Caterpillar buys Skycatch to boost AI mine technology

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) has acquired mining technology company Skycatch to strengthen its digital mining platform with AI-powered spatial data and near-real-time digital twin capabilities.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition follows Caterpillar’s recent purchase of RPMGlobal and expands the company’s portfolio of mining technology aimed at helping customers optimize material movement, improve operational performance and support both staffed and autonomous fleets.

Skycatch’s platform captures high-resolution spatial data and processes it with artificial intelligence to give mine operators a more accurate, up-to-date view of site conditions, allowing faster and more precise operational decisions.

“Acquiring Skycatch aligns with our strategy to solve our customers’ toughest challenges,” Denise Johnson, group president of Caterpillar Resource Industries, said. “By integrating near-real-time, high-resolution spatial data into both RPM and MineStar solutions, we can help customers improve mine site performance by enhancing safety, productivity and predictability across their operations using both staffed and autonomous fleets.”

Integrating Skycatch’s technology with RPM and MineStar is expected to give customers more accurate operational data, improving planning, execution and confidence in day-to-day mine management.

Richard Mathews, CEO of RPMGlobal, said Skycatch’s technology allows miners to process large volumes of spatial data much faster, enabling operations to adjust plans in near real time and improve alignment between mine planning and execution.

“We’re incredibly proud of what Skycatch has built over the past decade and excited for this next chapter with Caterpillar,” Skycatch founder and CEO Christian Sanz said. “This next step strengthens our ability to support our customers while increasing the value we can deliver.”