Ethereal Machines, a startup founded in India, has taken a unique approach to manufacturing. Instead of selling CNC machines, they design, build and use their own five-axis machines to create parts for customers around the world.
This “machining-as-a-service” model has proven successful, with the company experiencing a 5x revenue increase in the past year. Ethereal Machines is poised for further growth with a recent $13 million investment and plans to expand their production capacity by building a new factory five times larger than their current one.
The company’s journey began when the founders, Kaushik Mudda and Navin Jain, identified limitations in a robotic arm they built during college. This led them to CNC machining, and they decided to build their own machines. Initially, they focused on simpler three-axis machines. However, they soon realized that modern manufacturing required more complex machining capabilities.
They then made the leap to building their own five-axis machines, which won them an industry award. Despite their success, they struggled to sell the machines due to skepticism from potential customers. This led them to pivot their business model to “machining-as-a-service,” which has proven to be a much more successful approach.
