Sell-Side | Sensors: ARTHOS advises tacterion on Raising Equity from Leading Premium Brands

Creating the leading tactile sensing company to enable the tactile Internet of the Future.
tacterion was looking for strategic investors to support its expansion plans to address high-volume tactile applications in different industries enabling the Internet of the Future. Potential investors should be supported innovating and digitizing their product portfolios through this partnership.

ARTHOS berät tacterion bei Eigenkapital-Finanzierung durch globale Premiumhersteller

Exclusive Financial Advisor
in the Sell-Side M&A Process

ARTHOS served as the exclusive financial advisor to the owners of tacterion throughout the entire sell-side M&A process. This included:

Outreach to potential strategic partners worldwide
Successfully navigating the capital-raising proces

Arno Pätzold

Managing Partner ARTHOS
Expert in Sensors, Automation, Semiconductor & Photonics

arno.paetzold@arthos.de

The Transaction: tacterion has Received Growth Capital from Two Premium Brands

tacterion, the tactile sensing company, announced a Series A capital raise led by two of its customers, Miele (represented through Miele Venture Capital GmbH) and an unnamed world-renowned provider of construction technology and tools. This investment demonstrates the commitment of these market leaders to the future growth and development of tacterion, helping the company realize its expansion plans. The new investors also seek to innovate and digitize their product portfolios through this partnership, offering the most convenient and reliable user experiences. A German Family Office, an investor in previous funding, also participated in the round.

tacterion’s team, led by brothers Michael and Daniel Strohmayr, will work closely with their industrial investors on solution designs for specific smart tool and smart home/IoT (Internet of Things) applications. This will build upon their existing collaboration with Miele and the construction technology company on the development of cutting-edge device technology in stealth mode. The funding will enable tacterion to scale up customer and industry-specific product development, meeting the rapidly increasing demand for embedded tactile intelligence solutions. Future growth industries include construction tools, appliances, automotive, consumer electronics and industrial IoT solutions.

After receiving initial funding in 2016, the exact amount of this Series A investment is not disclosed. To date, tacterion has raised an eight-digit equity funding.

Our Client: tacterion, Germany

tacterion GmbH is a leading tactile sensing company based in Munich. Founded in 2015 by brothers Michael and Daniel Strohmayr, the company was initially a spin-off of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). tacterion combines know-how in materials science, sensor and electronics hardware, software, machine learning and industrial design to connect the physical and digital world. Originally developed as artificial skin for robots, tacterion’s highly robust and flexible touch and force sensor technology plyon® enables intuitive interaction concepts and tactile data analysis on almost any surface – flat, curved, or deformable. The plyon® sensor technology was awarded with the German Innovation Award 2019. As the design language of products evolves, so does the demand for innovative interface technology and smart features. Clients from a wide range of industries use tacterion’s solutions to generate unique data about tactile interaction with their products. Having developed a proprietary hardware technology, tacterion is using on-the-edge computing and machine learning to improve HMI convenience, safety and process-efficiency.

“Today, the digitization of product portfolios is crucial for every industry. tacterion’s technology and service portfolio provide a unique value-add to transform analog into smart devices. We are very proud that our new investors have chosen us as partner to further the innovation impact of their products.” says Founder Michael Strohmayr.

“It is a great opportunity to scale-up and expand our business in the product domains of our new strategic investors. We see a great fit with both companies, who are family owned and highly value trust and integrity. We are looking forward to a great collaboration.” adds Founder Daniel Strohmayr.

tacterion’s touch and force sensing technology plyon® allows the creation of intelligent devices which analyze tactile interaction to make the products safe and intuitive to interact with. Tactile information is becoming increasingly important in a number of industries. Giving an artificial sense of touch to products and machines enables designers and engineers to create new ways of human-machine interaction and to intelligently monitor processes that were not possible before.

Strategic Partner: Miele Venture Capital

Miele Venture Capital GmbH supports fledgling companies with promising ideas and technologies seeking a committed and financially strong partner. Thematically, Miele Venture Capital GmbH focusses on creative solutions which are compatible with Miele products, services, value chains, business models and manufacturing processes. Forms of co-operation range from joint development projects and management support through to direct equity stakes.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with Michael Strohmayr and Daniel Strohmayr to gain even greater access to this exciting technology” says Peter Hübinger, Managing Director of Miele Venture Capital GmbH. “I am sure that tacterion´s embedded sensor solutions can make a significant contribution to future product development, especially in the field of user interaction.”