Fracta Inc. Receives Strategic Investment From Kurita Water Industries, Ltd.

New investment will increase global footprints of both organizations in municipal water infrastructure

Redwood City, CA /PRNewswire/ - Fracta Inc., a technology innovator Bringing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Infrastructure, has announced a strategic investment from Kurita Water Industries, Ltd. The investment allows Fracta and Kurita to extend their leadership in the United States water industry, particularly to municipal and investor-owned water utilities.

Kurita's investment totals approximately 37 million US dollars. Kurita will acquire the majority of the shares of Fracta, Inc. through the acquisition of issued shares and the subscription for new shares. Under the investment, the Fracta name and management will remain intact.

"We're pleased with the strategic investment from Kurita," said Takashi Kato, Co-founder, President and CEO of Fracta Inc. "Their global experience and leadership in the water treatment industry is vast and extensive, and their strategic investment will allow us to grow even further in the realm of water infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence."

"Kurita's investment gives us the opportunity to not only accelerate our penetration of the USA water market, it will help expand Fracta globally and apply our objective, big data-driven condition assessment method to other infrastructure assets," said Lars Stenstedt, Co-Founder and COO of Fracta Inc.

Since 1949, Kurita has operated with the philosophy, "study the properties of water, master them, and we will create an environment in which nature and man are in harmony." Already a global player in industrial water treatment, the investment in Fracta allows Kurita to enhance their offerings and expand into the municipal and investor-owned water utilities.

"We are delighted and very excited to be given this opportunity to invest in Fracta Inc.," said Michiya Kadota, President of Kurita Water Industries, Ltd. "Through the investment, we would like to help the company grow and contribute to improving its corporate value. We believe that we will be able to operate a digital business that will create unprecedented, 'unique value,' by combining Fracta's technologies with our unique products and services and thereby creating a synergy with the company."

About Fracta Inc.
Fracta is Bringing Artificial Intelligence to Infrastructure. Fracta's flagship offering is a Software as a Service application that uses artificial intelligence to assess the condition of drinking water distribution mains. Fracta calculates and visualizes the Likelihood of Failure (LOF) of water main pipes enabling utilities to make better pipe rehabilitation and replacement decisions. Utilizing artificial intelligence in condition assessments as part of a proper infrastructure asset management program will contribute to the reduction of the economic impacts incurred from water main breaks and help water utilities more efficiently allocate and spend their capital investments. Founded in 2015 by Takashi Kato and Lars Stenstedt, Fracta is based in Redwood City, Calif. For more information on how to create intelligent infrastructure, visit http://www.fracta.ai.