Funding Round attributes
Lausanne-based industrial startup Komp-Act has successfully completed a funding round, securing CHF 1.7 million with an additional open tail of CHF 500,000 available over the next four months. The funding round included private investors and business angels from BAS. The company’s leadership recently changed, with José Manuel Feijoo taking over as CEO in 2024, co-founding Komp-Act alongside Emmanuel Guex, who serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Komp-Act, an EPFL spin-off, is focusing the funds primarily on research and development activities, with a particular emphasis on the industrialization of its flagship product—an electric linear motor designed to replace pneumatic actuators in industrial machinery. The funding will also support the expansion of the company’s sales efforts as it moves toward scaling production.
The startup has attracted interest from foreign investors who own factories utilizing pneumatic actuators and understand the costs and limitations of this aging technology. Currently, approximately 40 million pneumatic actuators remain in use worldwide, highlighting the size of the market opportunity for alternatives such as Komp-Act’s motor.
A significant commercial milestone for Komp-Act is its recent strategic partnership with a company based in the Alpine region, operating in the food and packaging machinery sector. This client faces pressure from its multinational end customers to reduce energy consumption, improve productivity, and decrease maintenance costs of its machinery. According to CEO Feijoo, Komp-Act was selected because it was the only supplier able to meet the client’s technical specifications. Despite the demand exceeding the initial capabilities of Komp-Act’s motor, the company demonstrated the versatility and quality of its patented technology. The solution is expected to reduce energy consumption in the client’s production phase by over 90%, while simultaneously increasing machine productivity and lowering maintenance costs.
Since its relaunch a little over a year ago, Komp-Act has concentrated approximately 90% of its efforts on industrializing its linear motor product. The company views the current economic climate, marked by rising energy costs and the need for higher productivity, as creating urgency for machine manufacturers to replace pneumatic actuators with electric linear motors. Komp-Act’s patented technology reportedly offers advantages in working speed and force, positioning the company uniquely as the only provider offering a quality motor product suitable for mass-market applications.
The company is progressing rapidly toward the industrial-scale production of its motor. A prototype is expected to be ready within the current quarter. Komp-Act plans to further develop its presence in the European market, with a particular focus on Italy and Germany, which together account for more than 35% of the global market for such technologies. Additionally, the company intends to establish partnerships with equipment manufacturers within the sector.
Komp-Act’s team comprises nine members, all with significant experience in their respective fields. Notably, seven team members have over 25 years of professional experience, bringing substantial expertise to the company’s development and growth efforts.
This funding round and new strategic client engagement mark important steps in Komp-Act’s efforts to reestablish itself within the industrial automation sector by advancing its electric linear motor technology and expanding its commercial footprint.
