CADDi raises $114 million, hits $1.2 billion valuation

CADDi was founded in 2017, and its first product, CADDi Drawer, attacked a specific manufacturing problem: firms buying too many similar parts from different suppliers. That software ingested technical drawings and searched a customer's own databases for similar or identical parts already purchased or in inventory. Over the past two years, the company has broadened this into what it calls an "AI data platform for manufacturing," integrating data from CAD files, enterprise resource planning software, and HR systems. CADDi Drawer has been renamed CADDi Explorer and is now joined by CADDi Agent, plus six workflow products such as CADDi Design Review.

The company's own framing of the opportunity is unusual. Kato argues that AI capabilities are compounding, yet little in the physical world has changed since ChatGPT debuted. He notes AI can build an e-commerce marketplace website in hours, while developing a new car still takes about four years from planning to delivery. CADDi's stated goal is to accelerate physical innovation tenfold by 2035.

The new capital is earmarked for expanding the product lineup, building AI models that understand manufacturing-specific data such as 3D CAD files and 2D drawings, global expansion centered on North America, and hiring. Whether that bet pays off likely hinges on change management rather than model quality. Kato has said the biggest obstacle to adoption is getting workers to alter how they have traditionally done things, which is why CADDi employs more than 100 customer success staff and is hiring "forward deployed engineers."