In August 2024, CruxOCM announced their Series A funding round of $17M, proudly led by M12. CruxOCM’s platform automates industrial control rooms, enhancing sustainability, profitability, and safety. This investment was made alongside ONEOK, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners and EIC Rose Rock Fund and with continued support from existing investors Angular Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Root Ventures, Industry Ventures, Cendana Capital, Pipeline Capital Partners, and Golden Ventures.
As Michelle Gonzalez, Corporate Vice President and Global Head at M12, put it following the announcement of this funding, “Their innovative technology is set to disrupt the energy sector, enhancing efficiency and safety by providing operators with co-pilot capabilities. This is crucial for our critical energy infrastructure. We look forward to supporting CruxOCM’s growth and seeing their impact on the energy industry.”
In this edition of Founders Feature, we connected with CruxOCM Co-Founder and CEO Vicki Knott to learn about valuable lessons she’s collected in her founding journey, how adaptability and success go hand-in-hand, and her vision for the future of global heavy industrial infrastructure. Here’s what she had to share:
Was there a particular moment or event that made you decide to take the entrepreneurial leap?
Vicki: Yes, there absolutely was a defining moment, though it was more of a gradual realization that culminated in a decisive shift. For years, as a chemical engineer in the energy sector, I was deeply engaged in technical problem-solving. While I excelled in that role, I also found myself consistently looking beyond the immediate technical challenge to the broader strategic implications and asking, “How can we do this better or differently?”
This internal drive became particularly strong when I identified a significant opportunity: adapting proven technologies from other heavy industries to revolutionize the operation of our existing pipeline infrastructure assets. I began championing these innovative approaches internally with my co-founder, Roger Shirt, but I soon encountered the inherent challenges of enacting significant change within well-established, large organizations. It’s not a critique of those companies; rather, it’s a reality that industries operating successfully often have less immediate impetus for disruption.
The “moment” arrived when I realized that my passion wasn’t just about technical innovation, but about implementing transformative solutions and driving market adoption. My personality type thrives on creating, building, and leading change, which wasn’t fully aligning with my role at the time. It became clear that the most effective way to bring these valuable technologies to the energy sector and truly make an impact was to take the entrepreneurial leap myself. It was a calculated decision, fueled by conviction and a clear vision for what could be achieved.
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