Why did Manufacturing software startup CoLab raises $72 million ?

The global manufacturing technology landscape witnessed a critical inflection point as CoLab, the St. John’s-based AI engineering platform, secured $72 million in Series C funding led by Intrepid Growth Partners. Founded by Adam Keating and Jeremy Andrews in 2017—two engineers who recognized design decisions as manufacturing’s silent bottleneck—this capital infusion targets something far more urgent than just process automation.

This raises the fundamental question: why is venture capital pouring into engineering knowledge capture when traditional CAD and PLM tools dominated for decades, yet CoLab’s EngineeringOS platform aims to fundamentally preserve and scale expert engineering knowledge before it walks out the door with retiring engineers—transforming decades of design wisdom into AI-powered decision assistance?

The $246.51 Billion Market Where Expert Knowledge Meets Existential Crisis

The answer lies in understanding what’s happening beneath the surface of manufacturing’s looming knowledge gap.

Despite the global engineering software market valued at $45.34 billion in 2024 projecting explosive growth to $246.51 billion by 2034—representing 18.45% compound annual growth—the sector faces an unprecedented knowledge retention paradox. Traditional engineering tools manage files and workflows but fail to capture why design decisions were made, while experienced engineers approach retirement carrying decades of irreplaceable expertise. Yet manufacturing companies struggle to preserve institutional knowledge as the share of advanced manufacturing employees over 55 has more than doubled in three decades—creating desperate need for solutions that don’t just automate processes but actually capture human wisdom.

From Newfoundland Innovation to Manufacturing’s AI Transformation

CoLab operates an AI engineering platform unique in hardware development: EngineeringOS combining collaborative design reviews, expert knowledge capture, and AI agents that automatically apply collective intelligence to accelerate product development for the world’s most advanced manufacturers.

Founded after identifying that critical engineering decisions still happen in 20-person meetings weeks apart, the Newfoundland-based startup addresses the fundamental challenge where traditional engineering software tells teams what changed between design versions but never explains why. CoLab’s platform has processed millions of engineering annotations on 2D and 3D files since 2017, building a knowledge foundation that powers AutoReview—the company’s first AI agent launched in June 2024. The platform is trusted by manufacturing giants including Ford, Lockheed Martin, GE Appliances, Johnson Controls, and Schneider Electric to run design reviews and co-design technology with supply chains—transforming how mechanical engineering teams work together, review technical data, and make critical decisions.

Why Traditional Engineering Tools’ File Management Failed Knowledge Preservation

CoLab’s $72 million Series C funding provides context for why knowledge-capturing AI platforms outweigh incremental CAD improvements.

When hardware engineering requires thousands of design decisions involving complex tradeoffs in cost, performance, manufacturability, and safety, traditional software creates information silos. Conventional engineering tools manage file versions and support collaboration but fail to capture the discussions, tradeoffs, and rationale explaining why products are designed specific ways—leaving expert knowledge locked inside people’s heads rather than accessible across organizations.

The funding structure reflects institutional recognition that AI-powered knowledge capture determines manufacturing competitiveness. Industry data confirms the engineering software market reaches $246.51 billion by 2034, with product lifecycle management hitting $81.01 billion by 2034 at 9.24% CAGR—emphasizing the critical role intelligent platforms play in preserving and scaling engineering expertise before demographic shifts erase decades of accumulated wisdom.

CoLab differentiates by solving user experience challenges rather than just building AI capabilities. The platform recognizes that engineers only share knowledge when the process feels natural and valuable—the breakthrough that enables CoLab to capture contextual annotations explaining design rationale. With 47,000+ engineers joining the AutoReview waitlist since June and revenue on pace to nearly triple in 2025, CoLab demonstrates validated market hunger for AI agents that act like mentors looking over engineers’ shoulders, catching design flaws before they become costly mistakes.

The AI Architecture Behind Engineering Knowledge Transformation

The funding round accelerates new AI agent development and integrations as CoLab scales its knowledge capture platform globally.

Industry data confirms engineering software exhibits unprecedented trajectories—$45.34 billion in 2024 reaching $246.51 billion by 2034 at 18.45% CAGR. The broader engineering software market grows from $43.03 billion in 2024 to $125.45 billion by 2030 at 20.3% CAGR, with product lifecycle management expanding from $33.47 billion in 2024 to $81.01 billion by 2034. North America dominates with 35% market share driven by advanced industrial ecosystems and R&D investment, while cloud-based solutions account for 71% of PLM deployments enabling real-time collaboration across global teams.

The automotive sector represents the largest end-use segment at 28% of engineering software demand, with aerospace and defense exhibiting fastest growth. Digital twin adoption accelerates across industries, with 72% of large manufacturing companies using PLM software to manage product data. Engineering simulation software reaches $10.2 billion by 2033 at 7.5% CAGR, while the design and engineering management segment captures 32% of PLM market share—creating massive addressable opportunity for CoLab’s AI-powered knowledge platform.

CoLab targets specific pain points where traditional engineering software cannot solve knowledge transfer challenges. Conventional processes require senior engineers repeating the same guidance across projects, risk assessments depending on whoever attends meetings, and critical institutional knowledge disappearing when experts retire—manual dependencies organizations cannot sustain as workforce demographics shift dramatically. CoLab’s approach combining natural knowledge capture with AI agents applying collective expertise automatically positions the company solving manufacturing’s most pressing challenge: preserving and scaling human intelligence before it’s lost forever.

Why This Matters For Manufacturing Technology Innovation

CoLab’s $72 million Series C funding positions the platform within broader 2025 manufacturing dynamics where AI knowledge preservation demonstrates strategic advantages justifying investments.

Knowledge Retention Transformation: Engineering expertise represents critical competitive advantages where poorly executed knowledge transfer causes repeated mistakes and lost institutional memory, yet well-designed AI platforms enable automatic application of collective wisdom. Digital systems capturing design rationale while engineers work naturally create measurable value preventing errors and accelerating decisions. Studies show 65% of firms report improved workflow efficiency using intelligent platforms, with 43% of issues identified during design reviews never documented in traditional processes—demonstrating massive knowledge leakage without proper capture systems.

Demographic Crisis Accelerating: The share of advanced manufacturing employees over 55 has more than doubled according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, meaning decades of design expertise could soon walk out the door. North America and Europe led advanced manufacturing for decades but risk losing ground if expert knowledge isn’t captured and scaled now. With 73% of schools integrating technology and software developer employment growing 22% from 2020 to 2030, the engineering workforce requires tools that preserve senior expertise while accelerating junior engineer development—precisely what CoLab’s AI agents deliver.

Investor Conviction Validation: Existing investors including Insight Partners, Y Combinator, Pelorus VC, Killick Capital, and Spider Capital returned for their third consecutive round, with Insight Partners taking super pro rata position reflecting deep confidence in CoLab’s category leadership. Josh Fredberg from Insight Partners emphasizes urgency: “We risk losing even more ground if we don’t capture and scale our engineering knowledge now. CoLab has figured out how to do that in a way few software companies have.” The funding enables developing multiple new AI agents and strategic partnership announcements before year-end.

The Answer: Institutional Knowledge Preservation Meets Demographic Inevitability

So why $72 million Series C for CoLab’s AI engineering platform?

Because the platform combines elements investors value: founders with deep engineering backgrounds identifying manufacturing’s existential knowledge crisis, technology solving user experience challenges competitors overlook, validated traction with 47,000+ engineer waitlist and revenue nearly tripling in 2025, and strategic timing where demographic shifts threaten to erase decades of institutional expertise while AI agents can preserve and scale that knowledge if captured before it’s too late.

The investment validates that manufacturing technology winners emerge through genuine knowledge capture rather than just file management or collaboration tools. With CoLab already trusted by Ford, Lockheed Martin, GE Appliances, Johnson Controls, and Schneider Electric, the platform’s user-experience-first approach to capturing design rationale positions the company solving a problem traditional engineering software never addressed—transforming collective human intelligence into AI-powered decision assistance.