Building the Operating System for Asset (Equipment & Technicians)-Intensive Industries

Foreward

By Nathaniel Harding

A major theme for us at Cortado Ventures is to invest in areas where we have personal experience. One of my first jobs and also one of my last jobs before starting Cortado involved managing the myriad equipment, parts, supplies, and consumables involved in developing an oil and gas field. Looking back, it’s bewildering to realize that there were times where we were spending $100,000 per day waiting, all the while I am furiously texting and calling to get the right parts to the right place on time, all while ensuring everything is billed correctly and scrutinizing costs. We invest at the intersection of digital transformation and legacy industries. Our most recent investment in Equipt.ai embodies that and is a company I wish had existed on those expensive days when I was a junior engineer relying on text and phone calls and post it notes. One of our cofounders and strategic partner, David Woods, built a career on managing rental equipment, where he was CEO of Ditch Witch before coaching other executives and helping launch Cortado. We are even more bullish about our investment in Equipt.ai as we look at the potential of their technology beyond oilfield services and into other heavy equipment rentals. Our Analyst, Mansi Patel, captured the backstory on this investment and why it matters.

At Cortado Ventures, we invest in early-stage companies redefining legacy industries through software, data, and vision. Our latest investment in Equipt.ai reflects that commitment. Cortado is thrilled to have invested in Equipt.ai, a Houston-based enterprise SaaS company that is reimagining equipment and field service management with a modern, customizable SaaS platform for asset & field service -heavy industries — starting with the $24B oilfield equipment market.

Read on to learn more about the company, our investment, and how this technology will improve the overall asset management within the oil & gas and rental equipment industries.

The Opportunity: A $24B Market Ripe for Change

The heavy equipment and energy sector remains one of the last frontiers for digital transformation. Despite managing billions of dollars in assets spread across remote and often harsh environments, most companies in this space continue to operate with outdated, inefficient tools. Critical functions such as asset tracking, field technician scheduling, job costing, compliance documentation, and client invoicing are still managed through spreadsheets, legacy ERPs, and disconnected systems that do not communicate with each other.

Moreover, invoicing delays caused by slow back-office workflows impact cash flow, while inaccurate billing — stemming from missing time logs, unrecorded equipment usage, or mismatched job orders — can lead to disputes, rework, and strained vendor-client relationships. These inefficiencies not only increase operational costs but also hinder scalability and growth. From an operator’s perspective, these challenges translate directly into lost production time and reduced asset utilization, which can significantly impact profitability and operational safety. Operators face mounting pressure to meet strict environmental and safety regulations while maximizing output, making real-time, accurate data and seamless coordination between field and office critical.

Equipt.ai is transforming the industry with their platform that effectively replaces these piecemeal solutions with a single, customizable, and user-friendly SaaS product. With functionality spanning asset tracking, automated invoicing, inventory management, subcontracting, and more — Equipt.ai is becoming the de facto operating system for mid-market rental and field service providers.

Operators benefit from Equipt.ai’s predictive insights and real-time visibility, enabling faster decisions, better field-office collaboration, and optimized fleet deployment — reducing unplanned downtime, improving compliance, and directly boosting uptime and profitability.

Equipt.ai’s ALFISM (Asset Lifecycle, Field-Integrated Service Management) platform, is powered by E-Genie, the AI Agent.

Equipt.ai connects every stage of the asset lifecycle — from planning to billing — and enables instant cross-functional collaboration, using IoT integration and embedded intelligence to optimize operations.

Equipt.ai streamlines operations by integrating key business functions into a unified platform. From planning and forecasting, to purchasing, field operator utilization, job execution, vendor management, and payables, every step is interconnected through IoT and AI-powered insights. This holistic approach eliminates silos, reduces manual work, and provides real-time visibility — enabling organizations to operate more efficiently, control costs, and maximize asset performance.

All-in-one Platform for Equipment and Services Heavy Industries

Equipt.ai’s software stands out in the field asset management space due to several distinctive features and strategic advantages tailored specifically for large equipment and technician-intensive industries like energy services. Five distinctive features truly make Equipt.ai unique:

1. Deep Focus on Asset Performance and Maintenance:

a. Unlike traditional systems that focus solely on tracking, Equipt.ai collects historical performance and maintenance data to predict future asset failures and prevent costly downtime.

b. These predictive and scheduled maintenance features are crucial in energy operations where downtime can significantly impact revenue and operator performance.

c. For operators, this means fewer unexpected shutdowns and the ability to schedule maintenance during planned downtime, improving operational continuity and safety. Operators can maximize utilization and reduce unnecessary rentals, purchases and idle time. This leads to better capital deployment, lower footprint and ultimately improved cashflow.

2. Interactive Field Execution for Real-Time Oversight:

Equipt.ai’s front-end dashboard gives operators real-time visibility into asset status, location, usage, and alerts — enabling quick identification of issues, faster response, and improved safety, efficiency, and resource allocation.

3. Modular and Field-Validated Design:

a. Gradual module deployment at companies has allowed tailored, on-the-ground validation. Key modules include:

• Asset Tracking (even without RFID)
• Inventory Management (POs, average cost, financial dimensions)
• Inter-Billing (converts tickets to invoices)
• Purchasing Management (ties into accounting structures)

4. Reporting That’s Fast, Customizable, and Streamlined:

a. Customers noted that custom report generation is easy and fast, which contrasts with cumbersome systems like Quickbase or Jobvoce ECI.

b. Reporting and data extraction have become much faster and more accurate, improving decision-making timelines for both operators and service teams.

c. Operators gain enhanced transparency into operational KPIs, enabling them to meet internal targets and external compliance requirements more effectively.

5. E Genie: Your Intelligent Co-Pilot

a. Interacts with you via chat or voice, answering questions based on knowledge from both structured and unstructured documentation.

b. Provides condition-based intelligence and smart suggestions, acting as an embedded, proactive co-pilot and assistant.

c. Raises alarms for exceptions, highlights issues based on real-time IoT transaction data, and ensures nothing critical is missed.

d. Executes actions in the system through simple voice or text commands — just say, “Hey Genie, can you create a rental or work order for me?” and it handles the rest.

e. Assists with writing, collaboration, and document analysis, streamlining workflows and boosting productivity. All data is securely stored on the platform, ensuring compliance and accessibility.

f. Equipt.ai delivers enterprise-level functionality without the long delivery cycles and high implementation costs typically associated with traditional ERPs and large-scale systems — making it especially valuable for mid-sized energy services companies. With intelligent asset optimization, flexible integrations, and a collaborative approach to customer success, Equipt.ai stands out as a powerful and differentiated solution in the field service and equipment management space.

Why Cortado Invested

1. Strong Early Traction — Equipt.ai has demonstrated long-term contracts and revenue growth. The team’s ability to reach cash-flow positive operations with minimal capital gave us strong conviction in the capital efficiency of the business and the demand for their product.
2. Founders with Deep Industry Roots — The Equipt.ai founding team — Aman Kaur, Indrajit Datta and Amarpal Nanda — brings decades of experience in field service, asset management, and oil & gas operations. All three previously worked at TechnipFMC, where they lived the operational pain points they’re now solving.
3. A Capital-Efficient, Scalable Model –

• Subscription-based revenue model
• Modular pricing that grows with customers’ needs

Many users start with core modules — like asset tracking, repair & maintenance and field service management — and expand into accounting, purchasing, inventory management and ERP integration. This land-and-expand model increases customer lifetime value and defensibility over time.

Looking Ahead

At Cortado, we invest in companies building the future of legacy industries from the inside out. Equipt.ai’s founders are insiders turned innovators. Their product is already helping companies reduce downtime, eliminate inefficiencies, and make better decisions — all while replacing legacy software and manual workflows. We’re proud to back Equipt.ai and look forward to helping them scale into new industries and new geographies.

About Cortado Ventures

Cortado Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in ambitious, growth-driven companies, backing a new generation of economic prosperity for the Midcontinent region, defined as Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico. As one of the largest VC funds in Oklahoma, Cortado’s focus is on tech companies bringing innovative solutions to the energy and logistics, life sciences, and the future of work sectors. For more information, visit cortado.ventures.