Aerium, an industrial technology startup based in Toronto, has announced the close of a US$2.5 million Seed funding round led by Gutter Capital. The financing included participation from strategic angel investors and marks a significant milestone for the young industrial technology company. Co-founders Adam Trotman and Michael Dawes said the capital will help grow the team and deepen work with industrial customers.
Seed Funding and Investor Backing
The Seed round provides Aerium with resources to continue product development and deepen customer deployments. Gutter Capital led the financing, joined by strategic angel investors who bring relevant industrial and operational expertise to the company. The capital will also support hiring as the company builds out its team in Toronto and refines its AI platform for industrial users and daily operations.
Founders With Industrial Roots
Adam Trotman and Michael Dawes founded Aerium after building software and agentic AI for industrial clients at McKinsey. Both grew up around manufacturing and saw how much industrial businesses accomplish through the experience and ingenuity of their people. They also observed how difficult it is to coordinate work when critical information sits across disconnected systems, spreadsheets, emails, and people's heads.
An AI Workforce for Industry
Aerium is starting with an AI workforce purpose-built for industrial manufacturers and distributors. The platform connects information across a business and puts it to work, helping teams quote complex jobs, coordinate production, manage procurement, and predict maintenance needs. Over time, the knowledge gained from every job, order, and operational decision helps these businesses self-improve and operate more efficiently.
Preserving Operational Knowledge
The company stresses that a company's understanding of its products, processes, suppliers, and customers is one of its most valuable assets. Aerium aims to make that expertise available wherever it is needed, so teams can accomplish more with the people they have. The founders believe this approach helps carry institutional knowledge into the next generation and reduces reliance on disconnected tribal knowledge.
Long-Term Vision
Aerium wants to become the next Honeywell, Emerson, or Siemens, enduring industrial technology companies essential to how the physical world operates. The founders believe AI will become part of industry infrastructure, embedded in daily decisions and workflows that turn materials into products and keep supply chains moving. Their ambition is to build an operating layer that companies can rely on to understand their business, coordinate their work, and expand what they are capable of producing.
Hiring Forward-Deployed Engineers
Aerium is hiring forward-deployed engineers in Toronto who want to help build the next great industrial technology company. These engineers will work closely with customers, learn how their businesses operate, and take solutions from an initial idea through deployment. Their work will shape software that helps people make things, move products, and solve problems with a direct impact on the physical world.
With new Seed funding and a clear focus on industrial AI, Aerium is positioning itself for long-term growth. The company thanked its investors and customers for their trust and emphasized that it is building for the long term. Co-founders Adam Trotman and Michael Dawes said they are just getting started on a multi-year effort to modernize how the physical economy operates.