Cyvl.ai Revolutionizes Transportation Infrastructure with Data-Driven Solutions

During the summer following his freshman year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an engineering school in Worcester, Massachusetts, Daniel Pelaez, co-founder and CEO of Cyvl.ai, found himself in need of a job. He returned home and took a position at his local public works department, where he quickly realized there was minimal software available for tracking road repairs. His task involved driving around, identifying problems, and resolving them.

“I was filling in potholes, fixing signs, and cutting down trees. It became evident that there was no data on anything during my time there,” Pelaez reflected. This experience sparked an idea that eventually led to the creation of Cyvl.ai, a company dedicated to helping municipalities and civil engineering firms digitize the monitoring of transportation infrastructure.

Today, the Boston-area startup proudly announced a $6 million investment to further its mission.

“Our primary vision—and the reason we founded the company—is to assist the global community in constructing and maintaining superior transportation infrastructure,” Pelaez stated. Their focus encompasses roads, highways, sidewalks, airports, and rail systems, responding to a pressing need for improvement, particularly in Boston.

Cyvl.ai employs cutting-edge sensors to create digital twins of infrastructure elements, such as roads, identifying weaknesses and predicting upcoming maintenance needs. Using lidar, cameras, and sensors, they enhance these insights with advanced data analytics and a geospatial AI pipeline.

“What we provide to our clients, whether civil engineering firms or government entities, is unmatched data on their transportation systems, empowering them to adopt a more data-driven approach to managing large-scale infrastructure projects,” Pelaez explained.

Recognizing the challenges of selling to government entities, the startup has navigated these complexities by partnering with external civil engineering firms that often conduct road surveys for municipalities.

“We rely on these firms to demonstrate the advantages of our technology to government officials, illustrating how our solutions offer superior data and visuals—often at the same cost or even less than traditional methods,” he noted.

This strategy appears to be effective, with nearly 200 cities and towns adopting their software in just 2.5 years of operation, leading to approximately $2 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). The main challenge has not been competition from similar companies, but rather resistance to transitioning from manual processes to digital solutions.

Cyvl.ai operates from an office in Somerville, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, and currently employs 11 people, with plans to expand to 20 by year-end. As the son of an immigrant from Colombia who worked his way through college, Pelaez is particularly committed to fostering a diverse workforce and valuing hard work.

The recent $6 million investment round was led by Companyon Ventures, with support from Argon Ventures, AeroX Ventures, and Alumni Ventures, alongside contributions from existing investors MassVentures, Launch Capital, and RiverPark Ventures. To date, the company has successfully raised a total of $10 million.