Vantora (formerly UP.Labs) raises $100M and pivots to proprietary physical-AI startups
Vantora, the startup studio formerly known as UP.Labs, received a $100 million investment from Silversmith Capital Partners — its first outside funding — and is shifting to build startups exclusively for corporate partners with an option for those partners to fold the ventures into their core businesses. The firm says this proprietary M&A approach lets it pursue sensitive, high-value industrial use cases and increases its focus on 'physical AI' applications for customers such as Porsche, Alaska Airlines and J.B. Hunt.