Applied computinga London-based startup building a core AI model for the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, has raised a $20 million Series A round led by engineering giant KBR, with participation from Databricks Ventures.
Founded in 2023, the startup targets oil, gas, refining and petrochemical systems, where a single installation can have thousands of sensors measuring everything from temperature and pressure to speed and viscosity. While there is a huge market To help energy companies solve the data tracking problem, fragmentation poses a significant obstacle.
As a result, facilities are making operational decisions using less than 8% of the data they have, says Callum Adamson, co-founder and CEO of Applied Computing (pictured above, right). Operators already collect much of this information, he said, but they struggle to combine sensor readings, technical documentation, and physics and chemistry quickly enough to analyze them and make predictions.
“It’s about getting these three data sources to communicate in real time. That’s the real key,” he told TechCrunch.
Unlike large language models, which predict the next word, Applied Computing says its core model, Orbital, combines a time series model, a physics-based model, and a language model to predict the state of a facility. It does this by analyzing sensor readings, keeping physics and chemistry in mind, and recognizing a facility’s equipment constraints and operator activity. It also allows technicians to run simulations of how a change in one part of a facility could affect the rest of its operations.
Essentially, Applied Computing is fast: It claims Orbital can flag anomalies, investigate their cause, and model whether a proposed fix could create problems elsewhere in the facility, all in a matter of minutes. Adamson says the product can compress surveys that previously took days or weeks into seconds, helping operators reduce energy consumption and maintain production.
This promise of speed seems to have found believers. The startup claims it went from stealth to double-digit millions in annual recurring revenue in less than 18 months. Adamson said Orbital is used by some “large upstream, publicly traded,” downstream, refining and petrochemical companies, although he declined to mention how many customers it has.
Its partners include Indian energy company Wipro and KBR, which has integrated Orbital into its INSITE 3.0 digital platform for energy projects and uses the product for ammonia production. Adamson said the startup is also working with a “major U.S. upstream operator” and plans to announce a partnership with a European oil major in the coming weeks.
Still, Applied Computing is entering a market that has established industrial software providers, as well as more AI-focused startups. AspenTech sells AI-based simulation and modeling software for upstream, refining and chemical operations, while I HAD offers physics-based simulation, optimization and process modeling for industrial plants. Cognitive And Seeq target the data layer, helping facilities analyze industrial data and apply AI to design workflows.
Adamson argues that the company’s main advantage is not access to industrial data or process knowledge, but rather bringing together AI researchers to build a model that can compete with Orbital.
“It’s an AI problem. It’s not a data problem, it’s not an energy problem,” he said. “If you’re a leading AI researcher, where are you going to work? …I don’t think Shell is on that list.”
Adamson also highlighted the data Orbital receives during its deployments. Operational data from refineries and other energy facilities is generally not publicly available, he said, while simulated data cannot fully replicate what happens inside an operating plant.
The KBR partnership can also help the company. Adamson said the partnership gives Applied Computing access to operational data and industry expertise, as well as introductions to more potential customers.
Applied Computing plans to use the $20 million to expand internationally, hire for research and engineering positions, and explore deployments with energy sector customers.
The company announced Thursday that it has also opened an office in Houston, adding to its headquarters in London and operational center in Bangalore. Adamson said the U.S. base brings the startup closer to two existing clients in North America and an expansion to the Middle East is also in the works.
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Ram is a financial and technology journalist and editor. He has covered North American and European mergers and acquisitions, stocks, regulatory news and debt markets at Reuters and Acuris Global, and has also written on travel, tourism, entertainment and books.
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