Ultralytics Secures $30M Series A to Accelerate Vision AI Innovation
Ultralytics, the company behind the widely adopted YOLO (You Only Look Once) computer vision models, has raised $30 million in Series A funding, led by Elephant with participation from SquareOne. The investment will accelerate development of next-generation Vision AI and strengthen enterprise solutions for industries relying on advanced inspection and measurement systems.
From Open-Source to Industrial-Scale Adoption
What began as an open-source research project has evolved into the world’s most widely used family of vision AI models. Today, Ultralytics YOLO models are deployed across 200+ countries and power an extraordinary 2 billion daily usages in real-world applications.
In the manufacturing sector, YOLO models are increasingly applied in automated visual inspection, dimensional measurement, defect detection, and real-time quality monitoring. By enabling high-speed analysis at the edge, YOLO supports smart factory strategies where 100% inspection and inline sensing are becoming vital to process control and yield improvement.
Ultralytics’ growth is strongly tied to its open-source community. Its repository has achieved:
- 115,000+ GitHub stars
- 900+ global contributors
- 115 million+ Python library downloads
The 2024 GitHub Octoverse report ranked Ultralytics #5 globally among all open-source repositories for first-time contributors, highlighting its role as a trusted platform for developers, researchers, and industry innovators.
Driving the Next Generation of Vision AI
With fresh funding, Ultralytics will accelerate R&D into the next generation of YOLO models – focused on making them lighter, faster, and more accurate. This is particularly significant for edge-based metrology applications, where processing must occur in real time on constrained hardware, such as sensors embedded in production lines or handheld inspection tools.
Founder & CEO Glenn Jocher emphasized: “Ultralytics is redefining what’s possible with Edge AI, delivering YOLO models that are faster, lighter, and easier to use than ever. This investment will accelerate our R&D and expand our ecosystem of application-layer solutions built on YOLO—empowering enterprises and students alike.”
For manufacturers, this means easier integration of YOLO into inspection cells, robotic measurement systems, and digital twin workflows—enabling seamless data capture, analysis, and feedback across the digital thread of quality control.
YOLO Vision 2025
Ultralytics is also preparing for YOLO Vision 2025 (YV25), its annual event on September 25th at The Pelligon in London, with a global livestream on YouTube and Bilibili. The event will bring together developers, enterprises, and researchers to explore breakthroughs in computer vision, showcase industrial applications, and unveil a major new product launch.
For those in metrology and manufacturing, YV25 offers a unique opportunity to see how YOLO’s evolution will continue to impact inline inspection, quality automation, and AI-driven measurement.
Vision AI in the Future Factory
The convergence of metrology, AI, and automation is redefining modern manufacturing. By securing new investment and advancing YOLO’s capabilities, Ultralytics is poised to play a central role in enabling the real-time, high-precision quality control systems that smart factories demand.
For more information: www.ultralytics.com
