Applied Computing Raises $20M to Build a Plant-Wide AI Foundation Model for Oil and Gas Operators

Applied Computing, a London-founded startup, has raised a $20 million Series A led by engineering firm KBR to expand Orbital, an AI foundation model designed to reason about an entire oil, gas, refining, or petrochemical plant rather than a single piece of equipment. The round, which included participation from Databricks Ventures, will fund international growth, research and engineering hiring, and broader customer deployments, according to TechCrunch.