Israeli IoT startup Augury completes $55 million series D funding

Augury, an Israeli based Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) solution provider, announced on Wednesday that it has secured $55 million in series D funding led by Qumra Capital and with the participation of existing key investors, including Insight Venture Partners, Eclipse Ventures, Munich Re Venture Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Lerer Hippeau Ventures. Sivan Shamri Dahan, managing Partner at Qumra Capital, will join Augury's board.

With this round Augury has raised $106 million since its initial funding six years ago. The company said that the additional capital will be used to sustain and accelerate Augury’s growth, expand its R&D team in Haifa, as well as its marketing and sales staff worldwide.

"The valuation of the company has increased substantially between rounds and the company has grown significantly recently, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic with sales in the tens of millions of dollars," said Gal Shaul, co-founder and CTO of Augury. "The company has a subscription model charged per machine or annually. We started off in the U.S. and we have a good foundation there and we are also advancing in Europe."

Shaul told Calcalist that the company’s employees have been working remotely since the first lockdown in Israel back in March. "It took this market a long time to recover and factories needed time to determine which of their applications are most important," said Shaul. "There is currently a problem with employees not being able to work in factories and that is why they need the ability to make and implement decisions remotely.

"We had many ideas on how to simplify our product and we completed that within a month-and-a-half. We developed a virtual reality tutorial to help users independently install our system."

Augury’s customers include the world’s largest manufacturers such as Hershey’s, Colgate-Palmolive, Essity, Heineken and ICL, as well as leading companies in Israeli like Tnuva and Mekorot. The company also works with global machine manufacturers like Carrier, Grundfos and Trane.

Augury was founded by Shaul and Saar Yoskovitz, who serves as the CEO, and employs over 100 people in its development center in Haifa and in offices in New York.

Augury's IoT platform monitors the mechanical state of industrial machines via a network of sensors that measure vibrations, temperatures and more. The data is continuously collected and uploaded to a cloud where it is analyzed with algorithms that combine mechanical and operational models. The analysis on the cloud compares current data with what was previously collected from the same machines, as well as tens of thousands of similar machines, and recognizes irregular behavior patterns that could indicate a malfunction. The system also recommends the optimal way to fix the problem."

The coronavirus crisis, which has resulted in restrictions that have impacted the labor and manufacturing worlds, highlighted the need for Augury's solution. Using Augury's platform and AI system, it is possible to remotely receive an up-to-date report on the manufacturing process, something which has helped the company increase its growth and sales over recent months.

Sivan Shamri Dahan of Qumra Capital, said, “The Covid-19 crisis has revealed critical failures in the global supply chain. The shortage in basic products due to the increased demand, coupled with the inability of manufacturers to meet supply requirements, demonstrated an urgent need to digitally transform the manufacturing world. Augury, which plays a significant role in this digital revolution, is experiencing tremendous growth. Its track record of expansion and execution, positions it to be a world leader in the large IIoT market. We are happy to support Augury and join it on its exciting journey.”