Startup Interos is using AI to help businesses handle supply chain jolts -- just like the coronavirus crisis. Here's the pitch deck it used to raise $17.5 million.

Interos

Interos CEO Jennifer Bisceglie.

• Startup Interos uses AI to help businesses adapt to jolts in their supply chain, such as the one caused by the coronavirus crisis.
• "Most companies are trying to do this on Excel spreadsheets," CEO and founder Jennifer Bisceglie told Business Insider. The Interos platform allows businesses to "visualize all the tiers of the business."
• The Arlington, Virginia, startup just raised $17.5 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins and Venrock.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Supply chain disruptions can be minor delays caused by a production glitch -- or a big jolt due to a global pandemic.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Businesses are increasingly turning to technology to deal with these interruptions. One of those technologies is provided by startup Interos, which uses AI to help businesses respond to any major changes in their supply chains.

The Arlington, Virginia, company just raised $17.5 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins. CEO and founder Jennifer Bisceglie said the coronavirus crisis is highlighting the need for a robust supply chain monitoring system.

"Most companies are trying to do this on Excel spreadsheets," she told Business Insider. The Interos platform allows businesses to "visualize all the tiers of the business," offering a comprehensive view of all forms of disruptions, including financial, operational and geographic concerns.

She said the coronavirus crisis is "very unfortunate from a human experience without a doubt."

"You have people getting sick, so manufacturing comes to a halt," she said. "You have transportation being halted because other countries don't want to take a chance of having the illness come with the people that are on the ships."

Businesses may need to make adjustments to the "ripple effects" of a production delay due to a manufacturing problem. "Then you also have a concern around what's called a bullwhip effect," Bisceglie said.

That refers to major and sudden disruptions such as the one caused by the pandemic.

"Business was great the week before the virus started," she said. "But this jolt was felt, and what do we do about it?"

What many businesses hope for, she said, it to "smooth out their supply chain, so that if something happens in any one part of the world, we're either ready for that jolt, or we've already smoothed that to make sure that we dissipate the impact of the business."

Interos, which was founded in 2005, has raised a total of $26 million. Here's the pitch deck it used: