps customers incorporate the tools into existing operations.
CADDi plans to use the capital to expand its product lineup, develop models that understand manufacturing-specific data, hire and grow internationally with an emphasis on North America. Kato identified change management as the biggest obstacle to adoption. The open question is whether manufacturers will alter longstanding work practices enough for CADDi’s workflow products to capture the tacit knowledge on which its broader agent system depends.