AMBER ROAD, a South Korean manufacturing AI solutions company, announced on the 9th that it had secured a pre-Series A investment of $1.5 million (KRW 2 billion) from Stonebridge Ventures and SparkLabs.

The company, which developed the AI-based all-in-one manufacturing productivity solution “Miner Report,” began as an in-house venture at POSCO. It achieved annual profits of $29.7 million (KRW 39.7 billion) through 33 AI projects at POSCO. Since spinning off from POSCO in September 2023, AMBER ROAD has rapidly expanded, providing AI solutions to 16 major corporations across seven industries, including steel, secondary batteries, automotive, and food. Notable clients include POSCO, KIA, and KG Steel.

AMBER ROAD’s Miner Report is designed to optimize manufacturing processes by improving quality, yield, and energy efficiency. The solution customizes and deploys the necessary AI technology in just three months, significantly reducing costs compared to conventional solutions, which typically take ten months. This tailored implementation process includes building systems to extract and integrate facility data, performing data analysis and AI modeling understandable to field operators, implementing real-time optimization controls, and maintaining sustainable model operations.

Unlike existing AI solutions, which face a mass-production failure rate of up to 87%, AMBER ROAD’s solution boasts a 0% failure rate and delivers over 100% ROI (return on investment) for its clients, providing tangible financial benefits.

AMBER ROAD aims to become the preferred manufacturing AI solutions provider for global manufacturers by 2027. To achieve this, the company relies on its ICT/MLOps development team, led by a CTO with expertise from POSCO Group’s smart factory initiatives, and its data science team, composed of top-tier graduates from leading AI programs both domestically and internationally. Together, they are working to develop and productize AI solutions tailored to a variety of industry needs.

Dongyeol Choi, Head of Investments at Stonebridge Ventures, commented, “AI in manufacturing is still in its early stages due to the challenges of applying it without domain-specific expertise. AMBER ROAD has demonstrated scalable technology that can be applied across various manufacturing fields, backed by multiple proven references. The company’s ability to satisfy clients with customized solutions while productizing its core technologies to enhance scalability was a key factor in our decision to invest.”