Climate change is increasingly impacting the reliability of sewage systems. More frequent floods often overwhelm wastewater treatment systems, causing costly and hazardous backups. Furthermore, America’s aging infrastructure exacerbates this problem. Consequently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that nearly $700 billion is needed over the next 20 years to maintain and upgrade the nation’s wastewater, stormwater, and clean water pipelines.
Seeing an opportunity to mitigate these issues, Matthew Rosenthal and Billy Gilmartin, veterans of the wastewater treatment industry, co-founded SewerAI five years ago. Their goal however, was to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to automate data capture and defect tagging in sewer inspections. “Most infrastructure was built post-WW2 and is reaching the end of its useful life, leading to more frequent failures and increased costs,” Rosenthal said. “SewerAI revolutionizes underground infrastructure inspection and management with its AI-driven software-as-a-service platform.”
SewerAI began as a side project for Rosenthal, who pursued online courses in AI after co-founding two wastewater analysis and services firms. Additionally, he experimented with AI models to predict sewer defects from inspection videos, eventually partnering with Gilmartin, who was working at a sewer inspection company at the time. Today, SewerAI provides cloud-based, AI-powered subscription products to municipalities, utilities, and private contractors, streamlining field inspections and data management of sewer infrastructure.
Key Products
SewerAI offers several products designed to enhance inspection efficiency:
- Pioneer: This tool allows field inspectors to upload inspection data to the cloud and tag issues, enabling project managers to plan repairs.
- AutoCode: This product also automatically tags inspections of pipes and manholes, creating 3D models from videos captured on cameras like GoPros.
“Legacy incumbents offer on-premise or on-truck software that has seen very little innovation in the last 20 years,” Rosenthal noted. “SewerAI’s technology increases top and bottom lines by enabling more inspections per day at a lower cost.”
Competitive Landscape
SewerAI operates in a nascent market with several competitors, including:
- Subterra: Maps, analyzes, and forecasts pipeline problems.
- ClearObject: Analyzes pipe inspection footage for damage.
- Pallon: Develops algorithms to detect issues inside sewers from still images.
Rosenthal claims SewerAI differentiates itself with the quality of its model training data. The company has inspection footage of 135 million feet of pipes from various sources, providing a substantial dataset to train its AI models. “Our products streamline field inspections and data management, enabling clients to proactively manage infrastructure instead of reacting to emergencies,” Rosenthal said.
SewerAI’s innovative approach has attracted significant investment. Innovius Capital and other investors contributed $15 million in the company’s latest funding round, bringing the total raised to $25 million. The funding will in the same way support go-to-market expansion, AI model training, hiring, and the development of new products beyond inspection tools.
“SewerAI is continuing to grow, and we’re seeing an acceleration in demand for our platform as we enable people to do more with existing budgets, which has resulted in us closing our first seven-figure contracts,” Rosenthal added.
With its cutting-edge AI technology, SewerAI is poised to transform how sewer infrastructure is inspected and managed. By automating and enhancing defect detection, the company aims to help municipalities and contractors address issues more efficiently and cost-effectively, ultimately improving the resilience of critical infrastructure in the face of climate change and aging systems.
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