Momenta Invests in Autonomy® to Advance Cloud-Native PLC Development

This investment reflects Momenta’s conviction that industrial automation has reached a true inflection point. As factories face rising cyber risk, tighter labor constraints, and accelerating demands for flexibility, control systems can no longer remain static, proprietary, or isolated from modern software practices. The next phase of automation must be software-defined, interoperable, and designed for continuous change.

Why Industrial Automation Needs a Reset

Industrial automation remains constrained by proprietary PLC hardware and closed development environments. These systems lock engineers into outdated workflows, fragment IT and OT responsibilities, and slow modernization at the moment when factories need faster outcome-focused iteration.

Autonomy addresses this constraint directly. Rather than replacing control systems, it modernizes how they are developed and governed. By applying DevOps discipline to PLC software while preserving real-time execution at the edge, the platform aligns control engineering with the operational realities of modern industrial environments.

From Open Control to Production-Ready Platforms

Autonomy Edge is built on OpenPLC, the world’s leading open-source, IEC 61131-3 compliant, Programmable Logic Controller. Engineers develop PLC logic directly in the browser, with no local installation, and deploy virtual PLCs to any Linux-based industrial device through the Autonomy Orchestrator agent.

This architecture delivers a pragmatic and efficient path for iterative modernization. Existing infrastructure stays in place while control software becomes portable, versioned, and easier to secure. Virtual PLCs run in isolated execution environments and remain centrally managed, combining operational safety with modern lifecycle management.

The result is a rare combination: cloud-native development paired with deterministic edge execution.

Security by Design, Not by Afterthought

A core differentiator of Autonomy Edge is its execution model. Control logic runs in strict network isolation while updates, monitoring, and governance are handled remotely. This air-gapped execution approach significantly reduces attack surfaces while preserving operational visibility, reflecting how industrial operators actually manage risk in production environments.

“We did not just move PLCs to the cloud. We redesigned how control software should be built and governed,” said Thiago Alves, Founder and CEO of Autonomy. “Autonomy Edge modernizes automation without breaking real-time guarantees. Open standards, edge execution, and cloud-native workflows are no longer optional. They are the future of industrial control.”

An Open Foundation with Real-World Traction

Autonomy builds on more than a decade of open-source development and field validation:

• OpenPLC Runtime with 1,400+ GitHub stars and 560+ forks
• Cited in more than 100 peer-reviewed research papers on industrial cybersecurity
• Adopted globally by universities for automation and ICS security education
• Industry partnerships with pre-eminent companies like FreeWave Technologies, Arduino, and Movensys

The release of OpenPLC Editor v4 marks a major platform milestone, delivering a modern interface, cross-platform support, and native integration with Autonomy Edge’s cloud management capabilities.

DevOps Discipline, Applied to Control Systems

Autonomy Edge introduces software engineering practices that industrial teams can operationalize today, including browser-based IEC 61131-3 development, cloud-managed versioning and deployment, and hardware-agnostic execution across industrial PCs, gateways, and edge devices.

• Cloud-managed collaboration and deployment
• No vendor lock-in through open standards and portable projects
  
  

“Autonomy sits precisely at the IT–OT boundary where modernization most often breaks down,” said Kyle Crum, Growth Partner at Momenta. “They enable modern development and governance while respecting the realities of industrial control. That combination makes this platform scalable in real operations.”

Strategic Fit and Market Momentum

The global PLC market exceeds $11 billion and is under increasing pressure from cybersecurity requirements, workforce constraints, and the need adapt quickly to changing requirements. Software-defined control, open ecosystems, and edge-native architectures are shifting from optional to essential.

Momenta sees this transition clearly because we operate at the intersection of industrial execution, software platforms, and long-cycle infrastructure. Autonomy exemplifies the kind of operator-aligned innovation required to modernize control systems without disrupting production.

Industrial control is no longer defined only by reliability. It is now defined by adaptability. Autonomy is building the control layer that enables industry to evolve safely and at scale.

Momenta is the leading Industrial Impact® venture capital firm, accelerating industrial innovators across energy, manufacturing, smart spaces, and the supply chain. Our team of deep industry operators has helped scale industry leaders and innovators to improve critical industries, the environment, and people's quality of life for over a decade. PitchBook named Momenta among the world's top ten digital industry venture funds for both 2023 and 2024 in its Global Manager Performance Score League Tables, one of just two European-headquartered VCs to achieve a Top 10 ranking. For more information, please visit http://www.momenta.one. 

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