New funding sees machine health solution provider expand and work in energy sector
Elly Yates-Roberts |
Machine health solution provider Augury has secured US$180 million (£130 million) in new funding, bringing the company’s post-funding valuation to over $1 billion.
This round of funding, combined with the unused funds from its Series-D round, gives Augury – whose Halo machine health solution drives optimum machine performance on Microsoft Azure – over $200 million to expand. This expansion includes entering new industries, such as energy, along with innovating in Augury’s core manufacturing market.
The Series-E round was led by energy technology company Baker Hughes, which will take a seat on Augury’s board of directors and incorporate Augury’s solutions into its System 1 software and (APM) asset performance management solutions.
“This alliance is a critical addition to our industrial asset management capabilities as we continue to strategically invest for growth by delivering integrated APM solutions for our energy and industrial customers,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO at Baker Hughes. “We share the same strategic vision of combining critical equipment engineering with digital analytics, and Augury also has broad technology and skillsets that complement our existing offering to improve efficiencies, productivity and operational excellence.”
The Series-E round also included participation from new investor SE Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Schneider Electric, and existing investors Insight Partners, Eclipse Ventures, Qumra Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, the HSB Fund of Munich Re Ventures and Lerer Hippeau. Augury’s new investors, Baker Hughes and SE Ventures, will allow the company to transform the management of the machines that generate, store and move the world’s energy.
“We’ve spent the last decade building towards a future where we can always rely on the machines that matter, in the sectors that matter,” said Saar Yoskovitz, co-founder and CEO of Augury. “Today marks a significant step into that future since our industry’s leading organisations have recognised the importance of machine health to them and their customers, and trust Augury to be their machine health partner. I’m thrilled by the opportunity this funding, coupled with the market access our new investors provide, gives us to further fuel Augury’s exponential growth and bring the impact of machine health to new markets.”
Watch: Yoskovitz and fellow co-founder Gal Shaul talk more about the company’s expansion.
Barbara Frei, executive vice president of industrial automation at Schneider Electric, said: “Schneider Electric is committed to leading the industrial digital transformation and our investment in Augury is another step in that direction. Artificial intelligence-enabled predictive asset maintenance is a key pillar of resilient and sustainable supply chains, and Augury’s proven solution combined with our unique expertise and global reach will be an important agent for industrial digital transformation”.
Sankara Narayanan, senior industry analyst from consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, said: “Frost & Sullivan believes machine health is not just about asset performance, but is also a bridge between assets and operations, as evidenced by the use cases Augury is currently driving for its customers. We are especially impressed as Augury’s machine health-as-a-service is becoming foundational to Industry 4.0, and are excited to see this funding help Augury bring its offerings to more industries in the coming years.”