Axiom Cloud Raises $7.4M to Transform Commercial Refrigeration Using AI
Following large-scale rollouts with major North American grocery chains and cold- storage warehouse operators, Axiom Cloud has raised $7.4 million Series A financing to prepare for its next phase of growth. Axiom will use the funding to scale its software, operations and sales teams to meet accelerating market demand for its refrigeration software.
Axiom's mission is to use software and automation to transform how the world's cooling systems are powered, operated and maintained, to generate significant climate and financial impact. Its approach combines real-world refrigeration experience with expertise in cloud analytics, thermophysical modeling, AI and automation. According to the company, its subscription-based services can be deployed to 100-plus sites per week, and customers achieve positive cash flow in the first year. Axiom has also helped its customers leverage utility incentives and benefit from demand response programs in multiple states.
Existing customers include Grocery Outlet, Sprouts Farmers Market, HelloFresh, Whole Foods Market and other nationally recognized brands.
"In low-margin businesses like grocery and cold storage, refrigeration is basically the whole ball game for energy, maintenance, uptime and sustainability, and there's a lot of opportunity for improvement," said Amrit Robbins, CEO and co-founder of San Jose, Calif.-based Axiom. "We have figured out how to solve many of our customers' hairiest problems using software-enabled services, and we are just getting started."
Axiom's Facilities Analyzer app provides enterprise visibility and analytics for fleets of central refrigeration systems across many sites. The Virtual Technician app provides predictive maintenance, early refrigerant leak detection, continuous energy commissioning, and autonomous actions to triage urgent issues. The Virtual Battery app transforms frozen inventory (such as ice cream and frozen peas) into an intelligent "thermal battery" using software.
Axiom Cloud’s latest financing round was led by Blue Bear Capital.
"We have followed Axiom Cloud's management for years and seen their refrigeration AI technology make an outsized impact, substantially lowering power use and refrigerant leaks, improving margins, and turning everyday cooling infrastructure into virtual batteries," said Ernst Sack, partner at Los Angeles-based Blue Bear Capital and board director of Axiom. "2023 looks bright for companies like Axiom that can help staple retailers and supply chain companies lower cost, improve uptime, withstand labor shortages and reduce their environmental footprint – all with an incredible ROI in the first year."
The financing round also included existing investors Leadout Capital, Momenta Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures and Vela Partners. New investors included Frontier VC and Artifact Capital.
In total, Axiom has raised approximately $11.6 million since its inception in 2020.
Emeryville, Calif.-based Grocery Outlet is No. 70 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market is No. 53. With U.S. offices in New York, Chicago and Boulder, Colo., HelloFresh is No. 50 on The PG 100. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seattle-based Amazon, which is No. 2 on PG's list.
