Urbint, a developer of a field safety information for industrial workforces, has raised $20 million in a new round of funding as it looks to expand its research and development capabilities, grow internationally and develop services for new industrial categories.
With the bulk of its business in the North America utility market, it was time for the company to expand its geographic horizons, something that it should be able to do with the addition of the venture arm of the U.K.-based utility company National Grid as one of its backers.
Other investors in the company’s $20 million round include Energy Impact Partners, Piva and Salesforce Ventures .
“A few years ago, we saw that utilities were facing an overwhelming number of threats in the field, stemming from aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and workforce turnover, and didn’t have adequate tools to make informed risk-driven safety decisions,” said Corey Capasso, the founder and chief executive of Urbint, in a statement. “We built Urbint to arm them with predictive AI to stay one step ahead. The pandemic has only intensified this need as dangers to infrastructure and essential workers increase and resources are strained. This investment will grow our reach to keep even more communities safe.”
The company also said it will work to improve its diversity and inclusion efforts as it considers where to allocate its resources, Capasso said in an interview with TechCrunch.
Urbint works by aggregating information around various risks that field workers might face, including data around weather, planned construction and even incidence of infection or disease spread (a new addition in response to the COVID-19 epidemic in the U.S.), according to Capasso.
The company currently counts 40 utilities in the U.S. among its customer base and the new capital will help expand beyond that base, Capasso said.
“Not only are we an investor in Urbint, but National Grid also uses Urbint’s technology to predict and prevent safety incidents, keeping the community safe,” said Lisa Lambert, founder and president of National Grid Partners, in a statement. “AI safety technology is especially vital to reduce risk during this pandemic, and we’re proud to grow our investment in Urbint.”
Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Urbint, a provider of field safety information for utilities, raises million
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