Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

newsworthy

FusionOps rebrands as Aera Technology after landing $50 million in venture funds

Firm's software combs through ERP and CRM databases and applies artificial intelligence to generate, execute new strategies.

Aera screen shot
Ben Ames
By Ben AmesJun 19, 2017
Ben Ames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
See Full Bio
Aera screen shot


Aera software uses artificial intelligence to identify ways to improve supply chain performance.

Business intelligence software provider FusionOps will rebrand itself as Aera Technology and launch a prescriptive analytics software platform for global supply chains after receiving $50 million in venture capital funding, the company said today.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Aera also named Frederic Laluyaux as president and CEO, replacing company founder Shariq Mansoor, who will now take the role of CTO. Before joining Aera this year, Laluyaux had been CEO of Anaplan Inc., a vendor of cloud-based business planning platforms, and had held a number of executive positions with the German software giant SAP SE, according to the Aera Technology website.

The investment was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a Chevy Chase, Md.-based venture capital firm that had previously funded FusionOps with a $25 million cash injection in 2016. NEA has also funded a variety of logistics tech startups, including ClearMetal Inc., which applies predictive intelligence tools to container shipping firms, and Upskill (formerly APX Labs), a provider of enterprise software for industrial augmented reality (AR) wearables.

Aera Technology also said it has launched a software platform—also called Aera—that is an extension of a product launched in 2016 by FusionOps. The platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify opportunities to improve supply chain performance for customers such as manufacturers and enterprise corporations.

The software monitors a company's existing enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and other systems and then generates automatic forecasts and strategies, Laluyaux wrote in a blog post.

The firm said the software uses data crawling, industry models, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to understand how a user's business works, make real-time recommendations, predict outcomes, and take action autonomously.

"The leap from transactional automation to cognitive automation is imminent, and it will forever transform the way we work," Laluyaux said in a statement. "At Aera, we deliver the technology that enables the self-driving enterprise: a cognitive operating system that connects you with your business and autonomously orchestrates your operations."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Frederic Laluyaux will replace Shariq Mansoor.

ArticleTechnology
sapfusionopsnew enterprise associates (nea)upskillclearmetalaera technology
ArticleTechnology
sapfusionopsnew enterprise associates (nea)upskillclearmetalaera technology

The Latest

courthouse in germany
Air Cargo

Deutsche Bahn claims victory in “air freight cartel” settlement

boxes on a conveyor
Warehousing 3PL

Amazon adds Adidas as its latest e-commerce 3PL customer

truck with combined battery and generator power
Green Logistics

DHL tests electric truck with on-board generator

aerial photo of warehouses
Warehousing

Prologis names company president Letter to become new CEO

More Stories

AI sensors on manufacturing machine

AI firm Augury banks $75 million in fresh VC

The New York-based industrial artificial intelligence (AI) provider Augury has raised $75 million for its process optimization tools for manufacturers, in a deal that values the company at more than $1 billion, the firm said today.

According to Augury, its goal is deliver a new generation of AI solutions that provide the accuracy and reliability manufacturers need to make AI a trusted partner in every phase of the manufacturing process.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Companies double down on resilience as trade complexities rise
Featured

Companies double down on resilience as trade complexities rise

drawing of woman using supply chain software on tablet
Supply Chain IT

Körber Supply Chain Software to rebrand as “Infios”

woman making purchase with smartphone
Regulation/Government

C.H. Robinson says shippers are stressed about tariffs and trade changes

collage of container and port photos
Reverse Logistics

DHL Supply Chain expands offerings in returns, multi-shoring

apptronik humanoid robot moving boxes
Robotic Picking and Loading

Humanoid robot maker Apptronik gets $350 million funding boost

kion linde tugger truck
Lift Trucks, Personnel & Burden Carriers

Kion Group plans layoffs in cost-cutting plan

AMR robots in a warehouse

Indian AMR firm Anscer expands to U.S. with new VC funding

The Indian warehouse robotics provider Anscer has landed new funding and is expanding into the U.S. with a new regional headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Bangalore-based Anscer had recently announced new financial backing from early-stage focused venture capital firm InfoEdge Ventures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Supply chains continue to deal with a growing volume of returns following the holiday peak season, and 2024 was no exception. Recent survey data from product information management technology company Akeneo showed that 65% of shoppers made holiday returns this year, with most reporting that their experience played a large role in their reason for doing so.

The survey—which included information from more than 1,000 U.S. consumers gathered in January—provides insight into the main reasons consumers return products, generational differences in return and online shopping behaviors, and the steadily growing influence that sustainability has on consumers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Automation delivers results for high-end designer

When you get the chance to automate your distribution center, take it.

That's exactly what leaders at interior design house Thibaut Design did when they relocated operations from two New Jersey distribution centers (DCs) into a single facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2019. Moving to an "empty shell of a building," as Thibaut's Michael Fechter describes it, was the perfect time to switch from a manual picking system to an automated one—in this case, one that would be driven by voice-directed technology.

Keep ReadingShow less

In search of the right WMS

IT projects can be daunting, especially when the project involves upgrading a warehouse management system (WMS) to support an expansive network of warehousing and logistics facilities. Global third-party logistics service provider (3PL) CJ Logistics experienced this first-hand recently, embarking on a WMS selection process that would both upgrade performance and enhance security for its U.S. business network.

The company was operating on three different platforms across more than 35 warehouse facilities and wanted to pare that down to help standardize operations, optimize costs, and make it easier to scale the business, according to CIO Sean Moore.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2025.