In India’s bustling manufacturing sector, which is crucial for economic growth, there’s a substantial environmental concern—emissions. Industries like steel, cement, and chemicals contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
As one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, India sees its largest emissions from the power sector at 37%, trailed by the agricultural sector at 21%, manufacturing at 17%, and the transportation sector at 9%, according to an IMF Working Paper titled: A Framework for Climate Change Mitigation in India.
This underscores the urgency for innovative solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI) to reshape manufacturing practices for greater sustainability.
A startup is leveraging AI to redefine how asset-heavy manufacturers navigate the intricate landscape of sustainability—a global business priority—driven by environmental awareness, consumer demand, and regulatory pressures.
“Growing up in a small industrial town in India exposed me to the harmful effects of industrial emissions, leading to my own battle with autoimmune hepatitis. Despite my initial career success, my passion for creating meaningful change redirected my path toward higher studies in machine learning,” shares Dr Soudip Roy Chowdhury, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of .
“During my PhD, I immersed myself in entrepreneurship, and upon rejoining the industry, my role exposed me to the dire impacts of climate change. As a father, it was unthinkable for me to let my child face the adverse effects of industrial emissions, much like I did. This led me to establish Eugenie as an emissions intelligence platform,” he adds.
Founded in 2018, California- and Mumbai-based Eugenie enables major asset-heavy manufacturers to minimise Scope I emissions, working towards fulfilling their net-zero objectives. Scope I emissions refer to direct GHG emissions produced by a company, including those from its owned or controlled sources.
Numerous industrial organisations have committed to embracing sustainability, yet a substantial unexplored potential resides in reducing emissions directly at their source. The startup’s Software as a Service (SaaS)-based platform addresses this problem by offering a solution to track, trace, and reduce emissions at machine and process levels.
Product and potential
Leveraging AI-driven digital twins—virtual replicas enhanced by AI—the deep-tech startup facilitates real-time or near real-time tracking of machine performance and emissions data.
Digital twins are virtual replicas of physical objects or systems, providing real-time insights for monitoring, analysis, and optimisation.
With precise measurement and attribution of emissions to individual machines and processes, the startup’s emissions intelligence platform can detect operational anomalies, empowering CXOs and operations engineers to swiftly implement corrective actions and optimise production processes for reduced GHG emissions.
Its intended clientele comprises firms in ferrous, non-ferrous, petrochemical, food and beverage, and cement sectors dedicated to reducing their GHG emissions. Some of Eugenie’s prominent clients include Tata Steel, HPCL, Jabil, ExxonMobil, and Nexa Resources.
“Our distinct approach associates emissions with operational anomalies through patented Explainable AI. Unlike competitors, we cover the full spectrum of emissions tracking, uniting origins, consequences, and insights about Scope I emissions,” notes Dr Chowdhury.
Business prospects
Eugenie adopts a monthly subscription model for its SaaS, applicable to each customer’s process line, and provides flexibility in user licence counts and technical support hours.
Within the sustainability tech space, emissions tracking firms (e.g., Emitwise, Nossa Data) rely on high-level data extrapolation for overall estimates but lack real-time tracking of machine or process-level emissions, says Dr Chowdhury.
Concurrently, carbon offsetting entities (e.g., Patch, Cloverly, Pachama) offer B2B marketplace products and APIs, while B2G carbon offsetting solutions are provided by companies like Zellar and ClimateView, he adds.
Dr Chowdhury believes that while Eugenie’s competitors address fragmented aspects of emissions tracking and management, meaning some products focus on carbon accounting, others on emissions benchmarking, and so forth; Eugenie provides a comprehensive approach including emissions measurement, benchmarking, and actionable recommendations, serving as a single-point solution for organisations.
While the startup is gaining clients amid the pressing need for industrial decarbonisation, it grapples with the challenge of extended sales cycles, lasting over seven months. This delay can be attributed to prospects lacking a sense of urgency, prompting the startup to seek guidance on instilling urgency to expedite the sales process.
Funding and growth plans
Eugenie has raised a total investment of $4.4 million from Fractal AI via SAFE or Simple Agreement for Future Equity, which is an investment instrument allowing early-stage investors to fund startups in exchange for future equity at predefined milestones. It is looking to raise its next round of funding as it expands in the US, Latin America, and MEA.
Currently, over 70% of the company’s business comes from the US, with 30% originating from India. However, this distribution is expected to shift in the next two years, approaching a 50-50 ratio, says Dr Chowdhury.
As the business expands, the team, currently consisting of 21 members, is slated to grow to approximately 25 by the end of the year. In line with its hiring plans, it aims to recruit individuals with the right expertise for consultative concept sales.
The startup is strategically expanding its growth through collaborative sales with key partners, including major cloud service providers like Azure and Google Cloud, software implementers such as HP Enterprise, and consulting firms like EY.
The environmental intelligence platform market size is expected to surpass $3.28 billion by the end of 2035, witnessing around 13.3% CAGR from 2023 to 2035, according to Research Nester.
The global emission monitoring system market size is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2028 from $3.2 billion in 2023, at a CAGR of 9.3% from 2023 to 2028, as per MarketsandMarkets.
“Our mission is to help manufacturers reduce harmful emissions by combining advanced AI with real-time data to make a difference equivalent to taking 40 million cars off the roads annually. Through this, we hope to not only combat climate change but also protect future generations from its repercussions,” says Dr Chowdhury.
Eugenie.ai was part of TechSparks 2023, YourStory’s flagship tech startup event held recently in Bengaluru, and made it to YourStory’s Tech30 list as one of the 30 most promising Indian startups of 2023.
Edited by Megha Reddy
