With customer demand for predictive maintenance tools on the increase, ABB announced it has acquired a minority stake in Swedish start-up Viking Analytics via its venture capital unit, ABB Technology Ventures (ATV). The strategic partnership 
to develop the next generation of predictive asset health analytics for electrical equipment, will allow customers to predict anomalies before they become a risk to their operations. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.
Using AI-based algorithms, Viking Analytics has created an analytics engine that automatically detects unseen or pre-failure operational conditions for electrical equipment. This makes it easier for operators to prevent costly failures, plan maintenance efficiently and maximize uptime.
Viking Analytics’ technology is complementary to the ABB Ability Asset Manager that provides full remote visibility of asset and electrical-system health status. The integration of Viking Analytics’ new AI-engine adds advanced analytics for prediction and prevention of faulty conditions in customers’ electrical equipment.
Over the past two years, ABB and Viking Analytics have developed software and dashboards for detecting anomalies in a data series, generated by electrical equipment sensors.
The investment in Viking Analytics is the latest in a number of moves to expand ABB’s ecosystem of innovation partners. Since its formation in 2009, ATV has invested around $350 million in start-ups that support new business models and enhance the company’s portfolio of offerings.