LinkCycle
Uses data science to help large manufacturing companies dramatically reduce production costs without on-site audits.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
N/A | Seed | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
LinkCycle was a data science company that emerged from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Techstars accelerator program. Founded in 2010 by Alex Loijos and Bradley McLean, the Boston-based startup aimed to help large-scale manufacturers reduce production costs by analyzing energy consumption. Loijos, serving as CEO, brought expertise in materials and energy efficiency from his time at MIT, where he earned an MS in Technology and Policy. CTO Bradley McLean contributed extensive experience in software development and high-volume system architecture from his work with several Boston-area tech companies.
The company's core offering was a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that performed "virtual audits" of manufacturing facilities. This technology leveraged data science algorithms to analyze readily available information, such as historical production quantities and utility bills, to disaggregate energy consumption down to individual production lines and machinery. This approach circumvented the need for costly and time-consuming on-site audits or the installation of physical submeters, offering a more efficient path to identifying energy-saving opportunities. The business model centered on providing this analytical service to large industrial clients, with a notable success story involving a Fortune 500 company where LinkCycle identified $1 million in potential savings on a $5 million annual electricity bill for a single plant.
LinkCycle's journey began with significant recognition and seed funding from several MIT-sponsored competitions in 2011, including the LinkedData Prize, the MIT 100k Entrepreneurship Competition, and the Clean Energy Prize. The company's potential was endorsed by figures like Tim Berners-Lee. Following this early success, LinkCycle was accepted into the prestigious Techstars Boston accelerator program in 2013, securing further investment. Despite its promising start, demonstrated client success, and a clear value proposition for the manufacturing sector, the company ultimately ceased operations, with its status listed as "Out of Business" as of May 2016.
Keywords: industrial energy efficiency, manufacturing cost reduction, data science for manufacturing, virtual energy audit, production analytics, SaaS for industry, Techstars Boston alumni, MIT startup, energy management software, cleantech, resource efficiency, process optimization, utility data analysis, Alex Loijos, Bradley McLean, predictive analytics, carbon footprint reduction, industrial IoT, smart factory, lifecycle assessment