A startup co-founded by a former SpaceX engineer has successfully raised $65 million (£51 million) in Series B funding to overhaul the manufacturing of wire harnesses, a critical component in advanced vehicles ranging from rockets to submarines. Senra, established in 2023 by Jordan Black and Benjamin Shanahan, aims to modernise an industry that its CEO describes as largely unchanged since the Cold War era.
Wire harnesses are essentially the intricate bundles of electrical cabling that power and connect the various systems within complex machinery, including aerospace vehicles, cars, and defence systems. As these vehicles become increasingly sophisticated, the precision and reliability of their wiring become paramount. Traditionally, these harnesses are custom-made by highly skilled technicians, a process that Black observed to be largely manual and labour-intensive during his time scaling up wire harness production for SpaceX's Starship rocket.
Senra's approach focuses on integrating software tools and automation into the existing manual processes, rather than attempting full robotic automation – a challenge given the current limitations in robot manipulation of wires and scarcity of relevant training data. The company's proprietary software platform, Amp, is central to its strategy. Amp standardises inputs throughout the wiring process, generates a 'digital twin' to guide technicians, and facilitates the tracking of materials and engineering changes. This systematic approach aims to mitigate the risks associated with manual errors, such as the flammable tape issue that caused significant delays for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in 2023.
The $65 million funding round was co-led by Lowercarbon and Interlagos, with additional investment from prominent firms including General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Founders Fund. This investment underscores a broader trend of increased funding into manufacturing, particularly within the defence industrial base in the United States. While specific customers were not disclosed, Senra's client base reportedly includes manufacturers of submarines, land-based defence vehicles, launch vehicles, and satellites.
Senra currently produces 1,000 wire harnesses monthly across two factories. The company has ambitious plans to significantly scale up production, aiming for 10,000 units per month in 2027. This expansion is supported by what Black describes as the only federally certified wire harness training programme, ensuring a skilled workforce capable of operating within their modernised framework. The firm's name, 'Senra' (harness backwards, minus some letters), is a nod to their mission of streamlining and improving the traditional harness manufacturing process.