Sentient Science Raises $22.5 Million Series B Funding Round with Georgian Partners

Sentient Science announced today that Toronto, ON-based growth equity firm, Georgian Partners, will fund $22.5 million in a Series B, growth-stage investment in the materials science-based software as a service company. Sentient’s expansion in the wind energy market, providing prognostic health monitoring and life extension actions for fielded wind turbines will soon be available to commercial customers in the aerospace and rail markets.

Capital funds will be used to provide new technical, security and software capabilities within DigitalClone® Live for the continuation of rapid market growth from 20,000 wind turbines to 100,000 globally, and then to 1 million rotating assets as more commercial operators and suppliers in aerospace and rail come on line. Hiring plans include an additional 70 employees, including a chief financial officer, vice president of software, software developers, and sales and marketing staff in the offices located in United States, Europe and China.

“We incentivize our employees with pre-IPO stock options, so we’re very strategic in who we bring in as partners. We’re very excited and proud to be working with Georgian Partners, who is another important partner on our journey to IPO,” said Ward Thomas, CEO & President of Sentient Science. “I am incredibly thankful to our customers in the wind, aerospace and rail markets, and for our brilliant staff and management team who are truly the ‘smartest people the room.’ Together, they made Q2-2017 our largest sales quarter in our company’s history, while promoting clean energy. I would like to thank Simon Chong of Georgian Partners, for his commitment to help us further our agenda to significantly lower the cost to operate equipment through life extension actions. Sentient Science’s network effect increases the demand for longer life assets and components, and ultimately changes the way the world buys and sells aftermarket products and services through our SaaS platform. This is all completely differentiated, based on materials science versus just big data from sensors.”

Sentient’s management team includes Ed Wagner, BS, Chief Digital Officer; Dr. Nathan Bolander, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer; Jason Rios, MBA, VP of Aerospace; Gerald Curtin, MBA, Vice President of Asset Actions and Delivery; and Aaron Russell, MBA, Finance.

“Ward and his impressive team at Sentient Science have a unique technology and business model that lowers the cost of energy through supply and demand integration,” said Simon Chong, Managing Partner at Georgian Partners. “Their DigitalClone Live software fits perfectly with our thesis area for artificial intelligence, and we look forward to working with Sentient to expand technical capabilities and added value within the core applications.”

This is Sentient Science’s third round of funding since its inception in 2001. The United States Federal Government awarded more than $30 million in Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants for the development of the materials science-based software, which has been used on U.S. Government platforms, including the Hubble Telescope, Joint Strike Fighter and Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. NASA also validated the technology in 2010. Sentient was honored at the White House in 2014 with the Tibbetts Award, and in 2016 with the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Pioneers Award for its rapid commercialization in renewable energy. In 2015, TOBA Capital invested $7 million in Series A funding.

Sentient’s scientific team includes computational tribologists, materials scientists, mechanical engineers and data scientists, of whom the company makes available to customers to lower their cost of energy using predictive technologies. Dr. Bolander manages a team of subject-matter experts, including Dr. Raja Pulikollu, Chief Materials Scientist & VP of Implementations;  Dr. Adrijan Ribaric, VP of System Technology; Dr. Behrooz Jalalahmadi, VP of Government Research & Development; Dr. Karen Cassidy, VP of Customer Success; and Dr. Nick Weinzapfel, Chief Materials Scientist of Bearing Dynamics.

Sentient Science currently monitors and provides life extension actions for 20,000 wind turbines across 200 wind farms globally, and simulates 440,000 bearings and 100,000 gears within DigitalClone Live.