StirLight, a UK based advanced manufacturing technology firm, has secured £1.25 million in funding to accelerate the commercialisation of its proprietary quality assurance platform, StirSense, aimed at improving friction stir welding processes across key industries.
The funding package includes over £750,000 in pre seed investment from Haatch Ventures, The British Business Bank, D2N2 and angel investors, alongside about £500,000 in grant support from Innovate UK and The Aerospace Technology Institute under two research and development projects.
The company disclosed that the proceeds will be deployed to fast track pilot deployments of StirSense with industrial partners, while also supporting the creation of highly skilled engineering and data science roles. StirLight is positioning its technology to serve manufacturers in aerospace, automotive, defence and energy sectors, where demand is growing for real time quality assurance systems that can improve efficiency and production outcomes. The firm is actively seeking partnerships with manufacturers looking to integrate advanced monitoring into their welding operations.
Industry experts note that friction stir welding offers stronger, lighter and more consistent joints compared to traditional welding methods, with lower energy consumption and no need for filler materials or shielding gas. However, its wider adoption has been limited by the challenge of verifying weld quality during production, forcing manufacturers to rely on costly and time consuming post production inspections. StirLight’s StirSense platform addresses this gap by capturing and analysing process specific data to enable real time anomaly detection and provide traceable quality records for every weld.
Chief Executive Officer of StirLight, Toby S Yu, described the funding as a major boost for the company’s growth ambitions, noting that the technology solves a long standing challenge in scaling high quality welding processes.
Chief Technology Officer, Jeroen De Backer, added that the platform unlocks the potential of multi sensor data generated during welding by enabling real time interpretation and verification. Founded in March 2024 and based in North Derbyshire, StirLight has already begun generating revenue through contract manufacturing and welding services, as it continues to expand its footprint in high value industrial sectors.