Groundup.ai, a Singapore-based industrial artificial intelligence (AI) startup, said Thursday it has raised US$1.8 million in its seed funding round led by early-stage investor Wavemaker Partners.

The round also saw participation from SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, as well as angel investors, Groundup.ai said in a statement.

According to the statement, the investment will be spent to grow the company’s in-house AI and software team and capabilities, and to expand into international markets, including Qatar, Australia and Japan.

“It is, and will always be about people. Traditionally, the industrial sector is considered an ‘unsexy’ sector for innovations as talents typically sway towards ‘cooler’ industries out there,

“Therefore, it is even more important and urgent for us to help every industrial company out there adopt their own AI brain to empower their people to do their jobs better, be it managing their heavy assets or saving their lives,” said Leon Lim, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Groundup.ai.

“I am delighted that we have found Wavemaker Partners and SEEDS Capital, both of whom carry the same vision to create this future ‘operating system’ in the industrial world as we do,

“The demand for our innovations outstrips the capacity we have currently, so we are glad to raise the funds to keep creating the best products for our clients,” he added.

Groundup.ai is a startup which is focused on helping industrial companies prevent unplanned downtime of industrial assets and improve workplace safety through the use of industrial Internet of things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence.

The firm helps companies to reduce unplanned downtime and improve workplace safety through its core industrial AI solutions – predictive maintenance, computer vision and vehicle safety monitoring.

It serves a wide range of industries including logistics, manufacturing, maritime and oil and gas, and work with over 20 clients, including the Republic of Singapore Navy.

Founded by serial tech entrepreneur Leon Lim, who has two exits under his belt, and co-founded by Alex Wong, an operations and chemical engineering veteran who brings more than a decade of experience in 2021, Groundup.ai’s core solutions lie in condition-based monitoring and predictive maintenance to help companies prevent unplanned downtime of heavy machinery, and computer vision to improve workplace safety and save lives.

Their unique sound-first predictive maintenance platform is done through the deployment of their proprietary IoT sound sensors and AI platform.

Their proprietary AI, GINA, picks up sound anomalies which are indications of potential machine issues, so that such issues can be resolved before any catastrophic breakdowns happen, helping clients to save millions of dollars in the process.

Groundup.ai’s solutions support industrial companies to take a proactive approach to machinery reliability and workplace safety, ultimately helping to improve the lives and work conditions of those in the industrial sector.

“We’re excited to lead this round for Groundup.ai. We found its predictive AI solution for machine maintenance and workplace safety truly unique and the most accurate in its category,

“The company’s approach to solving real-world problems for industrial players very much aligns with our philosophy,” said Andy Hwang, General Partner at Wavemaker Partners.

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