Just months after Northvolt—once hailed as Europe’s flagship battery manufacturer—filed for bankruptcy, its former CEO Peter Carlsson is back with a bold new venture. This time, he’s betting on artificial intelligence to transform industrial manufacturing.
Carlsson, together with Siddharth Khullar, Northvolt’s former head of AI, has quietly launched a new AI manufacturing startup in Sweden. Though the company is still operating in stealth and hasn’t revealed its name, it’s already attracting attention from top venture capital firms in both Europe and Silicon Valley.
The startup’s mission is straightforward: use machine learning to optimize factory performance. That includes automating production lines, predicting equipment failures, and enhancing quality control—without requiring costly infrastructure overhauls. The idea is to plug directly into existing factory systems, delivering fast, tangible improvements through smart software.
Carlsson, who previously led global supply chains at Tesla before founding Northvolt, is drawing heavily from that experience. His deep understanding of hardware logistics and factory operations appears to be a key reason why investors are betting big on his latest move—despite Northvolt’s high-profile failure.
While exact funding figures remain under wraps, insiders say Carlsson holds a significant stake in the company. The startup has already built a core team and is expected to grow to about 20 employees in the near term.
This new venture arrives at a critical time. With rising energy costs, global supply chain instability, and growing interest in automation, manufacturers are actively seeking AI solutions to reduce waste, improve uptime, and stay competitive. Carlsson and Khullar aim to deliver exactly that, leveraging real-time data analytics to help factories operate more intelligently.
The Financial Times notes that while large players like GE and Siemens already offer industrial AI platforms, Carlsson’s startup could outpace them by staying lean, agile, and hyper-focused on solving specific pain points. Early traction in the Nordic tech ecosystem also suggests this could be one of the region’s breakout industrial AI ventures.
Despite the shadow of Northvolt’s collapse—caused by soaring costs, repeated delays, and intense market pressure from cheap Chinese EV imports—Carlsson’s reputation remains influential. Investors see his involvement not as a red flag, but as an asset. His ability to scale complex operations, build high-profile partnerships, and rally talent is hard to ignore.
Reuters reports the new platform will enable predictive maintenance, dynamic scheduling, and advanced quality assurance powered by AI. These tools are becoming vital as factories navigate volatile market conditions and increasing demand for customization.
For Carlsson, this move isn’t just a comeback—it’s a strategic shift. Instead of betting on capital-intensive infrastructure, he’s embracing software-led innovation. And if early investor interest is any sign, the market is ready for it.
Carlsson originally co-founded Northvolt in 2016 alongside ex-Airbus executive Paolo Cerruti. The company aimed to make Europe energy independent by producing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and renewable storage. Backed by giants like Volkswagen and BMW, Northvolt once embodied Europe’s green tech ambitions. But mounting operational challenges and financial mismanagement led to its downfall, despite raising billions.
Now, Carlsson is taking a second shot—this time with a smaller team, less overhead, and sharper focus. And with AI reshaping how the industrial world runs, his AI manufacturing startup might just find the sweet spot between innovation and execution.
