01 — Overview
Research & Reference
Supporting analysis for CloudNC's growth round. Each page is self-contained and independently sourced.
A CNC machine takes a solid block of metal and carves it into a precision part. Every part requires a unique program, written by a skilled machinist who needs roughly a decade of training. The global machinist workforce spends $100 billion per year on this cognitive work. Machines that cost half a million dollars sit idle while programmers work through the queue.
CloudNC automates the programming step. What is a CNC machine →
Introduction
Market
Anatomy of a Machine Shop
Follow one order through an 18-machine shop, from RFQ to shipment. What the business looks like, where the bottleneck lives, and how CloudNC fits.
The $61B Cognitive TAM
$61B in cognitive labour across US factories. $24B machinist wedge alone. Every role, wage, and assumption tagged to BLS source.
The $300B Global Opportunity
Global factory cognitive labour is ~5× the US market, wage-adjusted. Derived from CIMdata machine tool consumption and OECD wage data.
The Machinist Shortage
10% of US machinists retiring annually. No replacement pipeline. BLS occupation data modelled through 2035.
CNC Facility Count
Bottom-up count of CNC facilities across the US and global market. Machine count and shop-count TAM derivation.
Reshoring & Defence
The arithmetic of reshoring manufacturing to the US. Defence industrial base demand and the role of AI automation.
Why Now
Four converging forces: machinist retirement cliff, agentic AI inflection, reshoring boom, and defence industrial urgency.
Technology
Product
What is CAM Assist
AI that generates CNC machining programmes from a 3D model. Gets 80% of the way there in minutes. The machinist does the last 20%.
CAM Package Landscape
30+ CAM packages exist. 2 integrations live, 11 by end of 2026. Each integration unlocks a new market segment without new R&D.
Customer Evidence
Competition
Why Not Incumbents
Structural disincentives at every layer of the CAM value chain. Revenue fragmentation, rented intelligence, and failed attempts.
Startup Landscape
Detailed profiles of every AI CAM entrant. Technical approach comparison. Honest assessment of CloudNC's gaps.
Unit Economics
Capital Efficiency
$108.5M invested across three phases. Post-launch: 91% gross margin, 5.5× growth, 12.9-month CAC payback.
Retention & Unit Economics
ICP GRR 93%, churn decomposition, CAC payback, LTV:CAC analysis, and the expansion flywheel model.
Growth Trajectory
5-channel land model with observed conversion rates. $327K/month today to $6.8M/month by Dec 2028. Expansion is 71% of closing ARR.
Environmental
Company