The new fund comes at a time of growing investor interest in manufacturing, with opportunities to leverage data residing in existing infrastructure and processes that could impact scaling and profitability.
Omni Ventures just announced the closing of an oversubscribed $33 million Fund I that will fund early-stage startups building the next generation of manufacturing technology.
The San Jose-based venture capital firm, led by general partners Simon Lancaster and Sabrina Paseman, is focused on backing pre-seed companies developing software, AI, robotics, automation, and connected industrial systems for the manufacturing economy.
Positioned as “the Manufacturing Tech VC,” Omni Ventures is writing $700,000 to $1 million checks into startups working to modernize one of the world’s most important but historically under-digitized sectors.
The firm sees an opportunity to unlock proprietary data from factory floors, legacy systems, industrial machines, spreadsheets, and operational workflows that have long remained fragmented or inaccessible.
Allocator One, a fund of funds that backs emerging venture managers, was the anchor investor and includes limited partners across 14 countries.
Portfolio companies have also attracted participation from major venture firms including Khosla Ventures, Eclipse Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Kleiner Perkins.
“The race to modernize industrial manufacturing is one of the defining economic stories of this decade,” said Michael Ströck, founding partner at Allocator One. He noted that Omni’s leadership team brings both technical operating experience and a differentiated network in a sector that remains significantly under-digitized.
Manufacturing Poised for a New Era Driven by Technology
Manufacturing technology has become an increasingly important investment category as companies and nations work to build more resilient, competitive, and software-enabled industrial bases.
Supply chain disruptions, geopolitical competition, labor shortages, reshoring initiatives, and the rise of artificial intelligence are all accelerating demand for modern industrial tools.
“Manufacturing is entering a new era of global dynamism,” said Lancaster. “Countries and companies are racing to build more resilient, competitive, and software-enabled industrial bases. Nearly every major sector of the economy has already been transformed by software. Manufacturing is the next great frontier, and AI is finally making that transformation possible.”
For decades, manufacturers have generated enormous amounts of operational data. Much of that data, however, has remained trapped in legacy on-premise systems, machines, disconnected software, institutional knowledge, and manual processes. Omni’s goal is for AI to turn that information into practical tools for decision-making, productivity, quality control, and operational efficiency.
“When we think about which industries AI will transform most, it comes down to data density,” said Paseman. “Manufacturing has decades of it, but until now it’s been trapped in machines, factory floors, tribal knowledge, spreadsheets, and legacy on-prem systems. AI has finally made it possible to put that data to work. That’s the inflection point we built Omni around.”
AI, Robotics, and Automation Drive Manufacturing Innovation
Omni Ventures is targeting startups in several fast-growing areas of manufacturing technology, including predictive maintenance, supply chain traceability, computer-aided design, simulation tools, advanced robotics, quoting software, industrial automation, and connected factory systems.
Manufacturers value these technologies as they seek to reduce inefficiencies, improve production speed, manage complex supply chains, and respond to demand from global customers.
For legacy industrial companies, the pressure to modernize is growing. At the same time, the number of large potential acquirers for manufacturing technology startups remains significant, creating an attractive opportunity for early-stage investors.
One of Omni’s first investments, Uptool, illustrates the type of problem the firm wants to solve. The company provides an AI-powered quoting platform for small and midsize machine and fabrication shops, helping them quote faster, win more business, and meet the needs of hardware companies.
“Small and midsize manufacturers are the backbone of our industrial economy, but many still rely on manual, legacy workflows and systems that create a ton of inefficiency,” said Benny Buller, co-founder and CEO of Uptool. “Uptool uses AI to help machine and fabrication shops quote faster, win more business, and focus on the work that matters.”
Operator-Led Venture Capital for Industrial Startups
Lancaster and Paseman bring more than 30 years of collective experience operating and investing in industrial and manufacturing technology companies.
Before founding Omni Ventures, the two co-founders spent nearly two decades combined overseeing manufacturing operations across Apple’s global supply chain. Their experience includes time at Google, Blackberry, Arris Composites, and Boston Scientific.
Their operator experience is a major advantage for Omni’s focus. Manufacturing technology startups often face complex customer environments, long sales cycles, technical implementation hurdles, and the need to understand how factories actually operate.
Omni aims to help founders navigate those challenges with sector-specific expertise and a global network.
Over the past five years, Lancaster and Paseman have developed a curated network of more than 32,000 industry executives, engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors.
The firm plans to use that network as a product-validation and customer-access system for early-stage founders building industrial technology companies.
“The next industrial revolution will be built by founders who understand both software and the realities of production,” said Yukai Lin, chief investment officer of Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd., and a limited partner in Omni Ventures. Lin said Omni has identified a compelling earliest-stage opportunity in which technical insight, customer access, and industrial expertise can shape the company’s outcomes.
Backing the Next Generation of Manufacturing Tech Companies
With Fund I, Omni Ventures is entering the market at a time when manufacturing digitization, AI adoption, automation, and industrial resilience are becoming central priorities for both companies and governments.
The firm’s focus on pre-seed manufacturing technology startups gives it an early position in a market that may define the next phase of industrial innovation.
