3 weeks ago
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Not even the oncoming winter season can cool off artificial intelligence funding.
Manufacturing AI startup Tractian is the latest company using the emerging tech to capture investors’ attention, snapping up a $120 million Series C funding led by Sapphire Ventures.
The round also included investment from General Catalyst, Next47 and NGP Capital.
The Atlanta-based company’s AI play is pretty straightforward. It is able to combine hardware, software and AI to help modernize manufacturing maintenance processes. The company — which describes itself as the “Industrial Copilot” — addresses the growing concern of industrial maintenance, with unplanned downtime costing the world’s 500 largest companies 11% of their annual revenue, about $1.4 trillion.
“With an aging workforce and fewer younger workers entering the field, the gap between human expertise and machine understanding widens,” said cofounder and CEO Igor Marinelli in a release. “This loss of analog, hands-on knowledge has left industrial operations struggling to maintain efficiency. There is growing momentum for the reshoring of manufacturing in the U.S., as companies seek to reduce dependencies and build more resilient supply chains.”
AI dollars
Of course, Traction is just the latest company using AI to solve real-world problems while also attracting big investment dollars.
More than half of last month’s $28 billion in global venture funding went to companies in the AI sector — with AI companies in everything from robotics to marketing to healthcare raking in more than $14 billion.
Founded in 2019, Tractian has raised more than $180 million, per Crunchbase. In August 2023, the company closed a $45 million growth capital round led by General Catalyst.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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