Parisian fund AXA Venture Partners led the financing for the Toronto-based startup, with participation from Deloitte Ventures and other investors. Basetwo held its second close for the all-equity round in November, COO Thamjeeth Abdul Gaffoor said. (The Logic)

Talking point: Manufacturing engineers at clients like Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal and Merck use the startup’s platform to build models of chemical-making systems, which require constant tweaking to ensure product batches are high quality and consistent. Basetwo’s software then makes adjustment recommendations, which plant operators carry out. Gaffoor said the startup’s system improves on existing technology by combining data-driven AI models with the fundamental laws of chemistry and physics. “That helps them simulate the way their manufacturing works in real time,” he said. Basetwo is working on a system that will fully automate the equipment adjustment process.