Plants, factories, and manufacturers in general are embracing IoT, which in turn is driving the use of artificial intelligence at the edge of corporate networks as a way to streamline industrial processes, improve efficiency and detect maintenance issues before they become problems – perhaps even big problems that could force plant shutdowns. At the same time, incumbents such as AWS, Dell, and Cisco are pouring billions into IoT and edge computing. HPE recently invested $4 billion on its "intelligent edge," while Microsoft pumped $6.5 billion into its IoT efforts. The competition in this sector is brutal, but the opportunity is big enough that the 10 startups highlighted here still have room to maneuver and time to scale up. Keep an eye on them because one or more could well be the next unicorn in this hot market.

AI is big; it is what will drive autonomy in transport, industry and manufacturing, and the ability for autonomous operations to be able to streamline operations is a primary goal in the development of artificial intelligence technology. Provider of artificial intelligence predictive analytics solutions, Canada-based Canvass Analytics, has now successfully closed a $US5 million investment round that will enable the company to work further towards that goal. The investment round, which has been led by Google's AI venture fund Gradient Ventures and is their first investment outside of the US, and who are joined in the round by Bedrock Industries, Viaduct Ventures and existing investors Real Ventures and Barney Pell, brings Canvass Analytics total investment to a cool $US7.5 million. Ankit Jain, a founding partner at Gradient Ventures says that "Autonomous operation is the holy grail of manufacturing and AI is the game-changer that is making it a reality across the industrial landscape." The company is already known for its success in providing AI tech to industrial IoT applications, improving margins and reducing costs across automotive, food and agriculture, energy and mining industries.