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ThermoAI
Techstars '18Montréal, CA · Founded 2018 · 3 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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ThermoAI applies machine learning and IoT to optimize industrial combustion processes to cut fuel use and emissions.
Also known as ThermoAI
Founders & leadership
ThermoAI was founded in 2018 by Aiden Livingston.
Investors · 1
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Company profile
researched Sep 2026ThermoAI is an industrial technology company that uses patent-pending proprietary machine learning algorithms, combined with IoT sensing, to optimize the total process of industrial combustion. Its systems continuously monitor variables that affect combustion — including moisture content and its effect on reaction temperatures, atmospheric pressure changes and their impact on required fuel volume, and the optimal level of air intake — and adjust operating levels toward near-complete combustion.
The stated outcomes of this optimization are reduced fuel consumption, higher energy output, extended lifetime value of expensive equipment parts, and lower emissions. The company is categorized across artificial intelligence, machine learning, energy efficiency, industrial automation and manufacturing, and reports combustion efficiency gains of 3% to 5% from its existing proof-of-concept deployments.
Founding story
The company was founded in 2018 by Aiden Livingston, an applied AI expert and contributor to VentureBeat's AI section and a marketing consultant from Manhattan who has worked with Fortune 50 companies. He is joined by co-founders Carolina Chaves, COO, a chemical engineer from the Universidad Nacional of Colombia and member of TAYEA (Applied Thermodynamics and Alternative Energies), and David Watson, CTO, a doctoral candidate at Oxford University focused on machine learning and causal modelling.
Traction
The company reports proof-of-concept deployments delivering combustion efficiency increases of 3% to 5%.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography
Market position
An early-stage, pre-seed company with a small team (1-10 employees), associated with the Arch Grants program in St. Louis and listed on the Techstars job board, with proof-of-concept deployments rather than broad commercial scale.
Technology
The core technology is a set of patent-pending proprietary machine learning algorithms paired with IoT instrumentation that continuously monitors combustion-relevant factors such as moisture content, atmospheric pressure and air intake, and continuously adjusts operating levels to approach optimal combustion. The technical team includes a doctoral candidate at Oxford University specializing in machine learning and causal modelling for complex, high-dimensional systems, and a chemical engineer with a background in applied thermodynamics and alternative energies.
Go-to-market
Operators of industrial combustion processes across manufacturing and energy-intensive industries, where fuel savings, equipment longevity and emissions reduction are relevant.
Geography
Locations associated with the company include New York, NY (including Soho and Manhattan), St. Louis, MO, and Montréal, Québec, spanning the United States and Canada.
Compiled by commissioned research from 3 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Non-dilutive funding · 4 SBIR/STTR awards
Federal grants — no equity taken| Agency | Phase | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase II | 2023 | $1.2M |
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase I | 2023 | $75K |
| U.S. Air ForceAir Force | Phase I | 2023 | $74.9K |
| National Science Foundation | Phase ISTTR | 2020 | $224.6K |
Source: SBIR.gov award data (U.S. Small Business Administration). SBIR/STTR awards are competitive federal R&D grants and contracts — non-dilutive capital alongside any venture rounds above.
▸Research sources · 3
primary sources listed
- ThermoAI | Techstars Job Boardjobs.techstars.com · web
3 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does ThermoAI do?
- ThermoAI applies machine learning and IoT to optimize industrial combustion processes to cut fuel use and emissions.
- Who founded ThermoAI?
- ThermoAI was founded by Aiden Livingston in 2018.
- Who are ThermoAI's investors?
- ThermoAI's investors include Techstars.
- Where is ThermoAI headquartered?
- ThermoAI is headquartered in Montréal, CA.