# When electrification makes economic sense, everyone wins | Airthium (YC S17)

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/feed/353694
- Entity ID: wefunder:feed_item:353694
- Published at: 2026-07-16 14:49:28 UTC
- Updated at: 2026-07-17 20:10:07 UTC

## Author
Franck Lahaye

## Subject
Airthium (YC S17)

## Content
I recently met Hiten Sonpal, the CEO of RISE Robotics. We're in the same field: his team is electrifying heavy machinery while we electrify factory heat. We ended up giving each other a virtual walkthrough of our factory floors and swapping notes on what it takes to build hard tech and run a raise at the same time. I thought you might be interested in checking out their campaign because we share a common vision: replace outdated systems with solutions that are electric and built for the future.RISE is electrifying heavy machines by replacing hydraulics with a fluid-free electric actuator system. They’ve generated $9.7M in revenue, won contracts with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army, and have raised $27M from Techstars, Engine Ventures, Kingscrowd and 2800+ Wefunder investors. After meeting Hiten, I was struck by how seasoned and clear-headed he is. He knows exactly what he wants to build and how to get there, there’s a level of focus that resonated with me. I ended up investing in RISE, and Hiten also joined our round.If you believe in electrifying industries with solutions that make economic sense like the way we do, this one could be worth backing. You can check them out at invest.riserobotics.com.