GPMS International has received an investment to further develop Foresight MX predictive maintenance technology, and this could in future be applied to new generation eVTOL aircraft and drones.

The investment came from New York-based Hearst Ventures for its Series A-1 round. DiamondStream Partners, who led the Series A round in February 2021, also participated. The company raised $7.3 million in the two rounds.

GPMS has developed proprietary technology that is key to effectively detecting faults on complex machines. Its product, Foresight MX, integrates this technology into a comprehensive health and performance monitoring system that provides predictive analytics needed to ensure the safety, asset reliability and maintenance efficiency of aircraft, as well as other vehicles and industrial machines.

President Jed Kalkstein says: “Hearst has outstanding expertise in SaaS business dynamics and a broad footprint in mobility and aviation. Its involvement, alongside DiamondStream, propels GPMS forward on our mission to make machine health monitoring ubiquitous. We're excited to deliver its benefits to more machines and more people.”

In the aviation segment, Foresight MX provides a predictive health and usage monitoring system to support a smart, connected fleet. The system has now been FAA certified on a wide range of rotorcraft platforms from Bell, Airbus and MD Helicopters. The company offers Foresight both directly to operators and through OEM agreements.

“When we saw the technology and its ability to dramatically improve a helicopter's availability, reliability and safety, it was clear that all rotorcraft should have Foresight MX on board," says Hearst Ventures senior managing director Ken Bronfin. “At the same time, we saw the potential to bring this predictive maintenance technology to the new generation of eVTOL aircraft and drones now in development.”

Hearst owns aircraft maintenance software services company CAMP Systems, and has backed a number of SaaS mobility companies including Robotic Skies, Zendrive, Otonomo, Via and Maven Machines. Bronfin will join the GPMS board.

GPMS' Foresight MX system is 90 per cent lighter and seven times more accurate than traditional rotorcraft monitoring systems and adds a predictive Remaining Useful Life capability critical to asset optimisation. These dramatic, patented advances make it ideal for the fast-growing eVTOL/unmanned aircraft systems (UAL) segment, which needs flight and machine monitoring to enhance safety and lower operating costs.