Acuicy

Acuicy is a Halifax, Nova Scotia software company that produces AI-driven business intelligence for emissions reduction and energy-cost decisions at asset-intensive companies. The platform ingests asset and operational data and combines it with proprietary industry data and financial modelling to generate tailored energy efficiency and capital investment options. Each recommendation is presented with capital cost, annual energy savings, ROI, carbon impact, implementation timing, and the specific site, asset or operating area affected, so finance, operations and sustainability teams can evaluate projects from a common set of assumptions.

The company positions the product as distinct from carbon accounting or carbon reporting tools, describing its focus as the "missing middle" between the two: instead of footprinting, it generates the specific low-carbon actions and their financial business case, and offers scope to integrate with existing carbon platforms. A dashboard lets customers track progress toward net-zero targets in real time, and suppliers can share emissions data with their enterprise customers so those customers can monitor supply chain emission reductions.

Acuicy is marketed as built for aquaculture first — covering hatcheries and RAS, marine farms, processing facilities, vessels and support operations — while also targeting food production, manufacturing, and retail and distribution. Earlier coverage described agri-food, manufacturing, transportation and logistics as beachhead markets.

Founding story

Allison Murray and Dawne Skinner launched Acuicy in 2022, with Murray as chief executive and Skinner as chief innovation officer. The two had previously worked together at Murray's sustainability consultancy, Upswing Solutions, which helped companies develop business-wide sustainability and climate change strategies; they founded Acuicy to move beyond strategy to the specific actions companies need to reduce emissions, aggregating business intelligence data on greenhouse gas emissions and applying AI to lower corporate carbon footprints. Skinner is an environmental engineer with more than 20 years of industry experience and expertise in circular supply chains, and a PhD candidate in industrial engineering at Dalhousie University researching circular supply chain data analytics and optimization.

Business model

Acuicy sells software rather than consulting. Its enterprise customers are large companies with net-zero targets, which deploy Acuicy through their procurement teams to their supplier base; each supplier receives its own login and enters basic information about its business, with the interface designed for non-experts because most companies lack in-house decarbonization expertise. Suppliers are incentivized to participate because the resulting operational insights can reduce expenses such as fuel, even though the suppliers are typically not the paying clients. The current website markets the platform directly to asset-intensive operators via demo bookings.

Traction

By September 2023 about 18 large companies were trialing Acuicy's AI in real-world settings and providing feedback, following completion of the MVP in spring 2023, with a team of six people mostly in Halifax and plans to add sales, marketing and customer support staff ahead of a full product launch. The company reports that roughly a third of AI-generated results have low to no payback periods because they involve process changes rather than capital outlay; its website cites 150+ customized energy-saving options and one-third of options paying back in two years or less. Recognition includes winning the cleantech finals of the Atlantic Canada Cleantech Scale-up and Investment Challenge and selection for Techstars Sustainability Paris.

Latest developments

Acuicy's current positioning centres on AI financial intelligence for asset-intensive industries, built for aquaculture first and extending to food production, manufacturing, and retail and distribution, with the product framed around reducing energy costs, improving operating margins and building business cases for capital and efficiency investments.