Tempo Automation's fast growth continues as the rapid PCBA provider raises $45 in Series C funding

San Francisco-based Tempo Automation, a startup providing rapid prototyping and low-volume production of printed circuit board assemblies, announced May 14 that it has raised $45 million in Series C funding. It's the latest sign of fast growth for the company that was founded in 2013.

Tempo's Series C funding was led by existing investor Point72 Ventures, while the round included new outside investments—with the Lockheed Martin as the biggest name involved. Funding also came from existing investors Lux Capital and Uncork Capital.

Tempo said the Series C funding will accelerate its software development to further increase speed and accuracy for manufacturing high complexity electronic designs.

"Tempo is reinventing electronics manufacturing by putting software automation at the center of what they do,” said Sri Chandrasekar, partner at Point72 Ventures and board member at Tempo Automation. “Tempo’s interconnected smart factory is modernizing the manufacturing process, which allows them to deliver a far superior customer experience. We see considerable market opportunity for Tempo, and we are pleased to support their continued growth.”

Tempo Automation's story was featured in Evaluation Engineering's April 2019 print and digital editions, following a visit to its facility. Check out the website version here.

Tempo's $45 million received in Series C followed its $20 million raised in 2018's Series B, and initial $8 million during 2016's Series A. Those previous investments helped Tempo upgrade and then build out a new 42,000-square-foot smart factory at the company's current location in San Francisco's Design District. Tempo was also able to release a host of software automation updates that year that have enabled electrical engineers to design, test, and deploy their products considerably faster than through a traditional build cycle.

Running on three production lines, Tempo takes PCB design files it receives from customers and produces finished boards ready to ship in as little as three days. However, Tempo Automation brands itself as a software company, and its proprietary software is what enables such fast turnaround for its diverse clientele.

"We’re fortunate that, by helping our customers apply agile methods to electronics development, we have garnered great interest and demand," said Jeff McAlvay, CEO of Tempo Automation upon last week's news. "Our customers have told us that they view our software-first approach to manufacturing as transformative for their ability to bring products to market faster. This investment will help us drive software development and accelerate the growth of our team to deliver greater benefits to our customers and advance the future of manufacturing."