March 20, 2024 CADDi Named Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company

Global manufacturing solutions provider with Chicago U.S. HQ recognized for its groundbreaking SaaS tool, CADDi Drawer.

CHICAGO—CADDi, a leading manufacturing solutions provider, is honored to announce its inclusion in Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the Most Innovative Companies for 2024. This recognition from a leading media company covering the future of technology and work underscores CADDi’s commitment to driving innovation, efficiency, and cost reduction within procurement departments and the manufacturing sector as a whole.

Fast Company’s exclusive list of innovators is an annual ranking that honors select organizations globally that are making a lasting impact in their respective industries. CADDi is recognized among iconic global brands like Nvidia, YouTube, and more.

“We are thrilled Fast Company validated the work our organization is doing to help empower manufacturers to unleash their potential,” said Yushiro Kato, co-founder and CEO of CADDi. “This accolade is a testament to our dedication to building a manufacturing platform designed for teams across the supply chain—from sales to engineering to procurement departments—to enhance manufacturing workflows.”

Fast Company’s list celebrates organizations that are spearheading groundbreaking advancements in their respective industries, setting the standard for future innovation. CADDi’s inclusion highlights its position as a trailblazer in driving efficiency in procurement and transforming the manufacturing landscape with its flagship CADDi Drawer, an easy-to-use secure SaaS platform that uses AI to help procurement teams centralize and search for drawings in a central hub.

“Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is both a comprehensive look at the innovation economy and a snapshot of the business trends that defined the year,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. “We saw extraordinary innovation across the board in 2023, but we also saw a handful of clear patterns: the growing footprint and impact of AI, the triumphant return of live events, and great leaps forward in climate tech. We face daunting challenges on many fronts, but the solutions we celebrate in MIC give me plenty of hope about the future.”

CADDi Drawer revolutionizes manufacturers’ procurement and supply-chain operations by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to unlock unprecedented access to comprehensive data. Utilizing a cutting-edge, patented image analysis algorithm, CADDi Drawer effortlessly digitizes intricate details from drawings along with their corresponding supply-chain information. This seamless integration of data, combined with its innovative “similar drawings search” capability, establishes CADDi Drawer as the premier search platform in the manufacturing sector. By enabling procurement teams to tap into a wealth of past manufacturing insights, CADDi Drawer breaks the cycle of reinventing the wheel to drive significant cost savings and innovation in future projects.

In July 2023, CADDi raised $89 million in a Series C funding round, bringing its total capital raised to $164 million. The company is expanding in North America and opened its U.S. headquarters in Chicago to bring its solution to manufacturers in the region and nationwide.

“We want to make the lives of the people who work daily in manufacturing easier,” Kato added. “Organizations have never had the opportunity to access historical drawings and supply-chain data in a centralized system—until now. By harnessing the power of AI and our patented algorithms, we are enabling them to not only access drawings but make decisions based on having essential information literally at their fingertips.”

CADDi remains committed to addressing broader industry pain points. The platform reduces manufacturing costs—leveraging past insights to eliminate pricing inconsistencies common in the non-standardized and opaque procurement process to optimize supplier selection—and helps bridge the knowledge gap between experienced workers retiring and newer ones entering the workforce in an era when the manufacturing industry faces persistent worker shortages.

CADDi’s recognition in Fast Company reflects its profound impact on the manufacturing sector and industry at large. As CADDi continues to push the boundaries of innovation, the company remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering exceptional value to its clients and partners.

For more information about Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, click here.

ABOUT CADDi INC.
CADDi is a global manufacturing company on a mission to “unleash the potential of manufacturing.” The company strives to transform the manufacturing industry through its primary offering, “CADDi Drawer,” an AI-enabled drawing management system, helping further unlock the potential of manufacturing by significantly improving the efficiency of procurement teams.

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