2022 has been a milestone year for SparkCognition in so many ways. As we wind down to enjoy the holiday break while simultaneously gearing up to start 2023 with purpose and force, we want to take this opportunity to thank you—for being not just part of our success but the reason for it.
Without our customers and partners driving us forward and motivating us to be better tomorrow than we were yesterday, we would not be the company we are today. Again, thank you.
The company we are today will celebrate its tenth(!) birthday this summer as one of the only AI tech startups that achieved unicorn status in 2022, despite the economic downturn. Some of the world’s largest companies will continue using our solutions in 2023 to make their business safer, more efficient, and more profitable. And we are just getting started.
Inspiration, collaboration, and validation
We often remind ourselves that everything we do is rooted in innovation. The AI products we deliver are pioneering a new kind of technology that will revolutionize industries. In fact, they are already doing so. And within the practice of innovation, we draw upon three core pillars: inspiration, collaboration, and validation.
Inspiration begins with our incredible employees. With more than 440 employees globally, over 50 PhDs on our payroll, and a world-class board, we’ve built a deep and wide roster of experienced AI talent at SparkCognition. It’s an exciting and enriching work environment, recognized this year as one of the Best Places to Work, Best Paying Companies, and Best Midsize Companies to Work For in Austin.
Collaboration with partners is also central to our success. Follow our company, and you will see this again and again. From partnering with Boeing four years ago to create SkyGrid, the world’s first airspace system built on AI and blockchain, to partnering this year with Benchmark Digital Partners to prevent workplace accidents with visual AI and Texas Robotics at The University of Texas at Austin to advance AI in robotics and its practical industry applications (to name just a few strategic partnerships we’ve established) we understand that we can learn and do more with allies than we can accomplish alone.
And we see validation for our hard work and innovation from the market. Some of the world’s biggest players in renewable energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, aviation, financial services, and more trust our products to drive operational excellence for their businesses. Consider the following:
- SparkCognition Visual AI Advisor currently has 130K+ cameras under contract across 16 countries.
- SparkCognition Maritime Shipping Advisor is used to transport 3B barrels of oil globally.
- SparkCognition Renewable Suite currently manages 8.5 GW of capacity.
- SparkCognition Industrial AI Suite provides predictive maintenance for some of the largest offshore platforms, overseeing 170M barrels of production per year.
- SkyGrid technology is installed on over 78,000 registered drone users across 190+ countries.
Looking back at 2022, we just have one nagging question. Where did the time go? We may never know for sure, but the following highlights from the past year are definitely part of the puzzle.
Series D fundraising and unicorn valuation
SparkCognition started the year by closing our $123M Series D round of funding led by new and existing investors. Our resulting company valuation topped $1.4B, a milestone reinforcing the value SparkCognition brings to our customers in various industries and governmental organizations. This funding enables us to continue pursuing our mission to deliver world-class AI solutions that empower organizations to solve their most critical problems and run more sustainable, safer, and profitable businesses. “SparkCognition has a proven track record of delivering AI at scale, partnering with the world’s industry leaders to drive profitable growth,” said Sumant Mandal, Co-Founder and Managing Director at March Capital. “They are at the front of this AI tsunami—helping businesses address their most critical challenges and enable digital transformation.”
Launching Visual AI Advisor
In March, SparkCognition acquired a visual AI start-up, adding computer vision to our portfolio of machine learning, natural language processing, and AI-enabled predictive maintenance. We immediately began diving into the $14.4B visual AI marketplace, leveraging data sets that include CCTV feeds, drone footage, handheld camera imagery, and existing camera infrastructures. The range of potential applications enabled by this leading-edge technology includes everything from security and school safety to manufacturing quality control and factory worker safety.
Shortly after the acquisition, SparkCognition introduced our Visual AI Advisor product, adding proven, world-class visual intelligence capabilities to our dynamic portfolio of AI-powered solutions. Visual AI Advisor uses existing CCTV feeds, drone footage, and more to deliver a highly scalable enterprise computer solution. This innovative product enables industrial organizations to identify critical safety, security, quality, productivity, and situational awareness problems from image and video data—transforming ordinary camera infrastructure into an intelligent visual analytics and alerts platform.
Time Machine Interactive
More than 250 industry leaders came together in April at our HyperWerx facility to network and learn about the latest developments in AI technology. Time Machine Interactive: AI in the Physical World (TMI22) included presentations by executives from oil and gas, renewables, manufacturing, and defense and featured cutting-edge demonstrations of applications like predictive maintenance, aerial surveillance, and safety enhancement. We sincerely thank our partners, speakers, guests, and staff for making TMI22 a resounding success.
School safety event
Earlier this month, we held a special School Safety event at our HyperWerx facility to showcase the ability of our visual AI technology to deliver real-time threat assessment to prevent active shootings and improve safety in school and university environments. The event brought school administrators, safety professionals, and parents together to demonstrate how AI can use existing camera infrastructure to reduce campus incidents. School districts already using SparkCognition’s Visual AI Advisor include Liberty Hill School District in Austin and Adelson Education Campus in Nevada, whose representatives spoke at the event.
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As we close out a rewarding and challenging year, we again thank you for being on this journey with us, and we look forward to sharing even more news as 2023 gets underway. For more information on how we spent the last 12 months, check out the News section of our site, and, as always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to share your perspectives or arrange for a demo of our solutions. Happy New Year!
