Platform could add 200 hours of productive time to plant operators
14 September 2026 
A US company called Harmoni has attracted $10m of Series A funding for an AI-driven technology that, it claims, can add more than 200 hours of productive time to every shopfloor operator each year, by eliminating administrative and other non-productive tasks. The platform helps manufacturers to eradicate wasted time, avoid errors, and gain real-time visibility into their operations.
Harmoni argues that while traditional automation excels at highly repetitive physical tasks, much of manufacturing involves variable work, frequent changeovers, and complex coordination among people, machines and systems. Despite heavy investment in ERP systems, machine connectivity, and automation, factory-floor execution remains fragmented across disconnected systems, manual processes and outdated workflows.
Harmoni orchestrates work across the factory floor, turning the fragmented systems, information, and workflows into coordinated action. It can be deployed in weeks and is claimed to deliver benefits including reduced manual work, better adherence to approved engineering processes, and real-time visibility into factory performance.
Harmoni uses RFID technology and machine-level workflows to automate non-productive work such as labour tracking, ERP transactions, document retrieval, quality reporting, and support requests. It is based on three pillars: automation, process control and observability. The process control layer ensures that operators always have the correct documentation – work instructions, machine programs and check sheets, for example – thus reducing errors and improving quality. The observability layer integrates ERP, machine, operator and RFID data into a real-time view of performance and root-cause issues.
The latest iteration of the platform, called Hal (Harmoni AI Lieutenant), applies AI to live operations. It captures information historically scattered across systems, machines, engineering documents, production records and institutional knowledge. It already understands the active job, part, machine, process, and engineering requirements, so the context reaches Hal automatically. Hal turns it into relevant intelligence, delivered at the point of production, helping staff to understand requirements, diagnose issues, identify risks and decide what to do next.
“Harmoni was founded on the belief that manufacturers don’t need another disconnected application – they need a system that helps work happen correctly, efficiently, and in real time,” explains Harmoni co-founder, David Caputo. “By bringing automation, process control, and observability together at the work centre, we help manufacturers eliminate wasted time, prevent errors, and gain control over what is happening across the factory floor. This investment will allow us to accelerate the platform’s development, expand our team, and bring factory orchestration to more manufacturers.”
“Harmoni is building a new operational layer for manufacturing that connects people, machines, and systems across the factory floor,” adds Kent Bennett, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, which led the fund-raising effort. “Customers are seeing meaningful value from the company’s Factory Orchestration platform today, while the operational context Harmoni creates provides a powerful foundation for delivering AI directly into production workflows. We are excited to partner with David, Adam, and the Harmoni team as they build an important new category in manufacturing technology.”
Harmoni was founded in 2023 by David Caputo and Adam Ellis to address the manufacturing skills gap. It has operations in Ohio, and New York.
Harmoni: LinkedIn
