Industrial IoT Startup Leading Effort to Bring Analytics to Manufacturing

BOSTON—  MachineMetrics, which equips factories with the digital tools needed to increase productivity and win more business, announced Tuesday it has raised $11.3 million in Series A financing.

Tola Capital led the round with participation from existing investors Hyperplane Venture Capital, Long River Ventures, Mass Ventures, Hub Angels and Firebolt Ventures. With the new funds, the company will expand its data science and product development teams while accelerating global sales.

MachineMetrics is a pioneer in Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) technology. Its system is designed so that customers can install it themselves without the need for expensive and time-consuming customization.

Once installed, manufacturers can collect, visualize and analyze data from any industrial machine. It automatically senses when there is a problem, even predicting some problems hours or minutes before they occur, and recommends solutions that reduce costly unplanned outages.

In addition, MachineMetrics benchmarks a company’s machine performance against those of their peers to help guide future investments.

“Now is the internet moment for manufacturing,” said William Bither, CEO and cofounder of MachineMetrics. “Because we’re pulling data from thousands of machines, we’re able to gain a unique understanding of their problems. These insights are delivered back to our customers so they can take action to gain a competitive edge.”

Integrated into factories globally, MachineMetrics serves customers including Fastenal, Snap-On Tools, National Oilwell Varco, Gardner Denver, Continental, Saint Gobain, Shiloh Automotive and SECO Tools.

“With MachineMetrics, we boosted production by more than 100 hours each month in the first three months alone,” said Tim Borkowski, vice president of manufacturing at Fastenal, a global maker of industrial equipment. “There’s no more educated guessing or finger-pointing; there’s a solid reason behind everything and every decision we make. I can’t imagine what life would be like if you took it away. It’s that ingrained in our day-to-day operations.”

The company’s latest solution allows factory workers to share MachineMetrics’ data with their remote maintenance teams and makers of their equipment, and vice versa. This enables service teams to identify problems through remote diagnosis, reduce onsite service visits by 10 to 20 percent, and receive predictive maintenance alerts, which could lead to new business.

According to Mike Mugno, vice president of Rem Sales/Tsugami, “MachineMetrics Service is a game-changer. We can now provide faster, better service because we’re collecting data that really didn’t exist before.”

Manufacturing accounts for 16.6 percent of global GDP and is on the brink of a new digital age, often called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. That revolution combines two advancements — predictive analytics and artificial intelligence — and applies them to physical objects (ie, your Nest thermostat), creating the Internet of Things. Only with this ability to send and receive data can humans, and one day the objects themselves, figure out how to slash waste and increase output.

“Manufacturers have to digitize if they want to remain globally competitive,” said Aaron Fleishman, Principal at Tola Capital. “Real-time shop floor visibility is the first step toward digital transformation. MachineMetrics’ platform provides this and goes a step further by providing AI-driven predictive analytics for manufacturers to make more informed real-time decisions. It’s no longer a question of if but when manufacturers will adopt this transformative technology.”

Photos of MachineMetrics and Bither's headshot can be downloaded   here.

About MachineMetrics

MachineMetrics is the industry's first AI-driven predictive analytics platform for discrete manufacturers and machine builders. The company is the winner of 2018’s Smart Manufacturing Solution of the Year (IoT Breakthrough Awards). Their Industry 4.0-ready solutions work out-of-the-box to increase equipment productivity and efficiency through edge connectivity, real-time visibility, deep manufacturing analytics and AI driven predictive and prescriptive alerts. By simplifying Industrial IoT, MachineMetrics is enabling customers to digitize and drive decisions with machine data. For more information, visit: www.machinemetrics.com

About Tola Capital

Tola Capital is a venture capital firm based in Seattle that focuses on investing in the next wave of enterprise software companies. The firm provides both capital and hands-on engagement to support the growth of its portfolio companies. Tola Capital targets software companies with essential products for enterprise companies, a solid existing customer base, a strong competitive position, and great talent and culture. Tola Capital invests globally and across multiple stages. For more information, visit:   www.tolacapital.com.