Chicago startup Uptake has landed its second U.S. military contract after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Marine Corps to provide artificial intelligence software to its M88 armored recovery vehicles.
Uptake announced Tuesday that the Marines will use its Asset IO application to provide predictive maintenance and other insights into the health of its M88 vehicles.
The contract with the Marines comes after Uptake announced a deal with the U.S. Army last year to bring predictive analytics software to its Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
The partnership is expected to increase the operational availability of the Army's M88 fleet and reduce maintenance costs, the two organizations said in a news release.
"We're proud to work with the Marine Corps in support of their progressive commitment to embracing predictive analytics and industrial AI technology to advance operational readiness and solve long-standing challenges," Uptake CEO Brad Keywell said in a statement. "Our software products, which are tailored to heavy equipment and component-level activity, will help ensure the safety of Marines so they can accomplish their missions and return home safely."
Uptake said that during its work with the Army, it was able to identify problems on the Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicles "weeks before" a maintenance failure actually occurred, and as a result was able to reduce maintenance costs and improve safety.
Founded in 2014, Uptake's predictive maintenance tech has been used across several industries, including aviation, rail, mining, and oil and gas. Its other customers include Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Rolls-Royce and Caterpillar. Though Caterpillar, an early investor in Uptake, redeemed its investment stake in the startup in 2017.
Uptake has raised around $260 million in venture funding to date.
