Dave Copps, Worlds CEO/cofounder

Image Credit: Worlds

Worlds, a company that builds digital twins of floor operations for industrial companies to let them become more productive or efficient, said it has raised $21.2 million in a series A round of funding.

The company rebranded to Worlds from Hypergiant Sensory Sciences. The new name is more reflective of its effort to market what it calls “4D infrastructure for building the industrial metaverse.”

In an email to VentureBeat, Worlds CEO Dave Copps gave the example of a customer named AllianceTexas to explain how its technology works. AllianceTexas is a 27,000-acre commercial inland port north of Fort Worth. Worlds is building a digital twin of a five-square-mile area of the port where an airport, railyard and distribution centers are located, so that AllianceTexas can better understand the flow of its commerce. The digital twin uses neural networks to track and monitor the location of trucks, identify carriers, and extract the unique numbers on each truck so they can be identified continuously.

In another example, Copps said, Worlds is helping a large food and beverage company build a digital twin of its manufacturing facility by tapping into the company’s existing camera network and integrating it with their SCADA system.

When Worlds launched four years ago, it first focused on bringing computer vision technology to critical infrastructure companies, and was exploring security applications as a first step. Copps said Worlds has since evolved to offer more comprehensive digital twin technology, by bringing IoT sensors, people, and other processes together in a live data stream that allows organizations to analyze and redesign their operations.

The round is led by Moneta Ventures with key participation from existing investors Align Capital, Green Park and Golf Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Piva Capital, Perot Jain and Capital Factory. The company said its other customers include Chevron, PETRONAS and Hillwood Development Company.