Exodigo, a company whose non-intrusive subsurface imaging platform leverages AI to process data from multiple sensors, announced this week that it received “a multi-million dollar” investment from National Grid Partners (NGP), the corporate venture arm of National Grid plc, which operates utilities in the U.K. and U.S. markets.
The exact amount of the investment was not announced, but was part of an overall $20 million investment that NGP is making in three separate firms–Exodigo, Sensat, and Visionary.ai–all three of which are using sensor technology and AI in ways that could benefit the fight against climate change, according to a statement from NGP. The news comes after National Grid worked with Exodigo, based in Tel Aviv and San Francisco, to help with mapping of areas around buried infrastructure at National Grid sites in New York.
Aurelia Setton, chief business officer at Exodigo, told Fierce Electronics, “We're very excited about this because they're obviously someone we've done project with, and they really believe in the potential of the solution. Having a strategic investor who understands the commercial potential of the technology is invested and seen it is an amazing opportunity for us to tell the world of utilities, and even more broadly, the construction world out there what we’re doing.”
Setton noted that while there has been rapid growth in the variety of different sensors used for subsurface mapping and similar applications, they draw conclusions from limited data. Exodigo, meanwhile, is leveraging multi-sensor fusion and AI to process multiple signals “into a single source of truth.”
According to analysis from the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) Technology Advancements and Gaps in Underground Safety 2022 report, Exodigo’s approach helps it to find between 20% and 50% more underground utility assets than other types of solutions.
“Exodigo’s technology presents a significant opportunity for National Grid to improve safety, reduce cost, and increase operational efficiency on our construction projects. Early pilots are showing positive and promising results,” said Dave Lessard, Engineering Manager, Innovation at National Grid. “The Exodigo subsurface imaging platform found all the major below grade-assets at a National Grid test site in Yaphank, NY, including some unknown lines that were not found in any existing documentation. National Grid is excited to explore this technology further across our business.”
Among other recent projects, Exodigo’s technology also was used in the aftermath of the development of a large sinkhole on one of the main arterial highways into Tel Aviv, an event which happened to occur near the company’s Tel Aviv office, Setton. Exodgio mapped the area and found other sites that could be vulnerable to sinkholes so that they could be repaired. The company does not even offer a product specifically for sinkhole mapping yet, though Setton said it is in the works.
All of this comes after Exodigo raised $29 million at the beginning of this year.