An infrastructure technology startup out of Worcester Polytechnic Institute had a roaring end to 2021.
Cyvl.ai, which changed its name from Roadgnar to start 2022, raised money, picked up new clients and joined a new incubator to go along with its name change. The company is building a sensor to be deployed on municipal vehicles to collect high-quality data on infrastructure.
Led by co-founder and CEO Daniel Pelaez, the startup closed an oversubscribed pre-seed round of $500,000.
Cyvl.ai completed three paid pilot programs at the end of 2021, partnering with big civil engineering firms, and is working with big players in the GIS space to ensure that its data can integrate with their platforms.
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Also, the startup is moving into the Greentown Labs incubator in Somerville where its team of 5 (also set to grow this year) will work in 2022.
The name change is symbolic of a company that’s growing and changing, Pelaez said. The name Roadgnar, conceived during the founders junior year at WPI in 2019, was based on the challenge of helping towns and cities combat “gnarly road conditions in New England,” he said.
“In the last year we've learned through talking to our customers and experts in the space that our technology has the potential to lead the digital transformation of an entire industry, as we pursue our mission of helping the world better manage not only roads, but countless other infrastructure assets like sidewalks, trees, buildings, signs, tunnels and much more,” Pelaez said.
He added: “Cyvl.ai embodies this mission and our dedication to bringing modern, effective, and affordable solutions to an industry that has been overlooked for too long.”
