What the business is
An AI startup building an operating system for manufacturing processes.
The bet
That the AI operating system Northvolt never had — Khullar's team built Northvolt's AI offering — can be sold to manufacturers who know AI will disrupt them but not how.
Starting capital
Angels plus Earlybird and Village Global; amounts undisclosed. Carlsson owns between 25 and 50 per cent.
How it started
Months after Northvolt collapsed with $5.8bn in debts, co-founder and ex-CEO Peter Carlsson launched Aris Machina in 2025 with Siddharth Khullar, who had headed Northvolt's AI offering and is CEO of the new venture.
What happened
Raised from angels, Earlybird and Village Global; Carlsson described fundraising after Northvolt as 'emotionally tough' and reported 'pretty big curiosity and interest' from potential customers, who know AI will disrupt the way they work but not how.
What has to be true
The product is built from scar tissue: an AI OS designed by the team that ran AI at Europe's most expensive manufacturing failure.
Customer pull was unusually direct — manufacturers asking the team to 'tell us everything you learned' rather than weighing a cold pitch.
Carlsson frames Aris Machina as a true VC-style journey, unlike Northvolt's industrial-investor structure — a deliberate contrast in how it is funded.
What can be applied
A founder's failed company can seed the next one: the operating system you wish you had is the most credible product you can sell.
Aftermath
As of 28 January 2026, Aris Machina was building its manufacturing AI OS with Earlybird and Village Global among its investors; no customers, revenue or funding amounts were disclosed.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE