Vention Raises $110M: Their AI Robots Work on the First Try

There's a line that Etienne Lacroix, Vention's CEO, repeats in every interview that perfectly captures the problem he's trying to solve: "There's nothing more manual than industrial automation." It sounds like a paradox, but any manufacturing engineer knows it's true. Deploying a robot on a factory floor takes months of design, dozens of vendors, thousands of integration hours, and if you're lucky, it works on the first try. Usually, it doesn't.

My verdict is clear: what Vention is building has the potential to change the rules of the game in global manufacturing. And now they have $110 million in fresh capital to prove it.

The $110M Round: Who's Writing the Checks and Why It Matters

On January 27, 2026, Vention announced a Series D round of $110 million USD ($150M CAD). The names behind the investment are telling:

With this round, Vention surpasses $300 million CAD in total funding and reaches a valuation above $1.2 billion. It's officially a Canadian unicorn.

But the most significant data point isn't the amount — it's who's investing. NVIDIA putting money into Vention through NVentures isn't a casual bet. Jensen Huang declared at CES 2026 that "the ChatGPT moment for robotics is here," and Vention's MachineMotion AI controller runs on NVIDIA Jetson with NVIDIA Isaac libraries. This is strategic alignment, not philanthropy.

Zero-Shot Automation: The Promise of Robots That Work on the First Try

Vention's core concept is called Zero-Shot Automation, a term borrowed from machine learning (where "zero-shot" means performing a task without prior specific training). Applied to industrial robotics, it means: automation that deploys without manual integration and works correctly on the first attempt.

Why is this revolutionary? Because today's reality is very different:

Traditional process (months):

1. Hire a specialized integrator
2. Design in CAD (weeks)
3. Order components from multiple vendors
4. Physically assemble
5. Manually program every movement
6. Test, fail, reprogram, repeat
7. Hope it works in production

Vention process (days):

1. Design in browser (MachineBuilder, LEGO-style)
2. Simulate with a digital twin (MachineLogic)
3. One click: transfer program to the real robot
4. It works

The case of The Feed, a food company, is illustrative: they completed an automated conveyor solution in six weeks — 6 to 8 times faster than the traditional approach. Harris RCS, in aerospace, validated designs digitally before spending a single dollar on physical capital.

The Platform: LEGO for Industrial Engineers

Vention isn't just software or just hardware. It's a complete ecosystem integrating both:

MachineBuilder (Cloud 3D Design)

• Drag-and-drop browser-based editor
• Catalog of 3,000+ modular components (metal structures, robotic arms, actuators, sensors)
• AI suggests compatible parts and validates designs in real time
• Automatically generates bills of materials with pricing

MachineLogic (No-Code Programming)

• Three modes: visual/no-code, scripting/low-code, full Python
• AI copilot that writes and debugs code
• Physics-accurate simulation before deployment
• Works with Universal Robots, FANUC, and ABB arms — it's brand-agnostic

MachineCloud (Fleet Management)

• Cloud-to-factory deployment in minutes
• Transfer programs from digital twin to physical robot with one click
• Monitor entire fleets from a single dashboard
• ISO 27001 and NIST-800-171 certified

MachineMotion AI (Hardware Controller)

• Plug-and-play controller built on NVIDIA Jetson
• Powers robots, motors, and sensors with AI capabilities
• Edge computing for real-time inference
• The AI Operator turns robots into autonomous operators without manual code

The LEGO metaphor isn't accidental. Lacroix uses it deliberately: "The vision was to simplify building industrial equipment so it would be as straightforward as snapping blocks together."

Who Uses Vention: From Boeing to Tesla

The client list includes names that need no introduction:

• Boeing — aerospace automation
• Tesla — automotive manufacturing
• L'Oreal — consumer goods production
• Lockheed Martin — defense and aerospace
• General Electric — industrial manufacturing
• Toyota — automotive
• Airbus — aerospace
• Google — various manufacturing lines
• Amazon — logistics and fulfillment

In total, over 25,000 machines deployed across 4,000+ factories on 5 continents spanning 25 manufacturing industries. 70% of their customers are in the US, 20% in Europe, and 10% in Canada.

The enterprise adoption pattern is particularly interesting: major manufacturers don't use Vention for a one-off project, but as a standard platform across all their plants. They create centralized Advanced Manufacturing Teams that deploy Vention as their global automation backbone.

The Context: Why Physical AI Is the Theme of 2026

Vention doesn't operate in a vacuum. The convergence of three trends is creating a perfect storm:

1. The Manufacturing Labor Crisis

The numbers are brutal:

• 380,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the US, even during contraction
• 26% of manufacturing workers are over 55; only 8% are 16-24
• Eliminating the $1.2T trade deficit would require 4.8 million additional workers
• Projected shortfall: 1.5 to 3.9 million workers in the coming years

2. The Reshoring Imperative

The US and major economies are pushing to bring manufacturing back home. But without significant automation, reshoring projects can't make financial sense once subsidies expire.

3. NVIDIA Goes All-In on Physical AI

Jensen Huang didn't just invest in Vention: he released open-source models (Cosmos, Isaac GR00T N1.6) and wants to make NVIDIA the "Android of robotics." Their collaboration with Hugging Face connects 2 million robotics developers with 13 million AI builders.

A Vention and IndustryWeek survey reveals the gap: 92% of manufacturers consider automation essential, but only 37% have significant automation in place. 39% cite lack of expertise as the top barrier.

The Competition: Why Vention Is Different

The key differentiator: Vention is the only company integrating hardware + software + AI + cloud in a single platform. It doesn't compete with Universal Robots; it integrates them. It doesn't replace FANUC; it works with them. It's an intelligence layer on top of the existing robotics ecosystem.

The Risks Worth Considering

This is an honest article, so let's talk about the shadows:

Scale vs. quality: Going from 25,000 machines to hundreds of thousands while maintaining the "works on the first try" promise is a massive technical challenge. Digital twins are only as good as the data feeding them.

NVIDIA dependency: Building on NVIDIA Jetson and Isaac is strategic, but it creates dependency. If NVIDIA shifts direction or pricing, Vention has a problem.

Competition from giants: If the opportunity is as large as the projected $235 billion market by 2033 suggests, companies like Siemens, ABB, and NVIDIA itself could build competing platforms.

Profitability: $100M CAD run rate with $300M+ raised means they're not yet profitable. The path to profitability in industrial hardware is long and expensive.

Verdict: Is Vention the Future of Manufacturing?

My verdict is clear: Vention solves a real and massive problem — the absurd complexity of industrial automation — with a solution that makes technical and commercial sense. This isn't vapor: 25,000 machines in 4,000 factories with clients like Boeing and Tesla is real traction.

NVIDIA's investment validates the technical thesis. Quebec's record investment validates the ambition. And the macro trends — labor crisis, reshoring, Physical AI — are providing tailwinds.

Is it the future? Probably an important part of it. 21st-century manufacturing can't run on 20th-century robotics. And right now, nobody offers a more complete alternative than Vention.

What remains to be seen is whether the Zero-Shot Automation promise scales without compromising quality. That will be the real test. The next 18 months will be decisive.