Takeaways by Saasverse AI
- Luminary Cloud | Series B | $72 Million | Physics AI for Engineering Design.
- Led by N47, with participation from Sutter Hill Ventures and NVIDIA’s NVentures.
- Funds will drive application research, expand market teams, and accelerate adoption of Physics AI in manufacturing and design.
Luminary Cloud, a cloud-native Physics AI platform, has raised $72 million in a Series B funding round led by N47, formerly known as Next47. Sutter Hill Ventures and NVentures, NVIDIA's venture capital arm, also participated in the round. This significant injection of capital is aimed at scaling Luminary Cloud’s research capabilities and building out its market-facing teams to broaden the adoption of its Physics AI technology across engineering enterprises.
While artificial intelligence has revolutionized many aspects of modern life, its transformative impact on the physical design and manufacturing sectors has been relatively limited, primarily due to the scarcity of high-quality data needed to train precise models. Luminary Cloud is addressing this challenge by delivering a cloud platform that provides simulation speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional desktop solutions. By leveraging its proprietary Physics AI technology, the company enables near real-time performance predictions for physical products such as automobiles, aircraft, and electronic devices. This empowers engineers to iterate designs instantly, explore a wider array of options, and seamlessly integrate results into control systems.
Luminary’s Physics AI "model factory" is positioned as the fastest and most user-friendly solution for building and deploying Physics AI models. Recent innovations include the introduction of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, which accelerates model development, and AI-powered notebooks that streamline rapid prototyping and post-processing workflows. Furthermore, the company has unveiled SHIFT, a suite of pre-trained models showcasing the capabilities of Physics AI. Notably, SHIFT-SUV, developed in collaboration with Honda, optimizes SUV design, while SHIFT-Wing, created with Otto Aerospace, focuses on advanced aircraft engineering.
Pete Schlampp, CEO of Luminary Cloud, expressed his enthusiasm for the funding round, stating, "This new investment and the strategic backing of our investors will enable Luminary to seize the massive opportunities in the Physics AI sector. We are grateful for the trust and collaboration of our new investors, as well as the ongoing support from our customers and partners."
“ This deal marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Physics AI, a nascent but high-potential niche within the broader AI and SaaS ecosystem. By addressing the long-standing bottlenecks of speed and scalability in engineering simulations, Luminary Cloud is not only redefining workflows but also enabling unprecedented innovation in sectors like automotive, aerospace, and electronics. The involvement of strategic investors like NVIDIA underscores the growing convergence of AI, cloud computing, and hardware acceleration in shaping next-generation industrial solutions. ” Saasverse Analyst comments
Saasverse Insights
Luminary Cloud’s success could set a precedent for a new wave of AI-driven engineering tools, paving the way for faster product development cycles and smarter manufacturing processes. However, as the Physics AI market matures, competition is likely to intensify, particularly from other cloud and AI incumbents. For now, Luminary's combination of technological prowess and market focus positions it as a leader in this groundbreaking space.