Trener Robotics raises $32M to bring agentic AI to factory robots
Trener Robotics closed a $32 million Series A to scale Acteris, its agentic AI platform for industrial automation. The round was co-led by Engine Ventures and IAG Capital Partners, bringing total funding to over $38 million.
The pitch is simple: move robots beyond rigid code. With Acteris, operators describe tasks in natural language and the system compiles that intent into safe, executable motion-then adapts on the fly.
Why product teams should care
- Faster iteration: conversational programming shrinks deployment and changeover time.
- Higher mix, fewer headaches: adaptive part handling and intelligent collision avoidance help with variable inputs and layouts.
- Less downtime: real-time performance monitoring feeds continuous improvement loops.
- Plug-in approach: supports major brands like ABB, Universal Robots, and FANUC-so you can trial without a full rip-and-replace.
What Acteris does
Acteris sits as an AI control layer that fuses vision, language, and motion. Instead of hand-authored code for each edge case, robots learn skills and adjust to dynamic conditions in production.
Key features include natural language programming, adaptive part handling, intelligent collision avoidance, and real-time performance monitoring. The company positions this as "Physical Intelligence"-software-defined capabilities that grow over time on the same hardware.
CEO insight: "For decades, industrial robotics has been limited by dynamic complexity, confining millions of robotic arms to repetitive, single-purpose tasks in highly controlled environments," said Dr. Asad Tirmizi, Co-Founder and CEO. "We're fundamentally changing this - transforming robots into intelligent, adaptable teammates by replacing procedural programming with a control system that supports a growing library of production-ready skills."
Signals worth noting
- Backers include Engine Ventures and IAG Capital Partners; strategic investors feature Cadence and Nikon's NFocus Fund, with participation from Geodesic Capital.
- Positioning aligns with market pressure: labor shortages, higher product variation, and the push for flexible cells.
- Integration with ABB, Universal Robots, and FANUC means near-term pilots are feasible in brownfield environments.
90-day pilot plan (pragmatic scope)
- Define a target cell: pick a high-mix station with frequent changeovers and measurable scrap.
- Skill inventory: list 3-5 repetitive skills (pick-place variants, fastening, inspection) to teach via conversational programming.
- Data and safety: confirm camera specs, lighting, robot model support, and safety interlocks; align on risk assessment.
- Deploy and iterate: 2-week baseline, 4-week Acteris deployment, 2-week tuning, 2-week head-to-head comparison.
- Decide on scale: if targets are hit, schedule phased rollout by product family or shift.
Integration checklist
- Robots: confirm controller versions for ABB/UR/FANUC and any required plugins.
- Perception: verify lensing, latency, and calibration workflows; stress-test with edge cases (glare, occlusion, deformables).
- PLC/MES: map I/O, recipes, and event logging; plan for minimal downtime switchover.
- Change control: establish versioning for skills, rollback procedures, and audit trails.
- Safety: revalidate after each skill update; document stop distances and safeguarded spaces.
Metrics that matter
- Changeover time between variants
- First-pass yield and scrap rate
- Cycle time variation (p95 vs. average)
- Unplanned downtime and MTTR
- Training time from task description to stable execution
- Payback period based on throughput and quality delta
Risks and what to validate
- Skill generalization: watch performance drift across shifts, lighting, and part tolerances.
- Safety with autonomy: ensure conversational changes cannot bypass validated limits.
- Vendor lock-in: check exportability of skills and portability across robot brands.
- Security: review network segmentation, update policies, and data handling for vision logs.
Team and background
Trener Robotics (formerly T-Robotics) was co-founded in 2024 by CEO Dr. Asad Tirmizi and CTO Dr. Lars Tingelstad, with experience from Vicarious, Google, and ByteDance. The focus now is scaling Acteris beyond pilots into multi-cell deployments.
Helpful links
- Universal Robots - widely used collaborative robots common in mixed-model cells.
- AI Automation Certification - for teams ramping up on agentic workflows and conversational programming.
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