Podium Automation announced that it has raised $18 million in Series A funding to accelerate the expansion of its software-driven industrial control panel manufacturing platform. The round was led by Construct Capital, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Transition Ventures, Sunflower Capital, and Banter Capital.
The financing brings the company’s total funding to more than $23 million. As part of the investment, Dayna Grayson, co-founder and managing partner of Construct Capital, will join Podium’s board of directors.
Founded in 2024 and based in Brooklyn, Podium manufactures industrial control panels used to govern automated production and infrastructure systems. The company said traditional control panel fabrication often involves lead times exceeding 12 weeks and relies heavily on the expertise of experienced technicians.
Podium uses a software-enabled approach that allows it to design and manufacture control panels in less than four weeks. The company replaces hand-drawn schematics with digital models, utilizes automated fabrication and provides work instructions for assembly. Each panel is validated at Podium’s UL 508A-certified facility before shipment.
The company’s software platform integrates customer requirements, eCAD design tools and manufacturing instructions. Podium said its system intelligently selects and connects electrical components based on customer specifications and UL standards, while also optimizing designs for manufacturability and component availability.
The new funding will be used to expand manufacturing capacity, grow engineering and operations teams and continue investing in the software platform that powers Podium’s design and fabrication process.
Podium serves customers ranging from startups to Fortune 500 manufacturers and said demand for quick-turn industrial control panels continues to grow.
KEY QUOTES:
“Control panels are everywhere, but the way they’re designed and built hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades. We founded Podium to build the vendor we always wished we had. Ordering a control panel should be fast, accurate, and transparent. At Podium, faster and better are the same thing.”
Jamie Niu Serota, Co-Founder And CEO, Podium Automation
“The industrial economy runs on essential components like control panels, and the legacy supply chain behind them is exactly the kind of foundational infrastructure Construct was built to invest in. Jamie, Jacob, and the Podium team have created the modern vendor this category has been waiting for, and the demand they’re already seeing makes it clear how much the market needs what they’re building.”
Dayna Grayson, Co-Founder And Managing Partner, Construct Capital
“Podium is an excellent example of what happens when world-class software meets a foundational industrial category. Jamie and Jacob are founders who understand both the legacy world of control panel manufacturing and how to rebuild it from first principles. The result is a combination of product and operational excellence that meets the current moment for American reindustrialization.”
Oliver Hsu, Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
