Schneider Electric has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in AiDASH, a California-based software company that uses satellite imagery and AI to help utility companies spot and react to climate risks, like wildfires and storms, before they are able to cause issues.
The deal was announced in June and will see the French energy technology giant acquire around 90% of AiDASH in an all-cash transaction worth US$350m.
Though Schneider is a company that makes a many strategic acquisitions, its leadership team is particularly excited about the prospect of welcoming AiDASH to the fold.
"Some acquisitions expand a portfolio. The best ones expand what's possible," explains Pankaj Sharma, EVP of Software & Services at Schneider Electric. "That's exactly how I felt from my very first conversations with Abhishek and the AiDASH team," he adds.
AiDASH's core offering is what it calls a satellite-first remote inspection and monitoring platform, which uses orbital imagery combined with AI models to flag vegetation encroachment near power lines, along with storm and wildfire threats to substations, transmission corridors and other critical assets.
