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Ex-Tesla team raises $12.5M to put supply chains on autopilot
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Supply chain startup Atomic has raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to just over $15 million as the Boston-based company scales its AI-driven inventory management platform. The round was led by growth equity firm Klass Capital and Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group, with participation from existing investors. Atomic, which emerged from stealth last year, was incubated by DVx Ventures, founded by former Tesla president Jon McNeill. The company also announced that longtime Tesla planning director Jeff Goodrich has joined as CTO and third co-founder.
At its core, Atomic uses AI to determine how much inventory a company should hold and where, by simulating scenarios and recommending β or automatically executing β responses. The approach traces back to the 2018 Model 3 production ramp at Tesla, when co-founders Michael Rossiter and Neal Suidan built an early version of the system after spreadsheets couldn't keep pace with rapidly shifting planning needs. Rossiter, who serves as CEO, and Suidan, who is chief product officer, founded Atomic after leaving Tesla. The company's platform has since evolved from an optimization tool into a fully autonomous decision-making system.
Atomic's annual recurring revenue has quintupled since the beginning of 2025, according to McNeill, who also serves on the company's board. The startup has onboarded major customers, including DoorDash and HelloFresh, signaling a shift from pilot programs to production-scale deployments. DoorDash is reportedly running approximately 90% of its purchasing across hundreds of sites using Atomic's software, reducing waste and spoilage in the process. For food-focused clients, cutting down on spoilage translates directly into improved bottom lines.
Rossiter described supply chain management as an "infinite search space for optimization" where conditions constantly change. "AI can play the role of finding all of the best paths through that forest," he said in an exclusive interview. The company's agentic AI is designed as a general model that can adapt across industries, including consumer packaged goods, mobility, and manufacturing β sectors where Atomic is expanding and revisiting its Tesla roots. The platform's flexibility across diverse supply chain structures was a key factor in attracting investor interest.
Atomic's ability to deploy quickly with new customers also played a significant role in securing the round. McNeill recounted a board-level challenge to compress onboarding time and make it a non-event for new clients. Suidan led the effort, pushing the agentic AI to reverse-engineer a customer's unwritten "decision rules" so it could act autonomously. Once customers recognized the system was making sound decisions, many opted to let it take full control.
Looking ahead, Atomic plans to deepen its presence in manufacturing and mobility sectors while continuing to refine its autonomous decision-making capabilities. The new capital will support hiring, product development, and customer expansion. With decision speed widely regarded as a competitive advantage β a principle McNeill attributed directly to Elon Musk at Tesla β Atomic is betting that putting supply chains on autopilot will become an industry standard rather than a niche capability.
