For too long, America’s infrastructure has been stuck in a reactive cycle—waiting until the damage is done before springing into action. At BrightAI, we’re breaking that cycle.

Today, our team is excited to launch Stateful OS, an AI-powered platform transforming how infrastructure is managed. With over 250,000 AI endpoints deployed across 25,000 sites (more sites than Starbucks stores in the U.S), we’re equipping blue-collar workforces with real-time insights to spot and address risks before they escalate. From water and power to utilities, we’re empowering teams to take a proactive stance that keeps critical systems resilient, efficient, and ready for the future.

BrightAI has deployed over 250,000 sensors and achieved $80 million in revenue—all while staying in stealth mode and without raising outside capital. Until now. Today, we’re emerging from stealth with a $15 million seed round funded entirely by Upfront Ventures.

Read the full press release on WebWire here.

BrightAI, a leader in physical AI solutions, has reached $80 million in lifetime revenue, before raising outside capital. This milestone showcases the company’s innovative approach to delivering AI-driven solutions for critical infrastructure across industries like water, power, HVAC, pest control and manufacturing.

As detailed in TechCrunch, BrightAI’s groundbreaking technology is transforming operations with proactive, data-driven systems that improve efficiency, safety, and sustainability. Learn more about how BrightAI is shaping the future of physical AI in the full article on TechCrunch here.

Revolutionizing HVAC Maintenance with AI-Driven Insights and Predictive Diagnostics

ComfortAI was developed in partnership with Horizon Group Holding to tackle key challenges in HVAC maintenance, such as labor shortages, increased competition, and reactive repairs. This AI-powered platform uses advanced multimodal sensors to capture real-time data and processes it securely through Edge AI, delivering actionable insights and proactive alerts.

Powered by BrightAI’s Stateful OS, ComfortAI’s HVAC AI Foundation Model continuously learns to detect patterns, predict issues, and provide diagnostic solutions. The system includes hardware installed on HVAC units to act as the ‘brains’ of the operation, a technician app for real-time monitoring and onboarding, and a homeowner app to keep users informed of system health.

From continuous 24/7 monitoring to automated operations, ComfortAI enables HVAC companies to streamline service delivery, reduce costs, and elevate customer satisfaction.

Watch this short video to hear directly from Horizon’s team about how ComfortAI is helping them stay ahead, save time, and provide exceptional service to customers.

BrightAI is excited to announce the success of our recent demonstration showcasing our digital water portal to Azuria Water Solutions on June 25, 2024. This event, the culmination of two years of hard work, was a true moment of celebration for both teams. It marks a pivotal milestone in our collaboration, highlighting the transformative potential of bringing autonomy to critical water infrastructure operations. The digital water solution is software defined, and hardware enabled. It automates data collection, pipe coding, and precise measurement. By leveraging the BrightAI platform, our digital water solution addresses key industry challenges such as workforce constraints, market competition, and the need for accuracy and efficiency. 

Successful Demo in Chesterfield, MO

The demonstration at Azuria’s headquarters in Chesterfield, MO, was a full-day run-through of a typical water pipeline rehabilitation project. Attended by executives from both BrightAI and Azuria, the event showcased our technology’s capabilities and user-friendly interface. Azuria was thrilled with the results and looks forward to field deployments in the coming months.

Key Advantages Highlighted

• Full Digital Twin Implementation: Provides easy visualization of scan status, enhancing project oversight.
• Improved User Interface: Customizable video review screen makes the system more user-friendly.
• Instant Post Sync Videos: Immediate sync time ensures quick and reliable data transfer to their proprietary back end.
• Regional Data Access: Projects with multiple regions can pull data from any region onto any truck at any time.
• High-Speed Robotics: Our robot’s speed allows operators to stay within PACP code requirements of 30 feet per second.
• Unified Software Package: All data is contained in one software package, enabling Azuria to watch videos without downloading them.
• Report Generation: Direct client reporting streamlines communication and project management.
• Precision & Reliability: High reliability and availability with seamless robot switchover, improving pipe geometry knowledge and visualization, reducing errors, and enhancing project planning.
• Enhanced Cutting Technology: Electric cutter and augmented cutting features improve performance, reduce costs, and enhance precision in locating and cutting laterals.
  

Looking Ahead

With the success of this pilot demo, BrightAI is set to revolutionize wastewater infrastructure rehabilitation. Our AI-powered solutions will drive operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve project quality. We look forward to deploying these advanced capabilities nationwide, setting new industry standards.

BrightAI is thrilled to announce a significant milestone in our digital water project. Our innovative digital water solution has achieved NASSCO PACP certification, a crucial step that underscores our commitment to excellence and sets the stage for nationwide deployment.

Transforming Sewer Infrastructure Rehabilitation

Leveraging the BrightAI Platform, our autonomous robotics capabilities bring autonomy to critical water infrastructure operations. Our AI-powered solutions automate data collection and pipe coding, and offer precise measurements. This infrastructure AI foundation model for pipeline inspection and rehabilitation not only improves operational efficiency but also enhances accuracy and reliability, reducing over 90% of human reviews with higher accuracy defect recognition.

NASSCO PACP Certification: Poised for Nationwide Rollout

The NASSCO (National Association of Sewer Service Companies) PACP certification is a testament to the robustness and reliability of our technology. PACP stands for Pipeline Assessment Certification Program, which is a standardized system designed for consistent coding of sewer pipe inspection footage. This certification allows us to deploy our software on behalf of municipalities across the country, most of which require NASSCO PACP certification for their projects. Achieving this milestone involved a considerable effort to meet the stringent requirements set forth by NASSCO, ensuring that our tools provide validated and accurate data for quality asset management. 

Our autonomous pipeline inspection and rehabilitation system, initially built for wastewater pipelines, can quickly extend to oil and gas and chemical pipeline inspection, demonstrating its versatility and wide application. It features rapid CCTV inspections and instant creation of real-time digital twins of the pipelines. This capability eliminates delays in inspection reporting that previously occurred when video files needed to be sent elsewhere for human review, a process that used to take weeks. Now, our platform delivers immediate and dependable data, revolutionizing the inspection process.

With this certification, BrightAI is poised to revolutionize the field of sewer infrastructure rehabilitation. We look forward to rolling out our advanced capabilities to municipalities nationwide, setting new standards in the industry.

This guest Op-Ed was originally published on PE Hub.

Unicorns are sexy. Laundromats? Not so much. But I see promise where others just see suds.

What if you were to turbocharge laundromats with high-tech makeovers? Suddenly, instead of struggling to generate modest income, laundromats could be awash in revenue, powering their owners and investors to unthinkably rewarding returns.

This isn’t just a theory. My partners and I are on a mission to imbue traditional companies and industries with “AIoT”—a hybrid of AI (artificial intelligence) and IoT (the Internet of Things). And in our first proof of concept, we’ve reinvigorated a 90-year-old national laundry-solutions giant. As we suspected, the spectacular results show how AIoT can unlock the potential in unassuming, solid performers like laundromats—as well as residential HVACs, pest-control and community infrastructure.

These are among the investment world’s hidden gems. Rather than desperately searching for the next elusive unicorn, we’re convinced that PE fund managers might instead have better luck finding billion-dollar returns in the “unsexy” holdings already sitting in their portfolios.

Take your competition to the cleaners

The spark for this idea was rooted in a costly disaster. Our family cabin was nearly destroyed by flooding when its pipes burstand we didn’t learn about it until months later. But what if that cabin had been a “smart home,” which could alert its owners to situations that require immediate attention before turning into catastrophes?

That led me to found my previous company, SmartThings, the vision of which was to make every home a smart home. Shortly after its founding, SmartThings became the largest IoT platform in the world, connecting to one billion devices across 88 countries {we eventually sold it to Samsung}.

In my new venture, I’m teaming up with partners who are responsible for some of the most iconic consumer successes in artificial intelligence—including Amazon’s Alexa and Prime Music. Our combined AI and IoT pedigrees led us to another epiphany: if we joined forces, could we make every business a smart business?

The answer to that question is a resounding yes. AIoT is, in fact, growing revenues in ways—and places—that even we never would have imagined just a few years ago. And for investors, through AIoT, it’s becoming possible to disrupt—even revolutionize—traditional industries, and create a winner-take-all market.

Our first proving ground, that 90-year-old laundry giant with over one million laundry machines in service in more than 4,500 laundromats, 6,700 hotels, and 127,000 multi-housing communities, is a case in point.

What we’ve discovered so far is that AIoT has put the once physical-only business on a path of almost doubling free cash flow out of the business—without requiring any new customers. That’s revenue that was solely derived from the latent value in the business that they (and most everyone else) didn’t even realize was there.

It’s like finding coins under the couch cushions. Except that, in this case, it’s gazillions of coins.

Billions in those bubbles

One reason for the increase in revenue is that customers use the service more now, because it’s a better experience. Patrons can use an app to see if there is an available machine before they make the trip. Or they can see in advance when their laundry is ready. Or they can even pay with their phones.

Not only is it better for the company and their investors, and the end users, but it’s also a win for the employees and management. Now the dispatchers who are assigning drivers to visit the company’s 200,000 laundry rooms can be more efficient in their assignments – no more trips to a remote location to pick up just a few quarters. And managers can better allocate machines to more frequented locations. Or collect data on consumer usage (example: is one locale underutilized on Tuesday nights?) and respond accordingly with new and innovative ideas.

At the end of the day, this laundry solutions provider is an essential consumer-services platform reaching 50 million consumers with something they need, every single week. But now suddenly, with AIoT, we’ve catalyzed profits at an enterprise-value level—more than a billion dollars in incremental value in the course of just one year.

AIoT can unlock this potential in vertical after vertical—that’s the power of this platform. And it goes to show for PE managers that hidden gems are everywhere … if you know where to look.

The Business Intelligence Group this week announced the winners of its Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards program, as well as several finalists. This business awards program sets out to recognize those organizations, products and people who bring Artificial Intelligence (AI) to life and apply it to solve real problems.