Tractian Technologies Inc., a startup using internally developed sensors and artificial intelligence to optimize industrial equipment, has raised $120 million in funding.

Sapphire Ventures led the Series C investment, which was announced today. General Catalyst, Next47 and NGP Capital chipped in as well.

Tractian provides a cloud platform that detects technical issues in industrial equipment and identifies the likely cause. The software spots malfunctions by analyzing data from the Smart Trac Ultra (pictured), a compact sensor supplied by the company that customers can attach to their machinery. It has a battery life of up to five years and collects data every five minutes. 

The Smart Trac Ultra can track a machine’s temperature, velocity, acceleration and other physical properties. It wirelessly transmits its readings to a receiver, which in turn sends them to the cloud for analysis. The sensor connects to the receiver via an LTE connection, which is more reliable than the industrial Wi-Fi routers typically used for the task.

Tractian’s platform turns the collected sensory readings into summaries that explain how a machine is malfunctioning and the likely cause. There are also data visualizations that make it easier to review technical information about the system. According to Tractian, its software can diagnose dozens of types of malfunctions.

The AI models under the hood fine-tune malfunction alerts based on environmental factors. For example, the software can take into account the time of year when determining whether a machine is overheating. In the summer, the acceptable amount of heat generated by a system might be higher than during the winter, when the cool air lowers the operating temperature of outdoor equipment. 

Tractian says that its platform’s automation features makes it possible to detect malfunctions sooner than would otherwise be possible. As a result, technicians can fix them before they disrupt manufacturing operations. 

For large manufacturers with multiple factories, fixing every equipment issue immediately after it emerges is often impractical. Tractian says that its platform prioritizes the malfunctions it detects based on the importance of the machinery they affect. For the most critical systems, the software flags potential issues in their earliest stages to ensure they are fixed as soon as possible.

Besides equipment failures, Tractian also promises to address other causes of factory downtime. The company’s platform can alert plant managers when a material necessary for production is about to run out and new supplies should be ordered. Tractian can likewise flag materials that are nearing their expiry date. 

The company offers its core downtime reduction features alongside analytics tools for measuring factory performance. Tractian tracks industrial machines’ energy-efficiency, the amount of power necessary to make a given product and whether each system is meeting production targets. The software visualizes this data in dashboards to ease analysis.

Tractian will use the proceeds from its latest funding round to expand its platform’s feature set. The company also plans to hire more engineering, data science and go-to-market professionals. 

Photo: Tractian