$32 Million to Democratize Robot Programming
San Francisco and Trondheim-based Trener Robotics has closed a $32 million Series A round, bringing total funding to more than $38 million. The round was led by Engine Ventures and IAG Capital Partners, with strategic participation from Cadence and Geodesic Capital through Nikon's NFocus Fund. Founded in 2024, the company has moved quickly from concept to commercial deployment, establishing over 15 systems integration partnerships across Europe and the United States by 2025.
How Acteris Works
Trener's core product, the Acteris platform, is a robot-agnostic skills system that replaces traditional procedural programming with a natural language interface. Instead of writing code or configuring waypoints, operators describe the automation task they want performed in conversational language. The platform then translates that description into executable robot behavior. Acteris is trained on visual, haptic, language, and action data using physical AI approaches, enabling it to identify parts, handle objects under adverse conditions, optimize motion paths in real time, and avoid collisions autonomously.
The platform runs on existing manufacturer equipment and currently integrates with robot brands including ABB, Universal Robots, and FANUC. A real-time production dashboard provides operators with visibility into task execution and system performance. CEO Dr. Asad Tirmizi describes the vision as "transforming robots into intelligent, adaptable teammates by replacing procedural programming with a control system."
