IBM Acquires AI-Powered Prescinto For Renewable Energy

IBM says it's buying Prescinto, a software company from India focused on asset performance management for renewable energy. This is an attempt by IBM to better position itself within the energy and utility sector-the arena in which managing and optimizing assets related to renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and energy storage, becomes more important by the day.

Founded in 2016, Prescinto is a software firm that uses artificial intelligence in such clean energy projects as improving their performance and efficiency. Advanced capabilities in its APM SaaS platform include real-time monitoring, analytics, and automation meant to simplify operations and optimize management of renewable assets. Some of its features include high-definition maps for centralized asset visualization, AI-driven analysis to recognize inefficiencies, and actionable insights to help improve performance. It also hosts tools that monitor and deploy teams for asset maintenance and repairs. Prescinto's software is backing renewable energy projects in 14 countries, managing 16 GW of solar and wind capacity for major clients such as SoftBank Energy and Macquarie.

The acquisition is expected to further enrich IBM's asset lifecycle management platform, Maximo Application Suite, which the company already has in existence. Maximo is an integrated platform that includes AI, IoT, and analytics to maximize the performance and extend the service life of existing assets in areas such as water, natural gas, nuclear power, and now renewable energy. With the Prescinto acquisition, IBM will be better positioned to help clients navigate their journey toward net-zero emissions. IBM Maximo will provide more accurate real-time monitoring and predictive analytics capabilities for tracking, managing, and optimizing the performance of renewable energy assets to the companies that have joined their rolls after integrating with Prescinto's AI-Powered Solutions.

The company feels that this acquisition is a great step forward to enhance its capacity to serve asset-intensive industries. Some of the key features of the Prescinto software offering visual recognition and real-time data analytics will empower the end-user to identify and correct such problems as inefficiency in solar panels at an early stage before things go critical so that companies can maintain proper energy output with reduced downtime.

Coming barely weeks after IBM had released its own Maximo Emissions Management platform to aid heavy industries in monitoring and reporting their emissions, the deal brings IBM closer to a leadership role in helping companies manage their energy assets more effectively toward meeting these sustainability targets.