Canatu raises €12M in global funding

 

Canatu Oy (Helsinki, Finland) announced a capital raise of €12M. The round consists of two new investors, DENSO Corporation and Ascend Capital Partners as well as an existing investor, Faurecia.

“These significant strategic investments coupled with partnerships enable Canatu to accelerate product development, further develop the mass production automatisation, fasten market expansion, and expand to new strategic product areas. This funding also strengthens our global geographical presence especially in Asia and Europe,” stresses Juha Kokkonen, CEO of Canatu.

A new strategic investor, Japanese DENSO Corporation, a leading global automotive supplier, invests €6M to Canatu. DENSO believes Canatu’s 3D technologies offer great product and business opportunities in the future’s mobility technology.

The other new strategic investor, Ascend Capital Partners, is a China and Europe focused venture capital firm that believes in Canatu’s technologies. They are helping to further Canatu’s expansion into the fast-moving Chinese automotive markets with their investment of €4M and simultaneous purchase of existing shares.

Faurecia, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, is convinced of the potential of Canatu’s unique formable touch sensors, which enable design freedom for the cockpit of the future. Faurecia wants to deepen the relationship with Canatu through an additional investment of €2M.

“DENSO wants to be in the forefront of the development in future mobility. Based on this vision, we wanted to invest to Canatu because we trust the unique technology can be used in several product areas of the future’s driving,” says Hirotsugu Takeuchi, executive director, DENSO Corporation.

“Ascend’s strong connections in the automotive industry in Europe and China will help Canatu develop  partnerships to expand globally. The trend towards electric vehicles and autonomous driving is a major focus for Ascend as we seek companies with innovative solutions sought by the sector. We believe Canatu’s technology and products show great potential for our OEM and Tier 1 supplier network, and will play an important part in this period of tremendous change for the automotive industry,” adds Jörg Buchholz, Partner, Ascend Capital Partners.

Caption: Canatu CNB film and 2-layer sensor moulded on glass (photo: Canatu)

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