Exodigo, an underground 3D mapping startup, raises seed round

On Friday, Exodigo, an Israeli-headquartered technology innovator combining 3D imaging, sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) for underground mapping, today announced that its nonintrusive subterranean mapping platform is now commercially available to construction, mining and utility companies in the United States and Israel. The company also announced raising $29 million in seed funding led by Zeev Ventures and 10D Ventures, with participation from SquarePeg Capital and JIBE Ventures. Strategic industry leaders Tidhar Construction, Israel Canada and WXG Ltd. also participated in the round.

Exodigo says it plans to use the funding to accelerate its expansion, initially focused on building a California-based team to support its commercial rollout in the United States. Exodigo is on track to begin pilot projects in California, Florida and Texas in the coming weeks.

“Traditional underground discovery techniques are grossly outdated and incredibly inaccurate. Exodigo is the future of underground mapping. Led by a team with unequaled experience, Exodigo will solve costly, and at times devastatingly catastrophic, problems that have plagued developers and engineers for decades,” said Gil Geva, CEO of Tidhar Construction.

Exodigo estimates that more than $100 billion is spent each year on unnecessary excavation and drilling to discover what lies underground in an attempt to avoid hitting gas pipelines, water sources, oil, and other potential hazards hidden beneath the surface. The constant use of heavy equipment creates avoidable greenhouse gas emissions, wastes billions of dollars per year, damages the planet, and causes spills and explosions that can cost lives. According to 2020 figures from the Common Ground Alliance, an underground infrastructure safety advocacy group, some $30 billion in societal costs result from damages to critical U.S. underground infrastructure each year.

Carried by drones or small carts, Exodigo says its sensor system effectively provides 3D subsurface imaging, eliminating the need for exploratory excavation, and enabling smart drilling and sustainable operations by de-risking the discovery process across industries. Exodigo can rapidly create a digital geolocated, 3D map of buried assets, including man-made pipes and cables,  soil layers, rocks, minerals, and  groundwater across any terrain.

“It is time to finally break ground on a safer, more sustainable and infinitely more precise method for subterranean discovery,” said Exodigo Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Suard. “Our powerful combination of advanced sensor technologies and proprietary AI platform provides users with a safe, fast way to get a complete view of what lies beneath the surface with unprecedented precision.

“Ending the era of blind digs, Exodigo gives companies an accurate, easy-to-understand map of what lies beneath the surface – empowering their teams to save time, money, and lives. Think of it like combining the scanning power of an MRI, CT scan and ultrasound all into one image of what is beneath the ground.”

In connection with the seed investment, Yahal Zilka of 10D and Oren Zeev of Zeev Ventures have joined the Board of Directors to provide ongoing support and speed Exodigo’s market penetration by making critical connections throughout their extensive industry networks.