Duos Technology, a company specializing in Machine Vision and AI to analyze fast-moving objects including trains, has secured $2.2 million in funding for its new Edge data center unit.
The Florida-based company, through its operating subsidiary Duos Edge AI, this week announced that it has secured sufficient funding for the production of its first three Edge data centers.
Duos Edge AI has entered into secured promissory notes for a total of $2.2 million with two unnamed institutional investors in the company.
The funding will be used for the construction, deployment, and initial operations of the data centers in remote districts, including for schools, government, and health facilities.
The first data center is expected to be in full production by late October, with the second and third units following closely and expected to be in production by November. Locations were not shared.
The deal is for $2.2 million in debt, maturing at the end of 2025. The notes carry an interest charge of 10 percent per annum and there are no payments in the interim.
Doug Recker, president of Duos Edge AI, said: "The availability of this funding will allow us to get to deployment and revenue production as forecasted and also paves the way for expected fast growth as we pursue the many opportunities available to us," said Recker.
Chuck Ferry, CEO of Duos, added: "I am pleased that we continue to have solid support from our legacy shareholders, both for equity and now debt," he said. “I believe that this is just the beginning of a new phase of growth for Duos and I look forward to reporting further progress at our upcoming shareholders conference call”.
Duos said it will continue to support operations for Duos Edge AI and is currently reviewing potential ongoing debt funding proposals from other lenders as the subsidiary continues to expand.
Founded in 2001 and based in Jacksonville, Florida, Duos offers vision-based technology solutions to automate inspections of trains, trucks, and automobiles while in motion. The company launched a new Edge unit earlier this year.
Details on the planned modules are scarce, but the company says it can offer densities of 100kW per cabinet and deploy within 90 days across the US.
The company noted it already deploys some solutions – including a railcar inspection system used by companies such as Amtrak – within specialized Edge data centers. The company said these data centers enable the analysis of trains at speeds up to 125MPH, delivering safety data within 60 seconds.
Images on Duos’ site suggest a shipping container-type deployment accompanies the inspection shed, and the company has said the facilities Duos’ new Edge unit will be deploying are similar.
EdgePresence and Colo5 founder Doug Recker was appointed president of the new unit last month.
CEO Ferry has previously said the company was in contract negotiations to install and operate its first four Edge data centers this year, with a pipeline of “more than 200” to be installed in the future.
Customers haven’t been named, but Duos has said the company is currently in negotiations with “several large telecommunications companies.”