In a world where startup founders build their products after months of deep research on competitors, market potential and customer requirements, Detect Technologies is an outlier. The founders created their products and technologies out of the drive to push the boundaries of physics. That was all they wanted to do.

Putting the cart before the horse has worked out quite well for Detect, which now counts giants such as Shell, Exxon, and Reliance among its customers.

And today, I am delighted to share that Accel has joined hands with this talented team to re-engineer and automate industrial processes, and deliver maximum industrial productivity. 

We first came across this company in 2019, when our partner Shekhar Kirani met the founders to learn about their technology and vision, and we are now excited to invest in the company and have them on-board the Accel family.

Detect works on using AI and advanced technologies to monitor and improve efficiencies of the industrial sector. Using their patented technologies, the startup helps companies inspect industrial equipment, automate data acquisition, predict faults, manage workforce safety, and monitor large-scale facilities in real-time. Its products are used by large conglomerates across the globe and for a wide range of applications in sectors such as oil and gas, construction, petrochemicals, cement, pharmaceuticals, power, renewables, and steel.

When the team first came together in 2013, it was simply to explore their love for innovation and physics - they created a material that could generate ultrasound signals to manage pipeline integrity at high temperatures. Years later, they noticed the need for asset integrity monitoring in industrial units run by the likes of Reliance, and decided to use their innovation for meeting industry needs.

Soon, they found themselves in the multi-million-dollar asset integrity automation market.

Working closely with experts from various facilities, the Detect team put together an elaborate portfolio of hardware and software that use technologies such as thermal imaging to help companies with data collection and analysis, for real-time monitoring of assets. Detect then expanded from asset integrity into areas like industrial safety, activity monitoring, and resource allocation. 

In a country like India, most industrial units see 50+ safety violations each day, and Detect’s cutting edge technology enables companies to manage these kinds of issues in real-time.

This is a team we immediately knew we wanted to be partners with. Despite being a very niche technical space, the young team had managed to make their way into global markets, winning customers such as Vedanta, Bharat Petroleum, Adani Group, Tata Steel, and other industry-leading Fortune 500 companies. We also appreciated their hunger for critical feedback and advice. Even before we had invested in them, they were eager to put any suggestions Shekhar gave into practice.  

With this new round of funding to support their growth, we’re confident that the Detect team will further expand their offerings, take their technology and products to companies across the globe, and transform the industrial landscape.

—Barath Shankar Subramanian