Vantora raises $100 million to build in-house physical AI for industrial firms

UP.Labs launched in 2022 with Porsche as its first corporate partner, operating as something between an incubator and a venture firm. It built startups for customers like Alaska Airlines and Porsche, but often shelved ideas that were strategically important yet too sensitive for the outside world.

That limitation shaped the current pivot. As Vantora, the firm now focuses exclusively on building startups for its corporate customers, who can choose to keep the resulting technology private rather than commercializing it broadly. Founder and CEO John Kuolt said this unlocks physical AI use cases that were previously off-limits, such as an AI concept for partner J.B. Hunt that the firm once passed on because it could not be sold externally.

The $100 million from Silversmith Capital Partners, Vantora's first outside funding, supports this proprietary M&A pipeline strategy. The bet appears to hinge on whether large industrial companies increasingly want to own their own AI intelligence layer rather than rely on third-party vendors, a preference Kuolt described as central to their thinking.