A Rock Hill-based predictive analytics startup, driven by artificial intelligence, is making moves to add the most value to its platform.
Delta Bravo, launched in 2016, uses machine learning and AI to identify areas of improvement for manufacturers. The company helps its customers turn data into predictive models that reduce manpower hours and waste while augmenting quality.
It provides solutions for nearly 90 clients, which include big-name manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce, Nucor Steel and Toyota. Last month, the startup added another notable name to its company, welcoming Knudt Flor — former CEO at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg — as the first member of its new advisory board. Flor retired in September 2021 and oversaw the largest BMW Group plant in the world.
Flor's appointment to the Delta Bravo team was a strategic move to help the company better understand what manufacturers need to excel.
"The value in our relationship with him is that he gives us a perspective from the CEO level of one of the biggest car makers in the world," Rick Oppedisano, founder and CEO at Delta Bravo, told CBJ. "So it's just a great way to leverage someone who's got 30 years of experience of running a huge brand, and really getting that language and that understanding of what they go through — helps us get closer to the customer."
Oppedisano said the company fully released its flagship product, the Delta Bravo AI platform, in 2021. It provides rapid data transformation and several alternatives to integrate machine learning and AI solutions into existing manufacturing processes and systems, according to Delta Bravo.
He said the platform was developed at a time when many people and companies avoided buying software due to the dense training needed to utilize the program. Delta Bravo is on a mission to relieve that obstacle for its clients, but without disrupting how the company already operates.
"The big innovation for us was figuring out a way for people to fit these predictive models into what they do without disruption," Oppedisano said. "So, the feeling that nobody wants to buy software — well you don't have to feel that way anymore. All you have to do is feel like you're buying a capability. And that's totally different."
There are two things that set Delta Bravo apart from its competitors: the scope of its functionality and providing tailored production solutions, he said. For example, the company takes care of the full data transformation process, not only parts of it. It also makes predictive models available based on the customers' preferences, such as by dashboard, custom application or integrating with their existing systems.
"And that makes us different — not just here locally, but globally," Oppedisano said. "... A lot of companies focus on one problem, or one type of data, or one type of outcome, where our platform is flexible enough to do all of them."
He said now the company is looking to potentially expand into medical manufacturing and sustainability initiatives. Delta Bravo also seeks to grow its corporate partnerships and newly created advisory board. He said the startup already has board members lined up and expects to announce them in the coming months.
He added, "I want to continue growing on the path that we're on — being that connective tissue that holds together all the data around the business and creates all that value."
