Singapore-based Groundup.ai wins SGD 4 million water utility AI contract

Groundup.ai, a Singapore-based industrial artificial intelligence company, has been awarded a SGD 3.99 million (approximately ₹30 crore) contract by PUB, Singapore's national water agency, to deploy a predictive maintenance system for critical water infrastructure assets. The company was the sole provider selected through an open tender that attracted 15 respondents.

The contract requires Groundup.ai to implement and maintain a cognitive maintenance platform across PUB's rotating equipment. The system uses machine learning to analyse three types of data from equipment including sound, vibration and thermal signals. By processing these inputs together, the platform identifies potential faults before they cause equipment failure.

The company said this win marks a significant validation for its fledging technology in critical infrastructure sector. Water utilities face mounting pressure to reduce unplanned equipment downtime while extending the operational life of ageing assets. A single pump or compressor failure at a water treatment plant can disrupt supply to thousands of residents.

"Being awarded an open tender against this kind of field isn't just a contract," said Leon Lim, chief executive officer and founder, Groundup.ai. "Some of the country's most critical machines keep clean water flowing to millions of people. There is no room for guesswork or unplanned downtime."

The company said its platform uses its Asset Library, a repository of historical machine-health and failure data, together with its GINA artificial intelligence engine. The two components analyse equipment data to detect hidden faults in rotating machinery, identify their root causes and recommend specific corrective actions to maintenance teams.

While the traditional monitoring systems typically alert operators to abnormal readings, the cognitive approach attempts to interpret those readings and suggest what maintenance work is needed, the company asserted.

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The technology addresses a challenge facing utilities worldwide. As experienced maintenance workers retire, they take decades of accumulated knowledge about specific equipment behaviour with them. AI systems that can capture and apply this expertise offer utilities a way to maintain service reliability despite workforce changes.

Groundup.ai said the contract builds on its strongest commercial year to date. The company has signed eight-figure multi-year agreements and expanded operations across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe. Its client roster includes the Republic of Singapore Navy, Coca-Cola bottling operations and Anglo-Eastern, a ship management company.

The company said the PUB contract strengthens its presence in the critical infrastructure sector, where equipment failures can have consequences beyond financial losses. It added that, in water utilities, unexpected breakdowns can disrupt essential services and potentially affect public health and safety, making equipment reliability both an operational and a broader regulatory concern.

Singapore has invested heavily in water security and operational efficiency as part of its long-term water management strategy. The PUB deployment is expected to give Groundup.ai an opportunity to apply its predictive maintenance technology within a large public water utility, while also providing a reference project as the company looks to expand in other Asian markets.