Aerium raises $2.5 million USD in seed funding for industrial software

Toronto-based industrial software startup Aerium has raised $2.5 million USD ($3.6 million CAD) in seed capital to expand its technical staff and deploy its software across industrial manufacturing and distribution businesses, the company announced on Friday.

The simple agreement for future equity investment round closed in July. New York City venture firm Gutter Capital provided the funding alongside undisclosed strategic angel investors, according to BetaKit.

Aerium was established last year by Adam Trotman, who serves as chief executive officer, and Michael Dawes. Both founders were exposed to manufacturing early through their parents' work in the industry. They later worked as analysts in McKinsey & Company's Toronto office, where they created software for industrial manufacturing clients before leaving the consultancy to pursue independent technical development.

The company targets operational challenges in sectors that produce heavy equipment, specialty chemicals, and metal components. Trotman told BetaKit that industrial manufacturers frequently deal with siloed information scattered across Excel spreadsheets, email accounts, and employee memory, which prevents managers from seeing full operational visibility across their businesses.

To address this issue, Aerium's platform integrates directly into existing corporate software systems to gather, clean, and centralize operational information. The platform deploys custom machine learning models and automated software agents to monitor day-to-day operations and automate routine tasks. Trotman said the technology is intended to assist human managers rather than eliminate jobs, helping businesses retain operational knowledge as experienced employees retire and firms contend with capacity constraints.

Aerium has already implemented its software with a handful of customers, including an unnamed global transformer manufacturer. The startup recently hired its first employee and plans to recruit additional forward-deployed engineers before the end of 2026 to assist with client software rollouts.

Looking ahead, Trotman said Aerium aims to serve as a broad operating layer for industrial distribution and manufacturing companies, pointing to established industry corporations such as Siemens, Honeywell, and Emerson as long-term market benchmarks.