Emerson's Expanded AI Portfolio Paves the Way for More Optimized Autonomous Operations

Rhea-AI Summary

Emerson (NYSE: EMR) has expanded its industrial AI portfolio to enhance autonomous operations in manufacturing. The company's AI solutions, bolstered by the Aspen Technology acquisition, focus on secure, reliable local models with embedded knowledge, unlike public generative AI. Key offerings include:

• AspenTech Optiplant® AI Equipment Layout for plant design optimization
• DeltaV™ Revamp for legacy control system modernization
• Strategic Planning for Sustainability Pathways™ for decarbonization strategies
• Aspen Virtual Advisor (AVA) for operational guidance

Emerson also announced Project Beyond, a software-defined, OT-ready digital platform for deploying AI applications across embedded, edge, and cloud environments. The company's approach combines industrial AI with contextualized data to ensure reliable, safe results for mission-critical operations.

Insights

Industrial Automation Specialist

Emerson's expanded industrial AI portfolio offers trusted, physics-based models for mission-critical operations, differentiating from unreliable public GenAI solutions.

Emerson's announcement represents a significant strategic positioning in the industrial AI market. The company is differentiating itself by focusing on fit-for-purpose AI solutions specifically designed for industrial applications—a critical distinction from public generative AI platforms that may generate unreliable or unsafe results in mission-critical environments.

What sets Emerson's approach apart is their integration of physics and engineering-based models with AI capabilities. This combination helps eliminate the possibility of generating impossible or unsafe results that plague generic AI solutions. The company is leveraging its decades of domain expertise and first principles constraints to deliver more interpretable and trustworthy results—crucial for industrial settings where safety and reliability cannot be compromised.

The newly announced portfolio includes several noteworthy applications: AspenTech Optiplant AI for equipment layout optimization, DeltaV Revamp for accelerating legacy control system modernization, Strategic Planning for Sustainability Pathways for decarbonization strategy development, and Aspen Virtual Advisor (AVA) which provides operational guidance across planning, scheduling, and automation tasks.

Most significantly, Emerson announced Project Beyond—described as "the industry's first software-defined, OT-ready digital platform" that will deploy and manage their AI applications across embedded, edge, and cloud environments. This platform appears to be the foundation for Emerson's broader vision of "Boundless Automation" and represents a fundamental shift in how industrial automation technology stacks are architected and deployed.

The strategic importance of this announcement is heightened by Emerson's recent acquisition of Aspen Technology, which has clearly bolstered their AI capabilities and positioned them to compete more effectively in the industrial automation software space where AI adoption is accelerating.

Fit-for-purpose industrial AI offerings increase accessibility and confidence to help manufacturers drive more efficiency and performance from automation investments

SAN ANTONIO, May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Emerson (NYSE: EMR), an industrial technology leader delivering advanced automation solutions, is empowering manufacturers across every industry to drive toward optimized autonomous operations with the most advanced industrial artificial intelligence (AI) and data solutions for online, mission-critical applications. Emerson's extensive AI portfolio – supported by its recent acquisition of the Aspen Technology business and built on decades of domain expertise – will help organizations implement AI solutions that deliver consistent, sustainable value.  

AI tools have reached an inflection point as open AI frameworks and foundational models trained on vast amounts of data have become more robust and accessible. However, while today's companies see industrial AI as an essential tool to help automate workflows, eliminate complexity and increase agility, the unsecure and unreliable nature of public generative AI (GenAI) technologies is not suitable for high-availability, mission-critical industrial manufacturing.

Emerson tackles this challenge with an AI portfolio featuring local models with embedded knowledge and guidance grounded in first principles. These physics- and engineering-based models eliminate the potential for tools to generate the impossible, unrealistic and unsafe results that plague AI technologies that are not fit-for-purpose. Leveraging local, customizable, industry-specific models provides more interpretable, trustworthy results and eliminates the need to expose sensitive data to public cloud architectures.

"Generic large language models are necessary for AI, but they are insufficient for a live, mission-critical industrial plant that cannot afford unreliable or unsafe results," said Ram Krishnan, chief operating officer at Emerson. "Emerson's solutions leverage industrial AI, built on decades of industry expertise and first principles constraints, to deliver correct, actionable guidance users can count on to make better operational and business decisions that will safely and rapidly drive competitive advantage."

Emerson's AI tools provide users with powerful automated engineering workflows. Emerson's AspenTech Optiplant® AI Equipment Layout leverages GenAI to quickly and easily provide multiple viable design options for greenfield and brownfield plants. Users provide their requirements to AI that rapidly presents multiple options to fulfill them, enabling engineers to more efficiently select layouts that are not only suitable for performance but also meet additional non-functional requirements such as buffer zones, safety and proximity, and more.

DeltaV™ Revamp uses AI to accelerate a low-risk transition of legacy control and safety system configuration to a modern DeltaV system, informed by data gathered from thousands of modernization projects across every industry. The AI tools in Emerson's DeltaV Revamp analyze information learned from each control system update to further improve the core database for increased speed, accuracy and agility with each modernization.

AspenTech Strategic Planning for Sustainability Pathways™ leverages GenAI technology to navigate complex options and pathways to help companies more easily develop long-term strategies for decarbonization.

In addition, Aspen Virtual Advisor (AVA), an AI-driven advisor built into Emerson technologies, provides expert operational guidance to users across a wide range of experience levels as they navigate sophisticated tools used for design, planning, scheduling and automation of operations. Today, AVA leverages deep knowledge of Aspen PIMS™ planning software and Aspen DMC3™ adaptive process control software, allowing users to ask natural language questions to identify process bottlenecks or find ways to achieve specific goals.

Other virtual advisors, like those built into Emerson's Ovation™ 4.0 Automation Platform and Guardian™ Digital Platform, provide the tools users need to visually translate and simplify complex issues to easily understand what is happening in their control system.

"Emerson is the only company with the wide range of domain expertise, deep stores of first principles models, vast array of fit-for-purpose technology solutions, and history of industry-shaping innovation necessary to deliver industrial AI tools that modern manufacturers can trust in a mission-critical environment," Krishnan said. "With Emerson's expertise, data and Boundless Automation vision, we are perfectly positioned to advance AI solutions that actually deliver on their promises."

At its Emerson Exchange 2025 conference on May 20 in San Antonio, the company announced Project Beyond, the industry's first software-defined, OT-ready digital platform that will deploy and manage Emerson's suite of new AI applications and models. Project Beyond combines industrial AI with contextualized data across a diverse set of automation environments –embedded, edge and cloud – to unlock unimagined flexibility, safety, sustainability and performance. Driven by increased software-defined capability and hardware-based AI accelerators, Emerson's AI portfolio and Project Beyond enterprise operations platform will deliver the step change necessary to revolutionize the modern industrial automation technology stack.

About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE: EMR) is a global industrial technology leader that provides advanced automation. With an unmatched portfolio of intelligent devices, control systems and industrial software, Emerson delivers solutions that automate and optimize business performance. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Emerson combines innovative technology with proven operational excellence to power the future of automation. For more information, visit Emerson.com.

Additional resources:

• Join the Emerson Exchange 365 Community
• Connect with Emerson via X Facebook LinkedIn YouTube
• Connect with Emerson's Industrial Software Page on LinkedIn

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SOURCE Emerson

FAQ

What new AI products has Emerson (EMR) launched in 2025?

Emerson launched several AI products including AspenTech Optiplant® AI Equipment Layout, DeltaV™ Revamp, Strategic Planning for Sustainability Pathways™, and Aspen Virtual Advisor (AVA). They also announced Project Beyond, an OT-ready digital platform for AI applications.

How does Emerson's AI technology differ from public generative AI?

Emerson's AI uses local models with embedded knowledge and physics-based principles, making it more secure and reliable for industrial applications compared to public generative AI. This approach ensures realistic and safe results for mission-critical manufacturing operations.

What is Project Beyond by Emerson (EMR)?

Project Beyond is Emerson's software-defined, OT-ready digital platform announced at Emerson Exchange 2025. It deploys AI applications across embedded, edge, and cloud environments, combining industrial AI with contextualized data to improve flexibility, safety, and performance.

How does Emerson's AspenTech Optiplant AI benefit manufacturers?

AspenTech Optiplant AI Equipment Layout uses generative AI to quickly provide multiple viable design options for greenfield and brownfield plants, helping engineers efficiently select layouts that meet performance, safety, and proximity requirements.

What is the purpose of Emerson's DeltaV Revamp AI tool?

DeltaV Revamp uses AI to accelerate the transition of legacy control and safety systems to modern DeltaV systems, leveraging data from thousands of modernization projects to improve speed, accuracy, and agility in system updates.