Investment in Momenta Industry 5.0 venture capital fund gives Rockwell early access to innovative technology that promotes resiliency, agility, and sustainability
The first Automation Fair by Rockwell Automation that I attended was in 1997. The last one in 2022. I decided that a trip to Boston was just too expensive with no anticipated financial return on that investment. I also looked at the agenda available at the time and calculated that I could cover the even just as well from the comfort of my home office and local coffee house. And, sure enough, here is the first press release.
I may rearrange my schedule to watch the keynote livestreams, but keynotes seldom add much to my coverage. If I could have been assured of more interviews, but those are off the table for mere trade media types now. I don’t ask many questions in the canned media events because why give everyone else answers?
Enough of my justifications. Rockwell made a big splash with a huge investment in PTC a few years back. They have since divested. They did pick up some crucial software technology, but then they acquired Plex and FiiX and plugged a big software hole.
This is another strategic investment with the hopes of picking up early stage technology that may take the company to the next level.
Rockwell Automation, Inc., the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, announced its investment in Momenta’s Industry 5.0 Fund, a venture capital and value creation fund that supports entrepreneurs focused on resilient, sustainable, and human-centric industrial operations, providing Rockwell early access to innovative technology that has the potential to disrupt industrial markets and increase sustainability.
Switzerland-based Momenta launched the $100 million fund in cooperation with the EU Commission to support start-up companies working to advance the Commission’s Industry 5.0 initiative. The initiative highlights research and innovation as drivers for a transition to a sustainable, human-centric, and resilient industry, moving the focus from shareholder value to stakeholder value. It puts people at the center by empowering them with information and technology to make decisions with clarity and confidence. Aimed at early growth-stage innovators driving the digital transformation of energy, manufacturing, smart spaces, and supply chains, the Industry 5.0 Fund will deliver venture capital investment and direct value-creation to entrepreneurs in Europe and North America.
Rockwell is an anchor investor in the fund, and its Venture team will work closely with Momenta and the portfolio companies, offering a wide breadth of expertise and Rockwell’s strategic network. The investment complements Rockwell’s inorganic growth strategy, giving the company insights and access to next-generation technologies driving digital transformation that are still in the early development stage.
