Calgary cleantech company Ambyint, which specializes in AI-powered solutions for the oil and gas industry, has secured a $19.9 million CAD ($15 million USD) Series B round.
“Improving margin on producing wells is more important than ever for operators.”
The financing was led by Cottonwood Venture Partners, and received additional investment from Mercury Fund and Ambyint’s management team. Ambyint intends to use the funds to grow its solutions beyond oil and gas producers, as well as grow its offices in Houston and Calgary.
“This funding round is an important milestone for Ambyint, and we’re pleased to benefit from unwavering support among our investors to boost Ambyint to its next phase of growth,” said Alex Robart, CEO of Ambyint. “It is also a proof point for our approach of combining advanced physics and artificial intelligence, deployed on a scalable software infrastructure, to deliver 10 to 20 percent margin gains in a market where meaningful improvements have been hard to achieve.”
Ambyint’s solutions are aimed at improving wells by automating the detection of production and equipment irregularities. The operators of these wells are usually in exploration and production, a high-risk and high-reward sector within the oil and gas industry. The technology recognizes operational changes and allows for real-time corrective decisions. Founded in 2004, Ambyint applies physics-based models as well as AI to its solutions.
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The company was founded in Calgary as Pumpwell Solutions, is designed to autonomously optimize oil wells to improve production and efficiency, specifically targeting artificial lift, which is a process used on oil wells to increase pressure and encourage oil to the surface. Ambyint began selling its market-leading controllers and Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) in 2004. A VFD is a type of motor controller that drives an electric motor.
By 2012, Ambyint was procuring data, monitoring, and optimizing horizontal and vertical wells across Western Canada. The company’s clients have included Equinor and Husky.
“Improving margin on producing wells is more important than ever for operators,” said Ryan Gurney, managing partner at Cottonwood Venture Partners. “Ambyint has delivered significant financial benefits for its customers with the application of advanced physics and artificial intelligence, over and above traditional approaches to production optimization. We’re excited to see them expand further in the market with solutions that span the entire lifecycle of the well.”
Ambyint was one of the 14 Canadian companies to receive a cumulative $58.6 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada in 2017. The company’s last financing round, a $15.2 million CAD Series A, closed that same year.
Image source Ambyint via Facebook