Headquarted in Montreal, BrainBox AI was created in 2017 with the goal of redefining building automation through artificial intelligence to be at the forefront of a green building revolution. The startup offers real estate owners tools to optimize their buildings’ energy usage and operational efficiency.
They have a workforce of over 100 employees and supports real estate clients in numerous sectors, including office buildings, airports, hotels, multi-residential, long-term care facilities, grocery stores and commercial retail. BrainBox AI manages more than 160 buildings across 15 countries.
BrainBox AI’s autonomous AI HVAC technology studies how a building operates and analyses the external factors impacting it, identifies every potential improvement opportunity and then acts on it. It requires no human intervention and reacts to changes in the built environment immediately to ensure the highest tenant comfort and energy efficiency.
The property tech platform BrainBox AI utilizes self-adapting artificial intelligence technology to proactively optimize one of the world’s largest energy consumers and GHG emitters: buildings. It is often unperceived that one of the leading contributors of this energy usage comes from buildings’ Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. In fact, 45% of commercial buildings’ energy consumption comes from HVAC, of which 30% is usually wasted.
BrainBox AI’s deep learning software produces a saving in total energy costs of up to 25%, a 20 – 40% reduction in carbon footprint and a 60% increase in occupant comfort. Building operators can also see up to a 50% extension in the service life of the HVAC equipment.
Using deep learning, cloud-based computing, and proprietary process, BrainBox AI’s engine autonomously and granularly optimizes existing HVAC systems in real time for maximum impact on energy consumption, carbon footprint and building operations.
BrainBox AI works in collaboration with research partners including the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO) as well as educational institutions including Montreal’s École de technologie supérieure (ETS) and McGill University.
Most recently, BrainBox AI was announced as one of 10 companies globally chosen to showcase at the Tech For Our Planet challenge program, an initiative at the upcoming 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). In 2020, BrainBox AI was recognized by TIME as one of the Top 100 best inventions and by CB Insights as one of the Top 100 AI start-ups redefining industries in 2021. The company is also a member of the MaRS Discovery District, the largest urban innovation hub in North America.
Next on the agenda for BrainBox is to prepare buildings for growing renewable power generation by making them more flexible in how they use energy from the grid.
The intermittent nature of certain renewable energy sources means that energy grids will need to be more flexible, and BrainBox’s goal is to expand its tools to allow buildings to provide energy and capacity back to the grid when they can.
Sam Ramadori, president of BrainBox, said: “With buildings producing 28% of the world’s total carbon emissions, it is more critical than ever to bring scalable clean technology to our cities”
“Overlaying autonomous artificial intelligence on existing infrastructure in the built environment is not only a rapid and impactful means to energy efficiency, but also a crucial step towards future grid-interactive buildings.”
