BrightAI is a start-up founded in 2019, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a team of approximately 150–250 employees. Their mission is to inject “Physical AI” into essential infrastructure, replacing reactive maintenance with real-time, proactive intelligence, powered by their Stateful™ platform.
Core Technology & Platform
- Stateful Platform: Encompasses edge-deployed sensors, AI copilot wearables, and autonomous inspection devices that collect and analyze live data—transforming physical assets into dynamic digital twins for 24/7 monitoring.
- Versatility: Operates across industries—water pipelines, power grids, HVAC systems, pest control, manufacturing, and field services—equipping infrastructure with intelligent, sensor-driven autonomy.
Use Cases & Real-World Impact
BrightAI’s solutions have delivered measurable results across multiple sectors:
| Industry | Use Case | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Water Pipelines | Robotic pipe inspection + rehab (with Azuria) | Boosted productivity & resilience |
| Power Grid | Autonomous pole inspections (with Osmose) | Enhanced resilience & extreme-weather readiness |
| HVAC | Real-time diagnostics (with Horizon Group) | Improved service efficiency & customer satisfaction |
| Pest Control | AI-driven insect monitoring (with Pelsis) | Day‑1 alerts, reduced infestation risk |
| Manufacturing | Precision spatial measurements (with Latham Pools) | 3× improvement in measurement accuracy |
| Field Services | Remote monitoring (e.g. laundromats) | Operations visibility & savings |
Leadership Team
- Alex Hawkinson, CEO & Founder – previously co-founded SmartThings (acquired by Samsung), and later EfficientAI and OurSky. Under his leadership, BrightAI secured seed funding and initial traction.
- Kiran Bharwani, CTO – brings deep expertise in autonomous driving and ADAS, previously leading that at Rivian and Amazon’s EV fleet AI.
- Gerald Choung, Chief Revenue Officer – oversees sales and growth strategies.
- Golda Hartman, Chief People Officer – leads talent, culture, and operational excellence.
Funding & Financials
- Bootstrapped to ~$80 M revenue while in stealth, deploying over 250,000 sensors with seven enterprise clients across six industries.
- In 2024, closed a $15 M seed round led by Upfront Ventures.
- In July 2025, announced a $51 M Series A, co-led by Khosla Ventures and Inspired Capital, with participation from BoxGroup, VSC, Marlinspike, and Rsquared Venture Capital.
Market & Competitive Positioning
BrightAI positions itself as a category creator in “Physical AI”—moving beyond traditional IoT/maintenance tools to enable real-time, sensor-driven decision-making. They differentiate themselves with cross-industry deployment and a full-stack solution spanning edge devices, cloud, wearables, and autonomous inspection software.
Recent Milestones
- Series A funding: $51 M to scale R&D and field deployment.
- Expanding leadership: New executives in Sales, Cloud/Mobile Engineering, and Hardware roles announced June 2025.
- Sensor deployment: Over 250 K devices live, spanning sectors from power and water to pest and HVAC.
Summary
BrightAI is transforming how society cares for essential services—from pipelines and power lines to pest control and HVAC—by layering them with persistent, AI-driven state visibility. Led by seasoned IoT and AI veterans, and fueled by robust revenue and Series A investment, BrightAI is poised to pioneer proactive infrastructure maintenance at scale.
References: TechCrunch, LinkedIn
