Fiix has acquired Colorado-based Alchemy IoT, an industrial asset intelligence company, in order to bring AI to Fiix’s maintenance and asset management software. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The addition of AI capabilities to our products is the next step on this digital journey.”
The acquisition follows Fiix’s $53 million ($40 million USD) Series C round that was announced in January. It also comes after a busy 2018 for the company, which saw it not only double its headcount, but also close a $12 million USD Series B round.
According to Toronto-based Fiix, this acquisition makes it the first computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) company to bring “true AI-driven predictive maintenance” to the market. The company plans to combine its cloud-based, smart asset management solution with Alchemy’s machine learning software to add real-time AI health and anomaly detection to Fiix’s existing platform.
“Fiix is focused on ensuring our customers have the tools they need to stay competitive. We were the first to see cloud software as the key to helping customers simplify their journey to modern maintenance,” said James Novak, CEO of Fiix. “The addition of AI capabilities to our products is the next step on this digital journey.”
Earlier this year, Novak outlined to BetaKit Fiix’s plans to use a portion of its Series C to invest in AI and IoT, with the goal of offering predictive maintenance. At the time, Novak noted that the potential benefits of integrating IoT data and analytics include not only cost reductions, but increased quality of output, environmental optimizations, and improved worker health and safety, depending upon industry.
The acquisition also follows the launch of Fiix’s Integration Hub, a system that allows Fiix customers to integrate various operations and platforms. The hub allows customers to connect their CMMS to any enterprise system in order to collect and share data, automatically trigger work, and manage parts and supplies.
“We planted an Industry 4.0 flag with the launch of our Integration Hub and now we’re cementing that position with this acquisition,” Novak stated. “By connecting workflow software to asset sensors, production systems, and enterprise software and enabling real-time asset health monitoring, we’re connecting the dots on the whole Industry 4.0 ecosystem.”