Haatch Invests in StirLight: Advancing Real-Time Quality Assurance in Manufacturing
April 14, 2026
We’re excited to announce our investment in StirLight, a UK-based advanced manufacturing company pioneering real-time quality assurance in friction stir welding (FSW).
StirLight has secured £1.25 million in pre-seed funding, with investment from Haatch, the British Business Bank, D2N2 and angel investors, alongside grant funding from Innovate UK and the Aerospace Technology Institute.
What Does StirLight Do?
StirLight is an advanced manufacturing company that combines deep expertise in friction stir welding with its proprietary technology platform, StirSense.
In simple terms, StirSense enables manufacturers to monitor and verify weld quality in real time, rather than checking it after production. It captures high-frequency data during the welding process, applies intelligent analysis to detect issues as they occur, and creates a full, traceable quality record for every joint.
Alongside its technology platform, StirLight is already generating revenue through contract manufacturing and engineering services, working with customers across sectors including nuclear, aerospace and automotive.
Why This Matters
Friction stir welding is widely regarded as a superior welding technique. It produces stronger, lighter and more consistent joints, with lower energy usage and no need for filler materials or gas. Despite this, adoption has remained limited.
The reason is simple: manufacturers have not been able to verify weld quality during production. Instead, they rely on costly and time-consuming post-weld inspections, which slows down production and limits scalability.
This has held friction stir welding back from being used more widely in high-volume manufacturing environments. StirLight addresses this directly.
By enabling real-time quality assurance, StirSense removes a critical barrier to adoption.
Manufacturers can detect defects instantly, reduce reliance on post-production testing, and confidently scale production across industries where quality is mission-critical, including aerospace, defence, automotive and energy.
Why We Are Excited
StirLight is solving a fundamental problem in advanced manufacturing with a clear, technically differentiated solution. What stands out to us is the combination of deep domain expertise and a highly practical application of data and machine learning to an already proven industrial process.
The company has spent the past two years building strong foundations, generating early revenue and validating its approach, and is now moving into pilot deployments with industrial partners.
We believe StirLight has the potential to become a critical enabling layer for friction stir welding at scale, unlocking broader adoption across multiple global industries. With strong backing from both investors and Innovate UK, the business is well-positioned to accelerate commercialisation and play an important role in the future of high-performance, efficient manufacturing.
StirLight has secured £1.25 million in pre-seed funding, with investment from Haatch, the British Business Bank, D2N2 and angel investors, alongside grant funding from Innovate UK and the Aerospace Technology Institute.
What Does StirLight Do?
StirLight is an advanced manufacturing company that combines deep expertise in friction stir welding with its proprietary technology platform, StirSense.
In simple terms, StirSense enables manufacturers to monitor and verify weld quality in real time, rather than checking it after production. It captures high-frequency data during the welding process, applies intelligent analysis to detect issues as they occur, and creates a full, traceable quality record for every joint.
Alongside its technology platform, StirLight is already generating revenue through contract manufacturing and engineering services, working with customers across sectors including nuclear, aerospace and automotive.
Why This Matters
Friction stir welding is widely regarded as a superior welding technique. It produces stronger, lighter and more consistent joints, with lower energy usage and no need for filler materials or gas. Despite this, adoption has remained limited.
The reason is simple: manufacturers have not been able to verify weld quality during production. Instead, they rely on costly and time-consuming post-weld inspections, which slows down production and limits scalability.
This has held friction stir welding back from being used more widely in high-volume manufacturing environments. StirLight addresses this directly.
By enabling real-time quality assurance, StirSense removes a critical barrier to adoption.
Manufacturers can detect defects instantly, reduce reliance on post-production testing, and confidently scale production across industries where quality is mission-critical, including aerospace, defence, automotive and energy.
Why We Are Excited
StirLight is solving a fundamental problem in advanced manufacturing with a clear, technically differentiated solution. What stands out to us is the combination of deep domain expertise and a highly practical application of data and machine learning to an already proven industrial process.
The company has spent the past two years building strong foundations, generating early revenue and validating its approach, and is now moving into pilot deployments with industrial partners.
We believe StirLight has the potential to become a critical enabling layer for friction stir welding at scale, unlocking broader adoption across multiple global industries. With strong backing from both investors and Innovate UK, the business is well-positioned to accelerate commercialisation and play an important role in the future of high-performance, efficient manufacturing.
By
Jessica Fox
Head of Investor Relations
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