- Cumulus Digital Systems, a startup building the Internet of Tools platform for the industrial workforce, announced it raised $8 million
Cumulus Digital Systems, a startup building the Internet of Tools platform for the industrial workforce, announced that it has raised $8 million in strategic growth capital led by new investor GEC with participation from existing investors Brick & Mortar Ventures and Shell Ventures. And Cumulus previously raised $7 million and will use the fresh capital to grow its sales and customer success teams in North America and Southeast Asia and its engineering team to add new capabilities to its platform.
As industrial maintenance and construction lag far behind other industries on the road to digitalization. And most work practices are still siloed and paper-based with little transparency or accountability. Plus avoidable accidents caused by poor work quality are responsible for the release of more than 60 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalents each year and cost facility owners approximately $260,000 per hour in unplanned downtime.
Recent studies have shown that over 30% of construction work is rework that should have been done right the first time and more than half of this rework is the result of miscommunication and poor project data, costing the U.S. construction industry more than $31 billion in 2018.
Cumulus’ Internet of Tools platform is used for helping owners and contractors prevent accidents and eliminate downtime by collecting data from digitally-enabled tools in the field to provide real-time quality assurance and progress tracking of mission-critical work activities. And Cumulus’ customers have used the platform to virtually eliminate leaks caused by work-related accidents at their facilities, reduce quality control, and data analysis costs by 60%. And it saves workers and inspectors in the field hours of paperwork and idle time each day.
Cumulus’ flagship Internet of Tools product is the patented and award-winning Smart Torque System (STS). And STS gives facility owners real-time visibility into productivity and work quality during safety-critical industrial bolting activities, enabling them to know who completed the work, how long it took them to do it, and how well it was done. STS was deployed at energy facilities and data centers in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Trinidad & Tobago.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are very excited to be partnering with GEC. This funding round and GEC’s deep industry expertise will enable us to accelerate our growth into new markets and develop new ways to help our customers become completely connected and data-driven, where poor work quality no longer causes accidents, unplanned downtime, and rework.”
— Cumulus Co-founder & CEO Matthew Kleiman
“GEC is thrilled to provide Cumulus with the capital it needs to drive rapid growth. Cumulus is a truly innovative company that is driving cost efficiencies, decarbonizing operations and increasing safety in multiple markets. GEC will bring to bear its expertise and relationships in energy, renewables and industrials to help Matthew Kleiman and his team grow Cumulus globally.”
— Alexander Chmelev, who is a Partner of GEC and a Director of Cumulus
“We couldn’t be more proud of Matthew Kleiman and the Cumulus team for reaching this significant milestone; we think that the milestones achieved by Cumulus (spinning-out from Shell TechWorks, technological development, diversified market presence, and now secured growth capital) are unprecedented in the heavy industrial sector. GEC is an outstanding financially motivated investor with deep energy market expertise — we are excited to collaborate with them to advance industrial quality and learning management.”
— Curtis Rodgers, Director at Cumulus Digital Systems and Principal at Brick & Mortar Ventures
