Machine learning startup Falkonry has brought in a $4.6 million Series A.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Falkonry claims its machine learning system eliminates data scientists by giving operations teams the ability to discover patterns hidden in their existing operations data, apply predictive analytics, and receive actionable insights. The system can be used directly by industrial practitioners, like a “data scientist-in-a-box,” and can be deployed both on-premise or in the cloud. As a result, companies are able to save money and time by being able to address issues before they become significant problems, according to Falkonry Founder and CEO Nikunj Mehta.
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“The demand for digital transformation is substantial, leaving much room for growth for companies like ourselves, and the potential to be acquired,” Mehta said. “There’s a severe shortage of manpower available to serve the needs of that digital transformation. What is necessary at this point is substantial intelligence augmentation or automation.”
The six-year-old company serves industries such as automotive manufacturing, chemical processing, energy, industrial equipment, mining operations, and semiconductor manufacturing. Customers include Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing out of Indiana (which builds industrial equipment like forklifts), Ciner Resources, Mexican steel manufacturer Ternium, Kawasaki, and Portuguese utility EDP.
Falkonry helps companies see “significant” operational improvements in as little as three weeks, and it has saved customers millions of dollars a year, according to Mehta. One way it can do that is by giving enterprises the ability to schedule preventative maintenance, avoiding forced production halts.
Venture Perspective
Presidio Ventures—the early-stage venture capital arm of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corp—led the Series A round, which also included participation from another new strategic investor Fortive Corp, a diversified industrial growth company. Existing investors also provided capital in the round, including Basis Set Ventures, Polaris Partners, Start Smart Labs and Zetta Venture Partners. The funding brings the company’s total venture raised to $10.9 million.
Presidio Ventures President & CEO Ted Tatsumi and Fortive Vice President of Strategic Development Raj Ratnakar will join the Falkonry board as observers.
“Being able to quickly predict and derive value from operational data is a major advantage for every Global 2000 industrial company,” said Tatsumi in a written statement. “Machine learning is an explosive market to be in today, and we look forward to being a part of the continued growth we see Falkonry achieving in the future.”
For Falkonry, the advantages of gaining strategic investors are many, according to Mehta. For one, it provides the company access to new revenue routes through OEM opportunities without increasing direct sales and marketing costs.
“…We are excited by the opportunity to incorporate operational machine learning from Falkonry to further increase the value for our customers,” said Ratnakar in a press release. “The Falkonry LRS system is well positioned as a front-runner in machine learning due to its ease of use and short time to value.”
The company plans to use its new funds to grow its engineering and customer success teams.
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