Foundry Robotics, based in Emeryville, California, announced on Wednesday that it has raised a Series A round of $100 million. These funds are intended for the construction of what the company calls America's first autonomous assembly factory. Additionally, the capital will be directed towards expanding its robotics, engineering, and operations teams, as well as implementing additional artificial intelligence models.
Founded only this year, Foundry is demonstrating a rapid pace of development. Founder and CEO Adarsh Kulkarni has experience with robotics; previously, he was a fourth employee at Ghost Robotics, working on bipedal robots for the US armed forces, and later became the first head of the robotics department at Scale AI.
Co-founder Emmanuel Lamakkiya possesses deep knowledge of manufacturing, having led the Model Y program at Tesla, overseeing the production of approximately 1.5 million vehicles annually. Anup Karmakar, a former software lead at Tesla, also joined the team. The team also includes veterans from the military who have experience working at Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, highlighting their ability to scale production.
Unlike most robotics startups that sell the robots or software themselves, Foundry owns and operates factories independently, offering a manufacturing-as-a-service model. The company installs AI-supported robotic cells at its sites. The FoundryOS system connects these robots, the factory, and cloud services. Each production cycle feeds data back into the models, allowing the system to continuously improve.
For clients, this means faster and more consistent production. Foundry claims it can take a product from design to release in a matter of weeks, eliminating the need to create a new production line or costly equipment retooling. For defense contractors awaiting components, this could shorten program timelines by months.
The company's main specialization is complex electromechanical assemblies such as drones, satellites, wire harnesses, and underwater vehicles. The list also includes components for autonomous vehicles, ground robots, and data center equipment. The new 130,000 square foot facility in Emeryville increases the company's production capacity twentyfold.
In addition to Marlinspike, early investors in the round returned, including Khosla Ventures and Red Glass Ventures. New participants include SE Ventures, Wing VC, and Axiom Ventures. Existing investors Hanabi and Zero Shot Fund maintained their positions. This funding round ranks among the top 3% of registered Series A rounds in US deep tech, a rare achievement for such a young company. Earlier reports indicated initial funding of about $14 million, making the current round a significant leap.
Marlinspike's Managing Director, Mislav Tolusik, noted that manufacturers urgently need in-house production capacity. He also believes that Foundry quickly secures contracts with clients. Duane Fortingham, President of HII Unmanned Systems, stated directly that 'production capacity is a national bottleneck for deploying unmanned systems.' This is where Foundry fits in.
Kulkarni insists that factories capable of reviving American manufacturing must be designed from scratch, not merely repaired. The company's mission is to revitalize US industry. Foundry is not alone in this endeavor; Arda Industries launched this month with $232 million in funding. Maven Robotics also raised $100 million in a Series A round in September. Investors clearly see a shift, but big claims require proof. An 'autonomous factory' is only valid if it delivers reproducible results at scale, and Foundry now has the funds to demonstrate this.



