ASI raises $325 million at $3 billion valuation as its AI expands from air traffic to power grids
Why It MattersLarge rounds for AI firms already embedded in air traffic management show investor appetite for software that automates aviation operations, while the FAA's phased rollout keeps it an early-stage test.
ASI, a Boston-based AI company formerly known as Air Space Intelligence, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $325 million in a Series C round that values it at $3 billion. Gradient, which led its pre-seed round, publicly congratulated the team; its post named Spark Capital, Citadel and Meritech Capital as leading the new round. The company builds software that models air traffic, power grids and military operations hours, days and weeks ahead, with the aim of letting operators act before problems spread. Founder and chief executive Phillip Buckendorf said that while the broader tech ecosystem spent hundreds of billions teaching AI to manipulate words and generate text, ASI is focused on AI systems that can manage and control physical assets.
In June, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded ASI an $875 million contract to manage US air traffic with AI, a 12-year deal for which ASI beat Palantir and Thales. The system combines weather, flight paths and controller staffing to predict congestion and suggest ways to cut delays. The FAA began using it in September, initially only around Washington, and plans to expand it nationwide. ASI says it is one of only four technology companies founded since 2000 to win a federal programme of record of that size.
The US Army awarded ASI a five-year, $99 million contract in October for its next-generation command and control programme. The company says it supported more than 4,000 US Air Force operators during Operation Epic Fury. National Grid uses ASI's tools to plan and run its electricity network, and ASI has also worked with Joby on managing electric air taxi airspace.
The new funding will take ASI further into energy, logistics and military field operations and will expand its research and engineering teams in Boston. ASI is part of a wave of US defence and aerospace start-ups drawing investors; this month, Anduril opened an employee share sale at a $90 billion valuation.
