Applied Computing, a London-based startup founded in 2023, has secured $20 million in Series A funding to develop artificial intelligence models specifically for the oil and gas industry. The company created Orbital, an AI system combining time-series analysis, physics-based modeling, and language processing to help energy operators extract value from their sensor networks. Currently, facilities use less than 8% of the data they collect because integrating thousands of sensor readings with engineering documentation and chemical principles occurs too slowly to inform real-time decisions.

Orbital accelerates this process by condensing investigations that previously required weeks into minutes, enabling operators to identify anomalies, determine root causes, and model potential impacts across interconnected systems. The startup has reached double-digit millions in annual recurring revenue within 18 months and operates across several large, publicly-traded energy companies, with partnerships including Wipro and KBR. Despite facing entrenched competitors like AspenTech and AVEVA, Applied Computing argues its strength lies in assembling top AI researchers capable of building genuinely competitive models—a moat fundamentally different from merely accessing industrial data or operational expertise.