How Thread is Building the Epic of Utility Infrastructure: Lessons from Their Digital Transformation Journey
Epic transformed healthcare by digitizing medical records. Thread aims to do the same for utility infrastructure. In a recent Category Visionaries episode, founder Josh Riedy shared how they’re building an industry-defining platform.
The Epic Parallel
“If you think about Epic, it really created the electronic medical records industry and digitized healthcare as we know it today,” Josh explains. Thread sees a similar opportunity in utilities: “If you think about that in that term, swap a human out for a large asset, like a power line, or a wind turbine, or solar panel.”
Creating a New Product Category
Thread isn’t just building software—they’re defining a new product category. “If you think about Thread, it is a new product category that’s really a mashup of ERP solutions, asset performance management solutions in particular, like SAP mashed up with robotics,” Josh notes. This unique combination addresses fundamental industry challenges.
Digitizing Critical Infrastructure
The platform enables utilities to maintain comprehensive digital records of their assets. “We are the Thread that spans an entire organization, or an entire utility… across all their assets,” Josh explains. This digital backbone helps utilities manage infrastructure more effectively.
Empowering Frontline Workers
A key focus is making sophisticated technology accessible. “We have streamlined the use of data capture, be it cell phones or predominantly drones, to be something that literally anyone can use,” Josh shares. This accessibility transforms how utilities maintain infrastructure, turning what was previously “a three person crew repelling down turbines that are 80 meters in height” into “a one person job in roughly 20 minutes.”
Aligning with Industry Transformation
Thread’s timing coincides with a major industry shift. “There is a generational opportunity…utilities making the pivot into renewables and making a pivot away from large opex, which was fossil fuels and uranium, to produce power,” Josh explains. This transition creates urgent need for better infrastructure management tools.
The Vision
Thread aims to become the definitive platform for utility infrastructure management. “What epic is to electronic medical records, I do believe Thread will be to the digitization of our nation’s utilities and energy, and perhaps even DoD to follow,” Josh shares.
For B2B founders building industry-defining platforms, Thread’s journey offers valuable lessons:
- Find analogous success stories in other industries
- Create solutions that empower existing workers
- Align with major industry transformations
- Build comprehensive platforms, not point solutions
- Focus on accessibility and ease of use
As utilities worldwide transition to renewables and modernize infrastructure, Thread’s vision of becoming the “Epic of utility infrastructure” shows how startups can reshape traditional industries through digital transformation.