US defense tech startup anchors production in PH
An American defense tech startup is preparing to ramp up production in the Philippines, its first and only manufacturing base so far, where it plans to quadruple monthly output of motors used in defense drones, robotics and other applications.
California-based Atlas Motion Systems currently produces about 10,000 motors a month at its manufacturing facility at Laguna Technopark in Biñan, Laguna. It plans to raise capacity to 40,000 units monthly by year-end.
“Out of the Philippines, we plan to get to hundreds of thousands of motors a month. We’re going to be a globally relevant business. We’re not just targeting US markets,” Atlas cofounder and CEO Christian Mochen said.
Atlas initially invested about $300,000 of its founders’ own money to get the Philippine operation running before raising $11.5 million from US investors, including Greycroft and Also Capital.
Its 1,500-square-meter Biñan facility currently employs about 15 to 20 people.
Atlas makes customized motors and actuators used in drones, robotics, industrial equipment and other applications, including defense.
Its software platform, Vector, allows the company to design motors according to customer specifications before manufacturing them at scale.
The company already serves customers in Nigeria, Poland and India, among other markets. It is also pursuing deals in the United States, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Denmark, Taiwan and South Korea.
Atlas expects the Philippines to remain its main global production base even as it establishes smaller manufacturing facilities elsewhere to serve customers facing country-specific sourcing requirements.
“The Philippines is sort of like our anchor point,” Atlas cofounder and chief growth officer Tom Baron said, adding that the company would manufacture locally “by default” whenever regulations allow.
To support further expansion, Atlas is now in talks with financial institutions, including Philippine lenders, for debt financing to scale up its local manufacturing capacity. The company hopes to wrap up negotiations within about a month.
Over the next five years, the founders said Atlas could invest “several hundred million dollars” as the business grows. A “huge chunk” of the capital it raises could go to the Philippines if expansion proceeds as planned.
Baron said the broader market opportunity that Atlas is looking to capture could be worth billions of dollars annually.
Ultimately, Mochen said the Philippines would remain a long-term global supplier for Atlas, allowing the company to tap the country’s established electronics and component-manufacturing ecosystem.
“The Philippines has a super robust culture around component manufacturing,” he added. “We’re pairing the best of California technology with the best of process knowledge that exists in the space in the Philippines.”
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