Schaumburg, IL – April 10, 2024 – INX International Ink Co. participated in a $28.5M Series B round of venture funding for Oden Technologies, led by Nordstjernan Growth. Flat Capital, Recurring Capital Partners, and almost all existing investors including Atomico and EQT Ventures, also participated in the round. Oden Technologies is a leading AI-powered analytics provider for manufacturing companies and is the fifth company INX has invested in since establishing a $50M Venture Capital investment program in 2022.
Oden Technologies is led by co-founders Willem Sundblad and Peter Brand. The company’s AI solutions combine best-in-class data aggregation and organization to deliver prescriptive analytics and automation, helping manufacturers optimize production for throughput, quality, profitability and sustainability. For INX, Oden’s software is helping improve product quality and consistency across batches while maximizing throughput. INX is also supporting Oden with product roadmap evaluation and piloting new offerings.
“We view Oden Technologies as a platform for enabling industry 4.0-level efficiencies and quality,” said Shane Bertsch, INX Senior VP of Innovation and Strategy. “INX believes that machine learning and AI can contribute to several aspects of our business. It will augment our resources to become faster and more efficient in driving innovation, and deliver more value to INX customers.”
Willem Sundblad, Oden’s co-founder and CEO, said, “INX has been a great customer and partner to Oden. Our shared vision of empowering the front line to make production improvements through data has helped us improve our offerings in several ways. We are thrilled to have INX on our cap table as an investor, and their support reinforces the value of Oden’s solutions for enterprise manufacturing companies.”
INX is already using new Oden products such as the Data Engine, Process Analytics, and Process AI to increase efficiencies and capacity. Process AI is a live dashboard that line operators use for real-time production setting adjustments that improve business outcomes and consistency. Process AI also delivers predictive quality and adjustment-driven impact on the line to improve operator confidence. Process Analytics is a tool that process engineers use to analyze changeover procedures between orders and make adjustments that maximize uptime.
An Oden Technologies pilot program with INX produced impressive results, including a 13% improvement in asset availability, a 71% reduction in changeover times, and a 40%-plus increase in line speed. The solutions are scalable from a single line to an enterprise-wide deployment.
“We learned Oden provides significant value in real time manufacturing data visibility,” said Jim Kochanny, INX Chief Operating Officer. “We are enthusiastic to begin testing additional value-added features related to machine learning and AI, which can help INX further improve manufacturing efficiencies. With Oden being an expert and thought leader in this space for manufacturing, we look forward to building our ecosystem and learning more.”
About INX International Ink Co.
INX International Ink Co. is the third largest producer of inks in North America, with full-service subsidiaries in Europe and South America, and is part of SAKATA INX worldwide operations. We offer a complete line of ink and coating solutions technology for commercial, packaging, and digital applications. As a leading global manufacturer of inkjet inks, we provide a full palette of digital ink systems, advanced technologies, and integrated services. Stay updated on the latest developments and follow INX on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X, or visit www.inxinternational.com.