With Key Enabling Technology, VTOL Health Monitoring Provider GPMS Closes Series A

Vertical lift Health Usage and Monitoring System (HUMS) creator GPMS announced the closure of their Series A funding round last week with DiamondStream Partners, the lead investor in the round. The closure of Series A funding aims to continue the development and application of GPMS’ Foresight MX tool, which is a predictive maintenance management dashboard and hardware suite intended for application in vertical lift and aerial mobility sectors.

GPMS was founded by Dr. Eric Bechhoefer, an expert in machine condition monitoring. The Foresight MX tool’s predictive analytics help ensure safety, asset reliability and availability. President of GPMS, Jed Kalkstein, characterized how the funds from Series A would be applied to further market development: “We are excited to announce our Series A funding. GPMS has a market-leading solution for complex aircraft, vehicles and rotating equipment where there is a high cost or consequence of unplanned downtime. This funding will help us accelerate our progress in the rotorcraft market and expand to adjacent industries.”

GPMS Foresight MX’s User Interface. Image // GPMS

GPMS’ main value proposition is providing the first true integrated maintenance and aircraft system health monitoring capabilities for helicopters that can easily be installed, has a very light weight, and can actually predict when maintenance may be required, allowing operators to be proactive in their fleet management. Developed and field tested in collaboration with Duke Energy’s aviation department, GPMS holds FAA certifications that enable it to support new aircraft as well as the aftermarket where an estimated 80% of traditional light and medium rotorcraft remain unconnected. 

In a recent press release, GPMS stated that they offer Foresight both directly to operators and through OEM agreements with Bell Flight and others that are currently in stealth mode. 

Since GPMS’ Foresight MX system is a reported 90% lighter (some light monitoring hardware packages weigh less than 10 pounds) and 7X more accurate than traditional monitoring systems, Foresight MX is well-suited for aerial mobility use, where weight and operating efficiency are two key deterministic constraints for the ultimate viability and productivity of the industry. GPMS recently signed an agreement with eVTOL leader BETA Technologies and is in discussion with other market leaders for eVTOLs and drones as well. Company spokesman Andrew Swayze stated that GPMS is actively involved in the aerial mobility industry, and recognizes the future potential for increasing application of HUMS technology in the UAM space in the future.

Brian Flynn, Managing Director at DiamondStream Partners will join GPMS’ Board of Directors. Flynn specified his vision for the future of the partnership: “GPMS’s next generation hardware and software can provide tremendous benefits to safety, reliability, and operations in the current rotorcraft market. Beyond that, the technology underpinning Foresight MX has tremendous potential in other markets.”

Several other industry investors and figures joined the Series A round alongside DiamondStream Partners.

Why it’s important: GPMS’s Foresight MX dashboard and hardware are opportunities for existing vertical lift aircraft and new aerial mobility aircraft alike to capitalize on predictive fleet health monitoring. Since a large component of Foresight MX’s focus is predictive, vertical lift operators and aerial mobility operators would be well suited to employ the tool to realize the benefits of greater dispatch reliability and insights into lagging performance that could be corrected. If GPMS is able to integrate with airframes currently in design “from the ground up”, the ultimate performance of the OEM’s system would be even higher due to the tailor-made integration of aircraft and monitoring.