Trener Robotics secured $32 million in Series A funding this week to expand its robot-agnostic AI platform for manufacturing. The investment brings the company's total funding to over $38 million.
The round was co-led by Engine Ventures and IAG Capital Partners, with participation from strategic investors Cadence and Geodesic Capital through Nikon's NFocus Fund.
The San Francisco and Trondheim-based company will use the capital to accelerate research at its T-Labs division, develop new robot skills, and expand into global markets.
Trener's Acteris platform replaces traditional procedural programming with natural language commands. Operators describe tasks in their own words rather than writing code, converting conversational input into executable automation workflows.
The system integrates visual, haptic, language, and action data to enable real-time adaptation to variable parts and unstructured production environments.
Founded in 2024 as T-Robotics, the company focuses on turning existing factory robots into adaptable, self-learning teammates. Acteris serves as an intelligence layer that works with major robotics brands including ABB, Universal Robots, and FANUC. In 2025, Trener collaborated with more than 15 integration partners across Europe and the United States.
The flexible automation market is growing at a 14.3% compound annual rate, according to market research cited by the company. Labor shortages, high-mix production requirements, and cost pressures are pushing manufacturers toward adaptive systems with faster return profiles.
This trend aligns with broader industry predictions, including NVIDIA's forecast that 2026 will be the ChatGPT moment for physical AI.
Trener's first focus area is robotic CNC machine-tending, with additional industrial applications planned for 2026. The company won the Machine Tool Innovation Award at EMO Hannover last fall, recognizing its approach to robotics in manufacturing.
In late 2024, Trener Robotics was also selected as the winner in the ABB AI Startup Challenge, which accelerates innovation in natural language programming, skill learning, and autonomous decision-making for robotics.
"We foresee strong synergies with Nikon's real-time situational recognition and robot control technologies," said Go Ichinose, General Manager of the Vision Robotics, Nikon Corporation.
Nikon's investment through its NFocus Fund aims to combine Trener's AI-powered digital technologies with Nikon's robot vision system.
The company will host a webinar on March 3 with Universal Robots to outline its approach to AI-enabled robot deployment, focusing on accelerating CNC automation adoption.
