Tractian, a Brazilian startup that provides industrial monitoring systems, especially preventive maintenance, has closed a funding round of BRL 80 million. US fund Next47 led the Series A – this is the first time it invested in a Latin American company, by the way –; existing investors, such as DGF Investimentos, Citrino Family office, and Cláudia Massei, CEO at Siemens in Oman, as well as Totvs, through its CVC fund, and Gilberto Mautner, founder at Locaweb, also followed the round.
The money will be used to finance the startup expansion. Tractian reported a growth of over 400% last year, reaching more than 200 industrial clients, including names such as Embraer, Bosch, Danone, Hyundai, and John Deere. Tractian projects to get 600 new industries as clients and 20,000 new sensors installed in the next 18 months, besides expanding its team to 200 collaborators.
“We want to keep growing in Brazil and abroad. We know that the industry that has predictive maintenance has a competitive advantage over the others, and Tractian wants to be the maintenance solution provider for these companies,” said Gabriel Lameirinhas, co-founder at Tractian alongside Igor Marinelli. “This is a critical sector, the core of our economy. This new investment will be key to consolidating our position in the global market,” added Marinelli.
The Series A round comes at a good time for the company. In January, Tractian expanded into Mexico, with an office and a dedicated team for the operation in the country. The startup wants to acquire at least 30 new customers and earn BRL 5 million (equivalent to 10% of total revenue projected for the period) in the first year of operations, repeating in Latin America‘s second-largest economy the success it had in Brazil.
With a suite of hardware and software solutions to help industries from many sectors improve maintenance and machine operation, Tractian has also been investing in expanding its portfolio. The most recent launch is Energy Trac, a new IoT sensor for energy monitoring and electrical fault diagnosis. Currently, the startup serves industries in the aviation, automotive, food and beverage, metallurgical, sugar and alcohol sectors, among others.
Tractian’s technology: how the startup monitors equipment and helps with preventive maintenance in the industry
Tractian’s sensors measure four things: vibration, temperature, power consumption, and runtime (via a horometer). Tractian’s software, on the other hand, is able to analyze the data coming from the sensors to predict when a machine may need maintenance.
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The sensors are sent to companies, which pay monthly to access the analysis software. On average, industries have started monitoring 50 machines and spending around BRL 9,000 per month. According to Marinelli, this cost is compensated in two to three months.
“A machine, whether in Brazil or Mexico, has the same operating characteristics. That’s why Tractian’s technology can be applied to any rotating machine with a vibration pattern. Our sensor-combined monitoring system has already proven effective with our international customers. Our main objective is always to democratize access to these tools for small and medium-sized companies,” explains Marinelli.
