Caterpillar Venture Inc invests in Alight Mining Solutions’ forecasting and analysis technology

Caterpillar Venture Inc, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, has announced that it has made a significant investment in a SaaS technology company that focuses on financial forecasting and scenario analysis technology.

Alight Mining Solutions, based in San Francisco, develops cloud based solutions that allow users to pull data from other systems and mining technology, and run multiple scenarios to facilitate financial decision making and be able to create enterprise-level financial forecasts.

Through the investment, Caterpillar will develop enhanced solutions that will combine data obtained from technology-enabled machines with the financial forecasting software which will enable mining companies to make better, more informed real-time business decisions.

“We’re always looking to invest in new ways that could help Caterpillar’s customers improve their profitability, especially through the use of technology,” said Jim Hawkins, managing director of mining technology for Caterpillar. “Alight’s technologies can allow our customers to see the financial impact of a machine or technology purchases as well as operational decisions before they're made.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Caterpillar and help bring new levels of innovation to the global mining industry,” said Michele McGovern, CEO, Alight, Inc. “Caterpillar’s technology is making huge quantities of rich information available to its customers and our intention is to combine this data with Alight’s solutions so that data can be used to drive decision making to find greater profits and opportunities for growth.”

In working with Alight, mining customers can navigate the difficulty of an ever changing market climate with more ease, Hawkins believes that through the combined efforts of the two companies customers can “better understand the impact” of their decision making on production, operations as well as profit margins and cash flow.