KBR (NYSE: KBR) announced a strategic investment in UK-based Applied Computing and secured a board position in the company. The investment represents KBR's first strategic investment in an AI company.

The companies entered into a multi-year joint development agreement to create AI products for the energy sector. They plan to integrate Applied Computing's Orbital foundational model with KBR's process technologies and domain expertise to develop technologies across energy operations, capital projects, and next-generation technology development.

"This investment strengthens KBR's position at the forefront of applied AI and enables us to scale innovations across our full range of licensed technologies," said Greg Conlon, KBR's Chief Digital and Development Officer.

Applied Computing's Orbital is described as the first foundation model built specifically for energy operations, combining physics-based intelligence with chemical engineering, time-series forecasting and language models. The model provides optimization for refineries, petrochemical facilities, LNG, wind and hydro operations.

"KBR is a natural fit for that mission. Their decades of data, industry domain knowledge and global reach mean we can now accelerate deployment of Orbital across the sector," said Callum Adamson, Applied Computing's CEO.

KBR employs approximately 36,000 people worldwide with customers in more than 85 countries. Applied Computing, founded in London by Adamson and Dr. Samyakh Tukra, recently completed what the company called one of the largest seed funding rounds for a UK AI company.

The investment aligns with KBR's strategy to transform its offerings through technology and deliver AI solutions focused on operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability across energy, chemical, and industrial sectors.