Arrakis Raises $38 Million for Industrial AI Operating System

Arrakis, a seven-month-old startup based in London and Paris, announced on an unspecified recent date that it has emerged from stealth with $38 million in venture capital funding. The company is developing what it describes as an AI "operating system" specifically designed for industrial companies, aiming to bring agentic AI capabilities to sectors such as aerospace, energy, logistics, and manufacturing.

The latest funding round includes a $30 million Series A, led by Blossom Capital, with participation from venture capital firms Accel, GFC, MainObject, and Rerail. An earlier $7.5 million seed round was led by Accel. Notable individual backers include Olivier Pomel, CEO of Datadog, and Olivier Godement, head of business products at OpenAI. The company's cofounder and CEO, Rafael Quintanilla, stated that this latest round values Arrakis at $140 million post-money.

Quintanilla, a former vice president at Accel, founded Arrakis after a year-long exploration of defense and industrial resilience. He observed a significant gap between investments in AI for knowledge workers and the potential for AI in the "70% running industrial operations," contrasting this with the "30% of workers behind a desk" who are the primary targets of current AI investment. He believes the "real ROI lies in the 70% running industrial operations."

Sonali de Rycker, an Accel partner who supported Arrakis's seed round, expressed confidence in Quintanilla's leadership, citing his "rare combination of curiosity, hustle and tireless drive." She noted her honor in working with him again as an entrepreneur after their previous collaboration during his tenure at Accel. Arrakis is entering a market where other companies are also targeting the industrial AI space.