Japan’s Hitachi Construction Machinery has invested US$3 million to take a minority stake in Canadian mining technology firm Rithmik Solutions as part of the latter’s series A financing round.
HCM mining business president Eiji Fukunishi said the investment was an “important step towards Hitachi Construction Machinery’s goal of building open digital platforms with various partners”.
“Combining Rithmik’s advanced, AI-powered data analysis technology with Hitachi Construction Machinery’s insight will help us provide more flexible solutions to our customers as well as contribute to increased productivity and reduced environmental impact at mining sites,” Fukunishi said.
Montreal-based Rithmik, established in 2017, did not disclose details of the full equity raise, which was also backed by Canada’s Chrysalix Venture Capital, Sprout Fund, Fonds Ecofuel, Phoenix Fire and Developer Capital.
Rithmik, which currently has 10 employees, claims its “fully OEM-agnostic” sensor and software platform provides high-resolution asset health management and operational data analytics across all major mining equipment brands.
“This investment will allow Rithmik to scale more quickly, support a growing customer base and continue expanding its product suite, helping mines improve productivity, reliability and sustainability across their fleets,” the company said.
Rithmik CEO Ross Barichievy said the HCM partnership was a “significant step toward the advancement of smart mining”.
“By leveraging HCM’s global presence with Rithmik’s expertise in mining analytics we aim to deliver unprecedented performance, reliability and sustainability to customers worldwide,” he said.
