GaussFleet: machine monitoring and management startup is CSN’s new venture

CSN Inova Ventures, which stood out in 2022 as the most active fund in Brazil by Corporate Venture in Brazil – an initiative developed to stimulate venture capital investments in the country – selected GaussFleet to compose its portfolio of investments. The startup has developed technology aimed at steel mills, mining companies, and construction companies to closely monitor and manage their extensive fleets of trucks, cranes, forklifts, buses, and the like. This is a market with great potential that had previously suffered from a lack of suppliers who understood its specificities, resulting in wasted revenue and productivity.

“Our technology is already well established in the steel industry, serving the country’s largest players in the segment. We also help some of the largest logistics operators and mobile machine rental companies to manage contracts with excellence. The short-term plan is to add new technologies to the platform, generating even more value for the current customer base and continuing to grow rapidly in other sectors, such as infrastructure construction,” says Vinicius Callegari, founder and CCO of Gauss.

The solution developed by the startup is focused on companies that have their own or rented machines and for which managing these machines is one of their main challenges, since manual operation or even the lack of control and analysis of the effective use of this equipment in productivity—something common in the industrial environment—generates significant cash waste. To address these problems, GaussFleet has combined cutting-edge technologies such as advanced telemetry, the Internet of Things (IoT), and geoprocessing to create a unique platform for controlling and instantly transmitting the vast amount of information collected from the machines in operation.

By providing total visibility of operations in real time, the solution allows the availability of machinery to be measured, putting an end to idleness by indicating whether vehicles are producing, undergoing maintenance, or improperly out of operation, so that the actual number of machines for each of a company’s sectors can be properly sized. The constant pursuit of process digitization within the solution is a major differentiator for the company. A good example is the application of the workstation concept, which brings the context of machine use fully connected to the way they were contracted.

“Knowing whether a contract has been scaled in the best way is much simpler,” says Callegari.

“It is a tool that provides a clear understanding of idle time and process failures, since without automation these controls are performed informally, without any systematic monitoring. As a result, it is often apparent that the number of pieces of equipment, whether rented or owned, far exceeds what is actually necessary. This is a gap that existed and that Gauss set out to solve, effectively measuring machinery productivity and generating real savings for companies,” explains Marcelo Greco, Head of CSN Inova Ventures.

Thus, with automated measurement, companies save money and benefit from simple and functional management of their operating fleet.

“The use of data intelligence is directly linked to productivity and savings, even allowing equipment to be reallocated between sectors and providing input for the procurement areas when closing and renewing contracts,” adds Greco.

According to him, the solution is already being used at the Usina Presidente Vargas (UPV), in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, and the results are encouraging: “We already have 469 pieces of road fleet equipment and 43 locomotives automated with the technology, and the proposal is to boost the resource as much as possible in our fleet, including in our other units, in the coming months.”

In addition to productivity and job management, the technology designed by the startup provides other important indicators, such as vehicle speed control, operator fatigue monitoring, and maintenance-related parameters.

“With the maintenance module, we are able to generate valuable information, such as data indicating that the machine may experience complications, for example, anticipating a problem. So, we are talking about a very advanced solution that is changing the day-to-day operations of industry and other sectors that operate with machinery,” adds Greco.

For Alan Ribeiro, founder and CEO of GaussFleet, CSN Inova Ventures’ investment contributes decisively to the startup’s growth strategy:

“Having the investment fund of one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the world betting on our solutions is a major lever for our expansion into other markets. In addition, this partnership allows us access to CSN’s technical team and in-depth knowledge of the particularities of UPV, which is also important for the development and improvement of new products. Finally, I must say that it is a source of great pride for me and our team to receive this investment from CSN Inova Ventures. It is just the beginning of something even bigger”.

About CSN Inova

CSN Inova, the innovation platform of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, aims to strategically and actively position the company in the innovation ecosystem. It consists of four fronts: CSN Inova Ventures (builds opportunities through co-development and participation in startups), CSN Inova Open (manages innovation and open innovation), CSN Inova Bridge (executes and monitors projects related to ESG factors) and CSN Inova Tech (develops and executes CSN’s disruptive technology strategy).

About CSN Inova Ventures

With investment verticals and ESG methodology, CSN Inova Ventures has more than R$ 100 million in committed capital to invest in startups, reinforcing the value of an increasingly participatory future. Today, CSN Inova’s CVC has three investment verticals, which are: Industry of the Future, ESG and Corporate, and New Businesses. The vehicle also evaluates investments in adjacent areas. In addition to GaussFleet, the investment portfolio to date includes: 2DM (production and development of applications in advanced materials), 1s1 (development of components for hydrogen production), Oico (B2B marketplace for civil construction), Traive (intelligence for access to agricultural credit), Clarke (digital energy management), H2Pro (efficient hydrogen production), i.Systems (artificial intelligence for industries) and  Alinea Health (data intelligence for better healthcare).