January 24, 2026, Natan Linder, the co-founder and CEO of Tulip Interfaces, reached a series of defining milestones that transitioned him from a startup visionary to a central figure in the global industrial economy.
Coming off the heels of the World Economic Forum in Davos, his achievements as of this date include:
1. Achieved Unicorn Status with a $120 Million Series D
Just days prior to the 24th, Natan Linder finalized a $120 million Series D funding round led by Mitsubishi Electric.
The Valuation: This investment officially propelled Tulip Interfaces to a $1.3 billion valuation, marking the company's entry into the "Unicorn" ranks.
Strategic Shift: The round was described not just as a capital raise, but as a "strategic alliance" to replace rigid, monolithic industrial software with Tulip’s composable, AI-native platform across global manufacturing sites.
2. Appointed Co-Chair of the WEF Advanced Manufacturing Community
During the 2026 World Economic Forum (which concluded on January 23), Linder was appointed Co-Chair of the WEF Advanced Manufacturing Industry Governors Community.
Leadership: In this role, he began collaborating with global leaders (including the CEO of Rockwell Automation) to set the international agenda for Human-Centric AI and workforce reskilling.
The "Davos Voice": He emerged as the primary advocate for "Augmented Lean," arguing that AI should be used to give frontline workers "superpowers" rather than automating them out of existence.
3. Expansion of the Global R&D Infrastructure
Linder leveraged the momentum of the week to solidify Tulip’s new global footprint:
Israeli R&D Hub: Following the recent acquisition of the AI startup Akooda, Linder established a major R&D center in Tel Aviv, specifically focused on "Agentic AI" for the shop floor.
Operational Scale: As of late January 2026, the platform had scaled to support over 60,000 frontline workers across more than 1,000 customer sites globally, including giants like AstraZeneca and Stanley Black & Decker.
