Infogrid, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to optimize building management, today announced that it has raised $90 million in new funding to build out its “smart building” platform that allows customers to monitor data on air quality, occupancy and energy consumption.

The company’s platform gathers data from a large variety of internet of things sensors placed throughout buildings in order to assist property managers in understanding the environment within their buildings. That data is then analyzed by an AI engine to create a real-time view of building data and insights.

The Series B funding attracted investment from Original Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Northzone, TVC, JLL Spark, Committed Capital, Pictet and several others. This funding follows Infogrid’s Series A funding round of $15.4 million led by Northzone in November 2020, according to data from Crunchbase.

Infogrid’s objective is to help building management reduce energy costs by detecting overuse of refrigeration, detecting leaks and improving employee productivity and well-being. The company’s products also use AI models that warn about the potential for mold growth, measure air quality and check for virus indicators such as Legionnaires’ disease in water pipes.

“In the aftermath of COVID there has been a pincer movement of inflation and climate pressures on businesses, leading to widespread concern over the cost and carbon emissions of owning and operating commercial buildings,” said Chief Executive Will Cowell de Gruchy. “This created a clear need for solutions that lower costs while reducing the environmental and health damage caused by commercial real estate.”

Founded in 2018, Infogrid works with an ecosystem of IoT hardware partners to retrofit facilities and buildings with sensors that can feed their data points into the AI system. With the data and insights delivered to a back end, the dashboard can be used by facilities management to make decisions about heating and cooling, room use and cleaning needs throughout the building.

At the same time, the AI can also learn from the customer’s historical usage trends, preferences and needs, giving them up-to-date information on how they can optimize their resources. This allows them to better meet their own sustainability goals when it comes to tweaking their energy use should there be a shift in the number of people in parts of the building or should energy prices change.

Infogrid has found success partnering with large facilities management providers and real estate services companies to revamp building management for banks, supermarkets, restaurant chains and hospitals.

Gruchy also sees Infogrid as an environmental impact and social good company as well, looking to provide companies a way not just to save themselves money but lower their carbon footprint. According to the World Green Building Council, buildings are responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions, with 28% from operational emissions — from energy for heating, cooling and power — and 11% from materials to build them.

“Not only does this save crucial dollars in a time when budgets are strained by inflation, but it also prevents wasted carbon, chemicals, and water in a time when the world is strained by climate change,” said Gruchy.  “It’s a win-win for clients and the planet, and it’s heartening to see big business embracing sustainable solutions.”

Photo: Pixabay