aPriori, the leading provider of enterprise product cost management (PCM) software featuring design for manufacturability (DFM) and cost (DTC) solutions, announces today that the company completed a $26.8M series C financing round. Autodesk led the investment round with participation from other new and existing investors including NewSpring Capital, PBJ Capital, Oyster Angel Fund, Sigma Partners, Sigma Prime Ventures and Gutbrain Ventures. The funds will be used to accelerate the development of a suite of target applications for engineering, sourcing, and manufacturing teams, providing a consistent view of costs and a platform for working together.

"This kind of insight can help companies speed up their development process and provide the competitive advantage needed to thrive in the future. We chose to work with aPriori because their solutions lead the industry in manufacturing simulation and cost insight."

Today, aPriori customers collaborate primarily within their organization. Pressure to bring a differentiated product to market faster is driving the need for early collaboration between manufacturers and their suppliers, which aPriori will support. The investment timing is well aligned with market trends to shift manufacturing to the cloud. The proceeds will enhance aPriori's cloud platform, Cost Insight, extend manufacturing cost simulations, and expand aPriori's global footprint particularly in Europe and the Asia Pacific Region.

"Cost is a critical factor in design and manufacturing. Our work with aPriori will introduce manufacturing cost insights into generative design in Autodesk Fusion 360, providing designers and engineers with a key layer of information in the early stages of the product development process. Our customers will be able to quickly generate multiple design outcomes that are both manufacturing- and cost- aware so that they can rapidly evaluate design trade-offs," said Stephen Hooper, vice president and general manager for Fusion 360 at Autodesk. "This kind of insight can help companies speed up their development process and provide the competitive advantage needed to thrive in the future. We chose to work with aPriori because their solutions lead the industry in manufacturing simulation and cost insight." Costing for generative design in Fusion 360 will be available Fall 2019.

"aPriori started providing early cost visibility to design engineers in a nascent market and their product has evolved into a robust cost and manufacturing analysis platform that saves manufacturers millions of dollars every year," said Bob Davoli, managing partner at Gutbrain Ventures. "aPriori is unlike any solution available today for global manufacturers. Its software has an intelligent engine that automates manufacturing and cost analysis so it can be used by design engineers, sourcing professionals, and manufacturing experts to reduce costs and improve product value."

Leading manufacturers across industry sectors from aerospace and automotive, to industrial equipment and high-tech, use aPriori products. "Our customers come to us for early cost and manufacturability insights to respond to the incredible pressure to shorten product development timelines and increase product value," said Stephanie Feraday, president and CEO of aPriori. "This investment round is market validation that product cost management is becoming a mainstream need among manufacturers. aPriori is committed to extending our products to help customers drive fast and sustained value across their organization."

About aPriori

aPriori solutions generate hard-dollar product cost savings for discrete manufacturing and product innovation companies. Using aPriori's real-time product cost and manufacturability assessments, employees in engineering, sourcing, and manufacturing make more-informed decisions that drive costs out of products pre- and post-production. With aPriori, manufacturers launch products at cost targets, maximize savings in re-work projects, and avoid overpaying for sourced parts. To learn more about aPriori and its product cost management solutions and services, visit www.apriori.com or our Product Costing Blog. Follow aPriori on Twitter or LinkedIn.