US firm raises $18m to slash control panel build times by two thirds
16 June 2026 
A US company that claims it can cut the time it takes to build industrial control panels from 12 weeks to less than four, has raised $18m in Series A funding that it will use to will fuel a rapid scale-up of its manufacturing capacity and the expansion of its engineering and operations teams. It will also invest further in the software platform that powers its design and fabrication process. The round brings Brooklyn-based Podium Automation’s total funding to date to more than $23m.
Control panel design and fabrication has traditionally been a bottleneck for manufacturers, with lead times often exceeding 12 weeks. Panel-builders rely heavily on the knowledge of veteran technicians to ensure quality. Podium says it can design and manufacture control panels in less than four weeks using a software-enabled process that saves time and reduces errors.
It replaces hand-drawn schematics with digital models, and uses automated fabrication techniques and intuitive work instructions for physical assembly. Every panel that Podium builds is validated in its UL 508A-certified facility before shipping.
Podium’s proprietary software streamlines the end-to-end process of panel designing and building by linking customer requirements, eCAD design tools, and shop floor instructions. Instead of relying on engineers’ knowledge of electrical components, Podium’s software selects and connects the components based on customer and UL requirements. Its panels are designed not only for manufacturability, but also for speed and the availability of components in the upstream supply chain.
According to Podium’s co-founder and CEO, Jamie Niu Serota, the way control panels are designed and built has not changed fundamentally in decades. “We founded Podium to build the vendor we always wished we had. Ordering a control panel should be fast, accurate, and transparent. At Podium, faster and better are the same thing.”
Serota founded Podium in 2024 with Jacob Buser, who is the company’s chief technology officer.
“Podium is an excellent example of what happens when world-class software meets a foundational industrial category,” says Oliver Hsu, partner at one of Podium’s investors, Andreessen Horowitz. “Jamie and Jacob are founders who understand both the legacy world of control panel manufacturing and how to rebuild it from first principles. The result is a combination of product and operational excellence that meets the current moment for American reindustrialisation.”
Dayna Grayson, co-founder and managing partner of another investor, Construct Capital, adds: “The industrial economy runs on essential components like control panels, and the legacy supply chain behind them is exactly the kind of foundational infrastructure Construct was built to invest in. Jamie, Jacob, and the Podium team have created the modern vendor this category has been waiting for, and the demand they’re already seeing makes it clear how much the market needs what they’re building.”
Other backers of Podium include Transition Ventures, Sunflower Capital, Banter Capital and SV Angel.
Podium Automation: LinkedIn
