Calgary-based startup CruxOCM, which provides software that automates the operations of industrial control rooms in the energy sector, has raised a $23.3-million CAD ($17 million USD) Series A round led by M12, Microsoft’s venture fund.
CruxOCM is still intending to move into gas but has “doubled down” on the liquid pipeline market.
The all-equity round saw participation from other new investors, including natural gas company Oneok, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, and EIC Rose Rock Fund, as well as backing from return investors including Angular Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Root Ventures, Industry Ventures, Cendana Capital, Pipeline Capital Partners, and Golden Ventures.
CruxOCM said the Series A round brings its total capital raised to date up to $37 million CAD ($27 million USD). The investment will enable CruxOCM to bring its co-pilot offering to more control rooms across the energy sector, CEO and co-founder Vicki Knott said in a statement.
“M12 is excited to back CruxOCM’s mission to equip energy industry control room operators with advanced tools,” M12 corporate vice-president and global head Michelle Gonzalez said in a statement. “Their innovative technology is set to disrupt the energy sector, enhancing efficiency and safety by providing operators with co-pilot capabilities.”
Founded in 2017 by Knott, who once worked as a control room operator for the Keystone Pipeline, and CTO Roger Shirt, CruxOCM delivers operations control management software that aims to help reduce the complexity of control rooms at oil and gas companies. The company’s robotic industrial process automation (RIPA)-enabled software, referred to as a “co-pilot,” claims to help automate equipment operations like starting and stopping pumps, maintaining consistent flow, and monitoring pipeline conditions.
In an email statement to BetaKit, Knott explained that the recent decision to brand its offering as a co-pilot addressed customer concerns and more accurately reflected the capabilities of its offering.
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“We found that our previous brand voice was too focused on the technology, leading potential end users and buyers to believe the system was fully autonomous and removing humans from the loop, making them hesitant to engage with us,” Knott wrote. “The reality is the experience for the end user of the application is more like ‘adaptive-cruise control,’ plus the obvious fact that [regulatory bodies] mandate the human in the loop requirement due to the critical nature of the operation of this infrastructure, and this type of regulation will not likely change in the near future.”
The company last raised a $7.6-million CAD ($6-million USD) “seed plus” round in 2021 to fuel its product development and expansion efforts. At the time, the company wanted to expand its target market past US-based oil pipelines and refined products pipelines, aiming to serve gas pipelines, gas plants, and offshore facilities, as well as add its first Canadian customers.
Following the Series A raise, Knott said that CruxOCM is still intending to move into gas, but has “doubled down” on the liquid pipeline market due market conditions and the size and customer concentration of North American liquid pipelines.
Knott added that CruxOCM still does not have Canadian customers “despite being a proven technology,” and sharing a customer base with “many of the Canadian energy giants.” Knott hopes that showing further public proof-of-concept will convince Canadian customers that its offering is effective.
Earlier this year, the startup received a “significant investment” from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) to create two software solutions intended to adjust oil and gas pipeline operations for optimized energy usage.
UPDATE (08/23/24): This article has been updated with information and commentary shared by CruxOCM CEO Vicki Knott.
Feature image courtesy CruxOCM via LinkedIn.