ASI, an AI firm for air traffic and grids, raises $325 million

ASI’s software simulates future scenarios for a network, so operators can deal with a jam before it forms. For air traffic it weighs control-tower staffing, the weather and planned routes to spot where traffic will bunch up. United and Delta use it, and so do grid operators planning for spikes in demand.

Government contracts came first. The biggest is a 12-year, $875 million job for the US Federal Aviation Administration, signed in June, to modernise how aircraft are tracked across the country. The Army followed this month with $99 million over five years for software that runs its daily operations, The Boston Globe reports.

The company, known as Air Space Intelligence until its move from Silicon Valley in 2024, says the money pays for new products for defence, logistics and energy, and for hiring researchers and engineers in Boston. Founder Phillip Buckendorf says ASI is focused on AI that can control “physical assets”.

The round puts a $3 billion price on AI that plans air traffic and power grids.