Draft:AiDash Inc.

AiDash is a climate technology, SaaS company that uses satellites and AI to develop data and insights that help to improve operations, maintenance, and sustainability. Its products are used in industries with geographically distributed assets, such as electric utilities, gas utilities, water and wastewater, energy, mining, and transportation. These core industries use the data and insights to support their day-to-day decisions and long-term plans. AiDash is headquartered. in San Jose, California, and maintains offices around the world.

History
AiDash was formed by the founders’ response to the tragedies of California’s deadly 2018 Camp Fire, which was sparked by an electricity transmission line and nearby vegetation.

Vegetation is a common trigger for fires and vegetation management is often the single-largest line item in electric utilities' annual operating budgets. Large utilities spend more than $100 million each year for vegetation management. In California alone, utilities spend a combined total of more than $1 billion. The reason behind those expenditures is because tree contact with transmission lines is a leading cause of electric power outages and a common cause of past regional blackouts, including the August 2003 blackout that affected 50 million people in the Northeast United States and Canada.

The company’s three founders saw that electric utilities needed better information about the vegetation near their power lines. They applied satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to develop software as a service (SaaS) and formed AiDash in San Jose, California, in 2019.

By the end of 2020, AiDash expanded its satellite-powered AI solutions to help mitigate the potential catastrophes of wildfires, hurricanes, pipeline leaks, and power outages. It also secured a $6 million Series A funding led by Benhamou Global Ventures and National Grid Partners.

In 2021, Series B funding of $27 million was led by G2 Venture Partners and included Edison International and Shell Ventures.

In March 2021, AiDash joined Open Geospatial Consortium, a worldwide community committed to making geospatial (location) information and services accessible. As a technical committee member of the OGC, AiDash is part of a global forum of experts and communities that creates free, publicly available geospatial standards that enable new technologies.

In May 2022, AiDash successfully completed its SOC 2 Type II audit for its system and services. Performed by BARR Advisory, the audit provided an objective evaluation of the effectiveness of controls involving operations and compliance at AiDash.

In November 2022, AiDash secured investment from SE Ventures, a global venture fund backed by Schneider Electric, a company with expertise in digital transformation of energy management and automation.

Intelligent Vegetation Management System (IVMS)
Launched in 2020, IVMS was AiDash’s initial product. It is a software-as-a-solution (SaaS) and AI offering that helps electricity utilities improve their vegetation management. It uses satellites and AI to plan tree pruning, cut costs, and improve grid reliability and resiliency.

Disaster and Disruption Management System (DDMS)
Launched in 2022, DDMS is a software-as-a-solution (SaaS) and AI offering that helps utilities, governments, and cities forecast and manage the impact of storm and wildfire outages and damages, plan quickly, restore safely, communicate accurately, and build climate resilience.

Intelligent Sustainability Management System (ISMS)
Launched in 2021 and upgraded in 2022, ISMS is a software-as-a-solution (SaaS) and AI offering that helps developers, local planning authorities, and landowners plan and measure biodiversity net gain and carbon offsets.

Integrity and Encroachment Management System (IEMS)
Launched in 2021, IEMS is a software-as-a-solution (SaaS) and AI offering that helps gas utilities conduct satellite-based patrolling to identify and prioritize system risks and facilitate operational improvements.

Locations
AiDash headquarters are in San Jose, California, and additional offices are in Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; London, United Kingdom; Bengaluru, India; and Gurugram, India.

Acquisitions
In February 2022, AiDash acquired geospatial firm, Neurafarms.ai, to expand its expertise in data science and artificial intelligence.

Awards and recognitions
In August 2022, AiDash was selected as a finalist in the Reuters 2002 Responsible Business Awards for the Product or Service Innovation Award category.

In December 2022, AiDash received a SEAL Sustainable Innovation Award that recognizes innovations that bring a more sustainable future.

In March 2023, AiDash was named to Forbes Best Startup Employers 2023 List, which recognizes the company for employee satisfaction, reputation, and growth. AiDash ranked 37th on the list of 500 startups and 9th among technology companies.