H

HIVE

Autonomous operation retrofit of industrial equipment

Founding Account Executive

Full-Time
$250k - $300k/yr
Mid
Austin, TX, USA
In PersonWillingness to travel across the US is required.
Sales & Account ManagementAccount Executive

About the job

Requirements
  • Experience building something from nothing, such as a new market, region, product line, or business.
  • A consistent track record of hitting or exceeding quota, with measurable results.
  • An existing network in United States aggregates, mining, construction, or industrial equipment.
  • Experience selling conceptual offerings rather than off-the-shelf products, such as software, software-enabled hardware, automation, or systems integration, and building the business case.
  • Experience with complex deals involving multiple stakeholders and C-level economic buyers.
  • Interest in working on site at quarries, mines, plants, and around machines.
  • Willingness to travel across the United States.
  • Authorization to work in the United States.
Responsibilities
  • Build a sales pipeline through outbound prospecting and the candidate's existing network.
  • Identify and prioritize target accounts in aggregates, mining, construction, and building materials.
  • Create demand among customers by identifying processes where the solution fits and building the business case with them.
  • Manage each deal from the first conversation through the first machine operating at the customer's site.
  • Sell to site managers, health, safety, and environment (HSE) stakeholders, finance, information technology (IT), and executive teams.
  • Work with customer champions to build the business case and internal documentation, and help them drive decisions within their organizations.
  • Handle technical customer questions by learning the solution in depth.
  • Own account expansion after the initial contract.
  • Document how Hive sells in the United States and hand the playbook to future hires.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience working in an organization with a structured sales playbook.
  • Experience at companies that sell a mix of hardware and software to industrial customers.

About the company

Hive Autonomy retrofits existing industrial equipment with a machine-agnostic silicon brain so forklifts, excavators, and wheel loaders can operate autonomously or be controlled remotely. Its hardware-software stack lets one operator supervise multiple machines from a single central station, reducing exposure to hazards and boosting productivity in logistics, construction, and mining. Unlike others that build new autonomous machines, Hive Autonomy focuses on retrofitting a wide range of equipment and partners with players like Yara, Toyota Material Handling, Volvo, and Telenor to deploy pilots. The company aims to scale deployments and advance its product to widen adoption of autonomous and remotely controlled industrial operations, supported by its 2026 funding round.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Early VC

Total Funding

$15M

Headquarters

Kristiansand, Norway

Founded

2020

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • July 2026 raised $15 million from SuperSeed, Veriten, Skyfall, and Nysnø.
  • September 2026 hiring shows 68 open roles across engineering, sales, and operations.
  • Live Scandinavian deployments and UK proof-of-concepts create reference customers for 2027 expansion.

What critics are saying

  • Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Toyota Material Handling already sell integrated autonomy directly.
  • US expansion after July 2026 funding risks safety failures, delayed certifications, and customer churn.
  • If OEMs bundle native autonomy into new equipment, Hive becomes a replaceable middleware layer.

What makes HIVE unique

  • Hive retrofits forklifts, excavators, and loaders with one machine-agnostic silicon brain.
  • July 2026 deployments with Yara, Presis Vegdrift, and Volvo Maskin validate cross-site reuse.
  • One operator supervising multiple machines from remote stations cuts exposure in hazardous environments.

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Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

15%

1 year growth

22%

2 year growth

22%
The SaaS News
Jul 8th, 2026
Hive raises $15M Pre-Series A.

Hive raises $15M Pre-Series A. Hive raises $15M in a pre-Series A round led by SuperSeed to expand its Physical AI industrial software platform into the US market. Updated July 08, 2026 Hive, a Physical AI startup based in Kristiansand, Norway, has secured $15 million in a pre-Series A funding round. The company specializes in developing a silicon brain designed to operate and retrofit existing industrial machinery, such as forklifts, wheel loaders, and excavators, with advanced neural networks that function like human operators. Investors. The funding round was led by SuperSeed, a London-based venture capital firm focused on Physical AI. Additional participating investors included Veriten, Skyfall, and Nysnø, as well as angel investors Børge Hald and Jørn Lyse Jørn Lyseggen. Hive use of funds. Hive plans to use the capital to increase its technical staff headcount and to fuel its strategic expansion from Europe into the United States market. About Hive. Founded in 2020 by Christoffer Jørgenvåg, Hive is a Physical AI company that builds trainable software designed to serve as a universal brain for industrial equipment. The company's mission is to move beyond traditional automation by creating intelligent, adaptable systems that improve in value and capability over time through real-world operation. Funding details. Company: Hive Raised: $15M Round: Pre-Series A Funding Date: July 7, 2026 Lead Investor: SuperSeed Additional Investors: Veriten, Skyfall, Nysnø, Børge Hald, Jørn Lyseggen Software Category: AI/Robotics Source: https://techfundingnews.com/hive-raises-15m-silicon-brain-industrial-machines/ Updated July 08, 2026

Sifted
Jul 8th, 2026
Hive raises $15m for ‘silicon brain’ that cuts hourly cost of running machines by 80%

Hive, a physical AI startup building a "silicon brain" to automate industrial machines, has raised a $15m pre-Series A round led by SuperSeed.

EU-Startups
Jul 7th, 2026
London-based HIVE raises €13.1 million to build "silicon brain” for industrial machines | EU-Startups

HIVE, a London-based physical AI company building the intelligence layer for industrial machines, today announced a €13.1 million ($15 million) pre-Series