AI Startup SparkCognition Rebrands as Avathon, Plans Major Expansion in India

Leading AI Startup Sparkcognition Rebrands as Avathon and Aims to Triple Workforce in India Within 24 Months

~ The leading AI platform powers over 20% of India's Petrol Pumps, and monitors safety at over 17,000 retail outlets in India~~ Avathon Aims to strengthen its India operations by attracting top talent in AI and engineering ~Avathon, formerly known as SparkCognition, has announced its rebranding alongside ambitious plans to expand its workforce in India by threefold over the next 24 months. This strategic initiative underscores Avathon's commitment to revolutionizing Industrial AI across sectors like Energy, Aviation, and Supply Chain Management.This rebranding milestone reflects Avathon's dedication to integrating advanced AI into legacy infrastructure, transforming traditional systems into autonomous, sustainable, and resilient ecosystems. With over $100 trillion of aging infrastructure facing increased strain from supply disruptions, workforce shortages, and evolving security threats, Avathon aims to address these urgent global challenges and solidify its position as a critical player in the industrial sector.Commenting on the announcement, Pervinder Johar, CEO, Avathon said, "India is at the heart of Avathon's roadmap, with AI projected to contribute over 50% of the Asia-Pacific region's growth in traditional industries by 2028. India will play a pivotal role in our expansion, serving as a hub for product engineering, delivery, support, and R&D. Our rebranding effort aims to communicate the real-world applications of AI and how we're revolutionizing industries like energy, supply chain, and aviation.""AI is not just becoming mainstream; it is fundamentally reshaping industries, and India stands at the forefront of this transformation. The country is establishing itself as a powerhouse of innovation and talent, making this the ideal moment for Avathon to implement our strategic plans. We are dedicated to empowering traditional industries by harnessing AI to drive efficiency, enhance operational excellence, and develop sustainable solutions", he added. To bolster its India presence, Avathon is ramping up recruitment efforts nationwide, focusing on attracting top talent in AI and engineering. While Avathon's global headquarters recently relocated to Silicon Valley to capitalize on the region's innovation ecosystem, its dedication to nurturing talent and advancing R&D in India remains a top priority.Avathon's AI platform is contracted for delivering safety monitoring for some of the major oil and gas organizations in India across 17,000 retail outlets, 83 terminals, and 15 airport fueling stations.With strategic partnerships with technology giants like NVIDIA, and Qualcomm, Avathon continues to deliver innovative, cost-effective products tailored for its clients. The rebranding marks a pivotal step in Avathon's journey to becoming a global leader in applied AI, leveraging its expertise to solve critical challenges for industries worldwide. About AvathonAvathon, a leader in Industrial AI, extends the life of critical infrastructure while advancing the journey toward full autonomy. Avathon's Industrial AI platform empowers commercial and government customers with scalable, secure, and value-driven solutions that enhance efficiency and resilience across heavy industry.

AI startup Sparkcognition rebrands as Avathon, to triple India headcount in two years

The startup uses AI to maximise the lifespan of assets and is contracted by major oil and gas organisations in India across 17,000 retail outlets, 83 terminals, and 15 airport fueling stations. It also counts chip majors Nvidia and Qualcomm among its clients.San Francisco-headquartered industrial artificial intelligence (AI) startup Sparkcognition, which is backed by the likes of Temasek Holdings, Verizon Ventures and Boeing, will triple its headcount in India to 400 people over the next two years, CEO Pervinder Johar told ET. The company, which provides safety monitoring for infrastructure assets across sectors such as aerospace, defence, oil and gas, is also rebranding itself as Avathon. "India is at the heart of Avathon's roadmap, with AI projected to contribute over 50% of the Asia-Pacific region's growth in traditional industries by 2028. India will play a pivotal role in our expansion, serving as a hub for product engineering, delivery, support and R&D," Johar said. The startup plans to convert its Bengaluru facility into a centre of excellence for AI across all of its product areas, he said. It has another centre for AI research in Austin, Texas. The company entered India by acquiring visual AI player Integration Wizards for an undisclosed amount in 2022. It currently has 140 employees in Bengaluru and is looking to increase this to 400 over the next two years. Founded in 2013, Avathon last raised $123 million in a Series D fundraising round and hit a unicorn valuation of $1.4 billion at the beginning of 2022. It has raised a total of $340 million so far. The startup uses AI to maximise the lifespan of assets and is contracted by major oil and gas organisations in India across 17,000 retail outlets, 83 terminals, and 15 airport fueling stations. It also counts chip majors Nvidia and Qualcomm among its clients. Johar explained that AI's key roles in mainstream sectors like infrastructure are prediction, prescription and automation. "AI is used for predictive technology, using sensor data to capture normal behaviour and predict failures in machines like aeroplanes etc through anomaly detection," he said. Generative AI also acts as an AI copilot for the mechanical and maintenance staff of its clients. According to industry reports, the global impact of AI in traditional industries like the oil and gas market is expected to grow by 16% by 2028, of which the Asia-Pacific region will contribute 38%. A public issue is still two to three years away, Johar said, adding that the company is focussed on building its platform, and treats an initial public offering (IPO) as primarily a funding mechanism. "We are currently focussed on our next round of funding, looking at how we can raise capital on the private side, rather than the public side. It will happen at some point, but it is not in the short term," he said.

Avathon's Industrial AI to Power Petrol Pumps, Planes

The company claims that its AI platform now powers 20% of India's petrol pumps and ensures safety at over 17,000 retail outlets across the country. Avathon, an enterprise robotics company, formerly known as Sparkcognition, has rebranded itself with an ambitious plan to triple its workforce in India within two years and transform Industrial AI in sectors such as Energy, aviation, and Supply Chain Management. This rebranding underscores Avathon's focus on advancing legacy infrastructure through AI, turning traditional systems into autonomous, sustainable, and resilient ecosystems. With over $100 trillion of ageing infrastructure globally under strain from supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages, and escalating security threats, Avathon is poised to tackle these challenges as a leader in industrial AI solutions. The company claims that its AI platform now powers 20% of India's petrol pumps and ensures safety at over 17,000 retail outlets nationwide. The company is strengthening its India presence to attract premier AI and engineering talent. Furthermore, Avathon's AI is contracted to enhance safety at major oil and gas facilities in India, including 83 airport terminals and 15 airport fueling stations. With key partnerships with technology leaders like NVIDIA and Qualcomm, Avathon continues to deliver cost-efficient products tailored to client needs. In line with this expansive mission, Avathon's digital twin technology has been designed to operate beyond isolated factory floors, encompassing the entire supply chain. Johar compared Avathon's platform to NVIDIA's Omniverse, explaining, "While many digital twins focus solely on individual factories, our approach includes every step of the supply chain to optimise quality control and problem-solving," Pervinder Johar, CEO of Avathon told AIM. "We're bridging the physical and computational aspects of AI," Johar elaborated. Avathon is now positioned as a robust platform that integrates mechanical engineering advancements with AI innovations, a concept Johar believes is becoming increasingly relevant as industries shift toward intelligent, autonomous systems. Avathon's digital twin solution addresses quality inspection issues not only at a factory level but also extends to tier-one suppliers and beyond. By deploying computer vision and other AI techniques, Avathon helps clients detect defects in parts like aeroplanes or car components early in the supply chain, avoiding costly recalls and logistical challenges. "If a part has a flaw, identifying it before it even reaches the assembly line saves time, resources, and ultimately, customer satisfaction," Johar noted. The expertise of Kunal Kislay, India president at Avathon, significantly strengthens Avathon's computer vision and low-code AI platform. Kislay joined the company following the acquisition of his company, Integration Wizards. With a rich background in computer vision and AI engineering, Kislay now helps the company scale AI-driven industrial applications. Johar shared broader industry insights and examples of Avathon's impact. He illustrated how clients such as HPCL and IOCL leverage Avathon's platform for everything from safety monitoring to productivity improvements. For HPCL, Avathon's computer vision monitors security and safety on-site, identifying potential hazards before they occur. Highlighting the economic impact, Johar estimated that Avathon's solutions have the potential to influence trillions of dollars in asset value across industries. "Just in aviation, our AI can provide predictive maintenance for fleets, allowing airlines to extend the life of their planes, which represents billions in capital investment savings," he explained. Even with a marginal cost improvement of 10%, clients can see significant returns on their investments. In sectors like aviation, this could mean substantial operational savings and improved efficiency for airlines managing vast fleets. Avathon's emphasis on collaborative AI solutions extends to predictive and prescriptive maintenance for complex assets. The company's AI copilots provide essential guidance, even for technicians unfamiliar with specific machinery. This capability is particularly valuable in industries like aerospace, where technicians may only specialise in certain types of equipment. "Parts may be interchangeable between Boeing and Airbus planes, but often mechanics aren't trained across both," Johar pointed out. "Our AI copilots step in to bridge that knowledge gap, saving time and avoiding the need to fly specialists worldwide." Looking towards the future, Johar envisions an AI-driven evolution across industries, particularly with the advent of humanoids and physical AI in manufacturing. He referenced the work of Avathon's joint venture with Boeing, SkyGrid, which focuses on autonomous air traffic control for a future filled with autonomous aircraft. "As air traffic grows, we need a system that can manage the skies without relying on human controllers," he explained. Similarly, Avathon is working toward creating autonomous supply chain planning systems that not only support human planners but could potentially automate decision-making processes entirely, as the supply of mechanical engineers is getting slow globally. Originally founded as Sparkcognition 11 years ago, Avathon emerged from the University of Texas at Austin, where it was initially a niche AI project led by UT Austin's PhD student and Dr. Bruce Porter, the university's former computer science dean. "Back then, AI was just beginning to gain traction. We were ahead of the curve, focusing on applying AI to real-world problems long before AI became the trend it is today,". This foundation in academia drove a decade of innovation, especially for large-scale clients in Fortune 500 companies, as Avathon carved its niche in the AI-driven infrastructure space. Over time, Johar realised that its original mission -- 'sparking an idea' -- was evolving into a more comprehensive vision. With a focus on building a sustainable platform that would serve industries for decades, they rebranded to Avathon, a name Johar explained as stemming from two Greek words that mean 'to bind together.'