Estonian manufacturing software maker Katana raises $11 million round led by Atomico

Tallinn-based Katana has raised $11 million A round to grow the team and improve its manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform.

The software of 2017-founded Katana has been used by over 1,500 producers around the globe.

Consumer demand for customized, sustainable and locally-produced products is driving demand at small- and medium-sized manufacturers making everything from organic cosmetics to home decor, electronics to apparel, food, beverages and even surfboards. Yet many still rely on spreadsheets or outdated, expensive software to manage inventory and production, making it hard to scale and sell omnichannel.

“For the first time since the 1970s when large-scale offshoring began, local manufacturers who can respond to the localized, bespoke demands of customers are coming into their own. These are entrepreneurs for whom manufacturing is a craft and a passion, but they are being held back by outdated software,” said Kristjan Vilosius, Katana’s cofounder and CEO.

This latest investment was led by Atomico with participation from angel investors Ott Kaukver (Checkout.com CTO, formerly CTO at Twilio), Sten Tamkivi (CPO, Topia, formerly Skype), Sergei Anikin (CTO, Pipedrive) and Kairi Pauskar (former TransferWise HR Architect) and earlier investor 42Cap, bringing the total investment raised by the company to $16 million.

As part of this investment, Atomico Partner Ben Blume will join the board.

“Atomico has always believed in the strength of Estonian-built engineering and product, and as we got to know the team at Katana, we saw a familiar pattern: a relentless product focussed team with the incredible ability to build and think from their customer’s point of view, and an unwavering belief that a new generation of manufacturers with big ideas shouldn’t have to settle for less than world-class technology to support them,” Blume said in the statement.