Danish startup Rodinia Generation said it has secured 4 million euros ($4.5 million) to scale its on-demand manufacturing pilot, which uses automation to produce clothes in Europe at the same cost as Asia.
The company said in a statement on Monday that the investment was led by early-stage venture capital climate-tech investor Vitamin°C, reflecting a vote of confidence for its patented O-factory technology.
The technology, which is capable of handling complex on-demand production at scale, promises EU brands a more sustainable and secure supply of clothes for a total cost that is comparable with outsourcing production to Asia.
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Bringing the supply closer to the end customers means brands would only need up to 48 hours of lead time for production, the startup said on its official website, as opposed to having to wait for six months for the products to be ready in an Asian country.
It’s a pitch that won the financial backing of Vitamin°C, a female-led early-stage venture fund that invests in climate mitigation and adaptation. It has dual headquarters in Zurich and San Francisco.
“Rodinia is tackling one of the largest industries in the world with a fundamentally different manufacturing model,” said Nathalie Moral, founding partner at Vitamin°C.
“What attracted us is not sustainability alone, but the potential to change the economics of apparel production by combining automation, flexibility and local manufacturing at commercial scale,” she said.
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