Cerrion Raises $18 Million to Reduce Factory Downtime using AI-Driven Video Agents

Cerrion, a Switzerland-based AI video agent platform enabling real-time detection and resolution of production line disruptions, led by Karim Saleh and Dr. Nikolay Kobyshev, has raised $18 million in Series A led by Creandum, with participation from existing investors Y Combinator, Goat Capital, 10x Founders and Session VC, alongside prominent angels including Harry Stebbings (20VC), Oskar Hjertonsson, Thomas Wolf (Hugging Face) and Garret Langley (Flock Safety).

Factory downtime costs the global manufacturing sector an estimated $1.4 trillion annually, with related expenses rising 319 percent since 2019 amid higher energy prices and increasingly complex supply chains.

Cerrion targets this challenge with AI video agents that monitor factory operations beyond human observability. These agents identify process deviations, quality issues, and safety risks in real time, issuing alerts, adjusting machine activity, or notifying relevant personnel as required.

This blend of automated intervention and human oversight allows manufacturers to resolve issues up to 50 percent faster, cutting downtime and scrap losses by as much as half.

Cerrion is quickly becoming a leading provider of AI-driven automation, safety, and efficiency solutions for the manufacturing sector. Its platform is already operating in live production environments at companies including Unilever, Riedel, Schott Zwiesel, Stölzle Lausitz, Sisecam, and Verallia, across glass, food, timber, and CPG industries that serve major global brands such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, and Novartis.

Customers commonly scale the technology rapidly, progressing from single-site pilots to organisation-wide deployments within months of observing results.

Backed by talent originating from ETH Zurich, Google, and EPFL, Cerrion plans to use the new funding to double its team in Europe and the United States and to expand its platform beyond vision, enabling support for a broader range of manufacturing processes and customers.

Global manufacturers are confronting growing pressure from unplanned downtime and rising operational costs, driving unprecedented demand for technologies capable of addressing these challenges, said Karim Saleh, Co-founder and CEO of Cerrion.