MaintainX more than doubled its valuation to $2.5 billion in its latest fundraising round, the equipment maintenance startup said on Wednesday, as startups that combine artificial intelligence with physical operations continue to attract investor interest.

The company raised $150 million in the ‘Series D’ round, bringing its total external funding to $254 million, following a trend among mature startups to remain private-for-longer amid choppy IPO market conditions.

Its previous funding round in December 2023 had valued the company at $1 billion.

While AI startups still attract most venture capital funding, investors are now also looking for sector-specific tools that help companies boost efficiency by cutting downtime and labor costs.

Last month, enterprise AI search startup Glean also raised $150 million at a $7.2 billion valuation in its third capital raise in less than two years.

“The common thread is that investors want AI tied to mission-critical enterprise and industrial workflows,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner at Running Point Capital Advisors.

MaintainX, founded in 2018, provides a cloud-based maintenance and operations platform that helps automate day-to-day tasks like inspections and safety procedures.

The company claims its customers have reduced unplanned downtime by 34 per cent and saved 32 per cent in monthly maintenance costs.

The new capital will be used to develop MaintainX’s AI and machine health monitoring capabilities, aiming to replace a widely used manual approach.

The San Francisco, California-based company serves over 11,000 companies worldwide, including McDonald’s, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Dutch Bros Coffee .

The round saw participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Bain Capital, who have also led previous funding for the company. Early backers Amity Ventures and August Capital also participated.