Founded in 2010, EIT InnoEnergy is the leading innovation engine in Sustainable Energy. With offices in Europe and US, the firm seeks to make equity minority investments in early-stage companies and through added value services make the business case bigger, sooner and safer (de-risking). Investment scope: climate tech and energy sectors.

EIT InnoEnergy

We are looking for big thinkers, who want to turn innovations into commercial success by solving complex problems. We are a VC firm specialized in investing in game-changing hardware innovations.  FORWARD.one is an accomplished team of financial experts, engineers, startup entrepreneurs and scientists.  We understand what it’s like to build a successful startup because we have done it ourselves.

FORWARD.one

Korys is the name chosen by the Colruyt family for their investment structure. The name Korys is derived from the Latin word for hazelnut tree – Corylus - which is at the origin of the Colruyt name. Their multi-disciplinary approach enables us to create a well-balanced, diversified portfolio of listed stocks and bonds, private equity funds, and direct participations in small and medium-sized companies.  Through their investments, they aim to make a positive impact on people and the planet, while generating attractive returns. A “three P” approach (People, Planet, Profit) forms the cornerstone of their investment strategy. They invest for the long term, as they realize that it takes time to achieve the sustainable impact they are aiming for.  They focus their investments in sectors in which they have built substantial expertise as a team: Cleantech, consumer goods & retail and life sciences.

Korys

Since 2007 Amsterdam-based SET Ventures has invested in digital technology for a carbon-free energy system by backing pioneering founders with capital, community, and insights. SET Ventures invests in companies with sustainable solutions and a strong digital DNA leading the systemic change of how energy is generated, distributed, stored, and consumed in sectors such as distributed infrastructure, energy retail, buildings, mobility, and industry as well as enabling technologies.

SET Ventures

Blume Equity is a climate-tech growth equity firm investing in companies driving sustainable outcomes for planet and people. We back outstanding founders and teams who share our conviction that value creation and purpose go hand-in-hand.    We provide both financial and human capital to support pioneering companies that are solving the climate emergency scale profitably, with positive impact.

Blume Equity

Sensorfact

Sensorfact offers smart energy savings in the manufacturing industry. The company is a smart advisor for the industry who translates sustainability to day-to-day language and specific actions. No complex sensor technology, no complex software and no complex business models. We make sustainability understandable and transparant.

Sensorfact is a climate-tech IoT company that provides smart monitoring solutions for industrial manufacturers. Founded in 2016, the company offers an all-in-one, self-install, and cost-effective system that enables its customers to significantly improve resource efficiency and machine uptime. Sensorfact's solution involves wirelessly monitoring electricity, gas, water, compressed air usage, and predictive maintenance through its IoT hardware and software platform. The company utilizes smart algorithms and productivity tools to translate the collected data into actionable insights for optimizing operations, reducing waste, and achieving sustainability goals. As of January 2022, Sensorfact had over 600 customers across 25 European countries and helped them save around 100 GWh of energy, equivalent to the annual consumption of 30,000 households. By October 2022, the number of customers grew to over 1,600 across 40 countries. In July 2023, Sensorfact raised EUR 25 million in funding led by Blume Equity to expand into new markets and enhance its product offerings.

Sensorfact: smart monitoring for industry

Dutch climate-tech IoT scale-up Sensorfact raises €25 million

Sensorfact: First aid for managing SMEs’ electricity consumption

Utrecht-based climate tech Sensorfact raises €25 million to smart monitor resources for industrial SMEs

Utrecht-based Sensorfact lands €13 million to make industry more sustainable

Sensorfact Raises €25M in Funding

based Sensorfact raises €13M to help industrial SMEs reduce their energy consumption

based Sensorfact raises €25M to optimise resource efficiency for industries

Technologies that automate and optimize building operations using data-driven insights.

Smart Building Technology

Netherlands-based company Sensorfact specializes in providing smart monitoring solutions for the industrial sector, focusing on improving energy efficiency and operational performance through its IoT technology. Its range of products include sensors for monitoring electricity, gas, water, compressed air usage, and predictive maintenance solutions.&nbsp;

Using data and automation to achieve 24/7 production.

Smart Factory

Sensorfact helps industrial companies manage their energy and water usage. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to raise $28 million.

Sensorfact is a climate-tech IoT company that provides smart monitoring solutions for industrial manufacturers. Founded in 2016, the company offers an all-in-one, self-install, and cost-effective system that enables its customers to significantly improve resource efficiency and machine uptime. Sensorfact's solution involves wirelessly monitoring electricity, gas, water, compressed air usage, and predictive maintenance through its IoT hardware and software platform. The company utilizes smart algorithms and productivity tools to translate the collected data into actionable insights for optimizing operations, reducing waste, and achieving sustainability goals. As of January 2022, Sensorfact had over 600 customers across 25 European countries and helped them save around 100 GWh of energy, equivalent to the annual consumption of 30,000 households. By October 2022, the number of customers grew to over 1,600 across 40 countries. In July 2023, Sensorfact raised EUR 25 million in funding led by Blume Equity to expand into new markets and enhance its product offerings.

Verkada is a leading provider of a cloud-based physical security platform designed to protect people and assets. The company offers an integrated suite of solutions comprising video security cameras, door-based access control, environmental sensors, alarms, visitor management, and mailroom management. Verkada's hybrid cloud architecture leverages edge-based processing and cloud computing capabilities to deliver real-time insights and seamless remote access.
Verkada's innovative camera lineup includes a wide range of models suitable for indoor and outdoor deployments, with resolutions ranging from 2MP to 4K and onboard storage capacity of up to 365 days. The cameras feature powerful analytics like people and vehicle detection, enabling users to search and filter footage based on various attributes.
Verkada's Command platform serves as a centralized, user-friendly interface for managing and monitoring all devices across multiple locations. It offers advanced features such as face search, cross-camera tracking, and proactive alerts, empowering organizations to streamline investigations and enhance overall security posture.
As of June 2024, Verkada's platform is trusted by over 24,000 organizations worldwide, including several Fortune 500 companies. The company has continually expanded its product offerings and capabilities, introducing solutions like a multisensor camera, advanced air quality sensors, and a 16-door access controller in November 2022 to meet evolving customer needs.

Verkada

Cloudastructure is a cloud-based video surveillance provider that offers an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) powered platform. The platform utilizes proprietary technology to enable real-time monitoring, detection, and analysis of video footage. It offers features such as facial recognition, age and gender prediction, vehicle detection and color recognition, license plate recognition, object counting, and firearm detection. Cloudastructure's solution operates on a scalable cloud architecture, eliminating the need for on-premises hardware and associated costs.
The platform provides advanced search capabilities, customizable alerts and notifications, and integrates with various security systems. In January 2022, Cloudastructure acquired Visionful, a smart parking technology solution, to enhance its offerings with parking management and analytics capabilities. The company also announced plans to acquire Infrastructure Proving Grounds (IPG), an IoT cybersecurity monitoring service, to strengthen its cybersecurity offerings.
As of January 2022, Cloudastructure reported an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of over USD 1.3 million, representing a 1400% growth from the previous year. The company's sales pipeline grew from USD 60,000 in January 2021 to USD 10.5 million by January 2022, reflecting significant market traction.
In March 2023, Cloudastructure integrated remote guarding capabilities into its platform, enabling real-time intervention and deterrence of suspicious activities through virtual patrols, voice-down alerts, and escalation to law enforcement when necessary. The remote guarding feature has become a key differentiator, included in over 75% of the company's proposals as of August 2023.

Cloudastructure

Faceter is a computer vision surveillance technology that leverages a decentralized fog network of miners to provide smart security solutions for households and businesses worldwide. Their facial recognition technology, which has been independently tested and proven to have a 99.78% accuracy rate, enables users to set up their own CCTV systems using old smartphones or IP cameras. By activating facial recognition on these devices, Faceter allows users to detect potential threats and monitor their premises effectively.
The Faceter platform operates on a token economy, where users can contribute their GPU power to the decentralized network and earn FACE tokens in return. These tokens can then be used to pay for the computing power required to run the facial recognition and surveillance capabilities. Faceter's technology offers a range of features, including facial recognition, age detection, and person re-identification across multiple cameras.
In addition to its smart security solutions, Faceter provides easy integration with existing CCTV systems and apps, allowing users to enhance their surveillance capabilities seamlessly. The platform also offers a cloud-based storage solution for video data, ensuring secure and reliable access to recorded footage.
In February 2022, Faceter introduced a mobile video surveillance service that eliminates the need for additional equipment like servers. This service utilizes a cloud-based platform for storing and analyzing video data, providing a cost-effective and secure alternative to traditional surveillance systems.

Faceter

Blink Identity is a company that provides a privacy-focused facial recognition technology for access control and identification purposes. Their system utilizes proprietary biometric facial recognition software combined with specialized hardware to accurately identify individuals at full walking speed, even in varying lighting conditions. The technology does not store photographs; instead, it converts facial images into unique encrypted templates for comparison against enrolled templates securely stored in an encrypted database.
Blink Identity offers a "VIP Lane" service at venues, allowing streamlined entry for guests who have enrolled by providing their name, email address, and a forward-facing photograph taken with their cellphone camera. This photograph is converted into a template and associated with the user's ticket or event details. At the venue, high-speed machine vision cameras capture images of attendees, convert them into templates, and match them against the enrolled templates, facilitating expedited access while preventing fraud.
The company prioritizes data security and privacy, adhering to strict policies and procedures. In April 2022, Blink Identity successfully completed the Service Organization Control (SOC) two Type one audit, demonstrating its commitment to maintaining robust security controls for data processing and handling.

Blink identity

Augury is a leading provider of AI-based machine health solutions that enable manufacturers to predict and prevent industrial machine failures, thereby improving machine performance. The company's technology combines the internet of Things (IoT), AI, and human expertise to monitor machines continuously, diagnose issues, prescribe corrective actions, and guide users in implementing those actions.
Augury offers two primary solutions: Machine Health for Critical Equipment (MH CR) and Machine Health for Supporting Equipment (MH SE). MH CR provides precise fault diagnostics, root cause analysis, and detailed instructions to avert machine failures and optimize performance, backed by Augury's reliability engineers. MH SE enables users to quickly determine the severity of potential issues and perform proactive maintenance.
The process involves installing wireless sensors on machines to capture data, which is then transmitted to Augury's secure cloud for analysis by advanced AI algorithms. Diagnostic reports are sent to users, providing insights, recommended actions, and user guides. As of October 2022, Augury had diagnosed over 100,000 machines with 99.9% accurate diagnosis, helping global customers achieve 3-10x return on investment within months.
In December 2019, Augury received an USD 8 million investment from Qualcomm Ventures' AI Fund, recognizing its leadership in the Industrial internet of Things (IIoT). The investment aimed to accelerate the transformation of the industrial sector by leveraging 5G technologies for improved machine health solutions.

Augury

Platforms that automate building management. They gather and analyze data from multiple components, including hardware and sensors, and use a combination of technologies such as IoT, cloud computing, and machine learning for data-driven, proactive, and real-time building intelligence and controls.

Solutions that automatically adjust energy consumption using optimization algorithms, taking into account factors such as energy demand, weather, occupant comfort, and utility prices. These systems aim to reduce energy consumption, cost, and emissions without compromising occupant experience.

Smart lighting solutions include providers of hardware (e.g., smart light bulbs, smart windows, and shades) and lighting-as-a-service.

Smart HVAC solutions include sensors that integrate with building automation systems and specialized HVAC equipment that uses data gathered by sensors to manage temperature, humidity, and air flow. They aim to enhance occupant experience through improved comfort and indoor air quality whilst optimizing energy consumption and utility costs.

Providers of smart water management solutions including irrigation, leak detection, water health monitoring, and water usage analysis.

Developers of smart security solutions including security cameras, sensors, alarms, and access control combined with cloud-based software, and providers of video surveillance-as-a-service and access control-as-a-service.

Occupant experience platforms connect building owners, operators, and occupants to share information and feedback on comfort, maintenance, and safety. Rating systems allow building operators to measure, manage, and disclose key indicators such as ESG performance, digital connectivity and health and safety, assess their exposure to climate risk, and avail themselves of sustainable finance opportunities.

Providers of smart elevators and escalators as well as people-sensing platforms.

Technologies that monitor restroom usage, supplies, traffic, and maintenance.

Companies that use GenAI as a core part of their smart building product offering

Smart building technology companies use GenAI to optimize energy usage, enhance occupant comfort, and streamline building management processes

Smart buildings are a component of smart cities

Companies aim to provide sustainable solutions for energy and water usage

Smart building tech includes reducing energy and water consumption through recycling

Internet-enabled monitors and sensors optimize energy and water use and manage occupancy and security

Smart building tech products can monitor energy consumption and occupancy and adjust usage accordingly

Certain functions, such as HVAC, can be personalized

Netherlands-based company Sensorfact specializes in providing smart monitoring solutions for the industrial sector, focusing on improving energy efficiency and operational performance through its IoT technology. Its range of products include sensors for monitoring electricity, gas, water, compressed air usage, and predictive maintenance solutions.&nbsp;Sensorfact deploys IoT sensors and devices in manufacturing facilities to collect real-time data on energy usage and related parameters. This data is then processed and analyzed by its software platform to provide insights into energy consumption patterns, identify areas of energy wastage, and suggest potential optimizations.&nbsp;By using SensorFact's solutions, industrial companies could gain visibility into their energy usage, make data-driven decisions to reduce energy costs, and enhance their sustainability efforts.&nbsp;Notably, as of July 2023, Sensorfact had identified 112+ GWh of energy savings. Also, energy consultants at Sensorfact provide customized advice appropriate to a company’s plant’s situation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Key customers and partnerships&nbsp;&nbsp;As of August 2024, Sensorfact has served more than 1,300 customers including companies such as Mitsubishi Motors, Dunlop, Biohealth, and Schoeller Allibert.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Avathon (formerly SparkCognition) offers a suite of AI-powered data analytics solutions for businesses, specializing in the industrial sector. The company’s offerings include: 1) Industrial AI Suite, which enables users to connect datasets with configurable AI models, identify and contextualize risks to equipment, analyze maintenance actions, monitor performance, and visualize multi-asset systems, without requiring coding experience, and 2) Visual AI Advisor, which leverages computer vision to analyze real-time data from existing camera infrastructure for a number of different use cases, such as safety monitoring, visual inspection, and machine monitoring.&nbsp;In May 2023, the company launched the Generative AI Suite, a solution specifically tailored for the industrial sector, which enables users to build and deploy custom large language models (LLMs) on either private or on-premise cloud environments. Users also autonomously augment data sets by generating text, images, audio, and other signals and create imagery for use in simulated real-world environments. It claims to&nbsp;reduce the foundational information needed for decision-making by up to 20x.Since 2021, the company has acquired a number of companies to further develop its product offering. This includes Indian visual AI startup&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9370?industryIds=6">Integration Wizards</a> (March 2022) to expand its intellectual property (IP) portfolio to improve vision capabilities as well as digital knowledge platform Maana (July 2021), software developer for the renewable energy industry Ensemble Energy (May 2021), and financial technology company AIM2 (February 2021).&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/34997">In October 2024,&nbsp;</a>Avathon unveiled a new system-level AI platform that provides solutions for managing and monitoring critical industrial infrastructure. The AI platform addresses various industrial issues, including maximizing the uptime of capital-intensive assets, enabling efficient manufacturing ramp-up, and ensuring worker safety in industrial settings.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsSparkCognition’s clientele comprises large companies such as Boeing, Hitachi, and British Petroleum. It has also built partnerships with Google for cloud platform services, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise to offer AI predictive maintenance on HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems, and OSIsoft to integrate SparkCognition’s machine learning technology with OSIsoft’s PI system to improve data and process data analytics.&nbsp;

Avathon

Sight Machine offers a manufacturing data platform that captures and contextualizes data from factories to deliver a system-wide view of the manufacturing process as well as individual assets. The platform transforms raw plant data as well as data from machines of various manufacturers into a standardized data foundation and provides actionable insights for a range of use cases such as predictive maintenance, quality improvement, and capacity utilization. Users can analyze all assets, data sources, and processes by creating digital twins, thereby improving processes, quality, and productivity.&nbsp;In October 2022, Sight Machine introduced <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13696?industryIds=6">Blueprint</a>, a tool developed in collaboration with NVIDIA and Microsoft, which uses AI for high-speed, automated data labeling. The company claims that this solution enables manufacturers to analyze up to 100x more of their data than traditional methods.&nbsp; Key customers and partnershipsSight Machine caters to at least 15 verticals, such as food and beverage, electronics, and automotive. Its global clientele includes Fortune 500 companies such as Nissan, Heineken, Westrock Co., and Asian Paints.&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21955">In September 2023</a>, Sight Machine partnered with LS Electric, a power and automation solutions provider, to create an AI-driven Big Data analytics platform tailored for the manufacturing and energy sectors. In December 2023, the company went on to partner with Teamviewer, a remote collaboration solutions provider, to offer a joint product that combines the latter’s remote connectivity and industrial AR solutions with its real-time data and analysis for industrial processes.&nbsp;Sight Machine has established partnerships with large global companies such as Microsoft, Google, Databricks, Siemens, and AWS to integrate with their data analytics platforms and Fujitsu to help with wide deployments. In July 2023, the platform also became a certified Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing partner and released Factory CoPilot, integrating its Manufacturing Data Platform with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to offer GenAI capabilities for manufacturing analysis and real-time insights. The company went on to launch the<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33441"> Sight Machine connector for Databricks</a> (in September 2024), to integrate its manufacturing data platform with the latter’s data intelligence platform.

Sight Machine

Overview offers smart cameras and AI to enable users to monitor manufacturing equipment and robots and identify defects in real time before significant damage or downtime is incurred. The technology has a repository of machine data so that there is a traceable visual record of all units.&nbsp;With AI, the cause of production issues and quality concerns can be identified either on-site or remotely. The company claims over time, the deep learning computer vision algorithms allow for any sudden substantial increases in production and improved yields. Moreover, it reportedly offers 100% visual traceability and an over 99.9% uptime.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAs of September 2024, the solution was used by a number of enterprises, including Schaeffler, ThermoFischer, Honda, Caterpillar, and Tyson.&nbsp;

Overview

Bright Machines combines robotics, machine learning, and computer vision to provide automation applications for the electronics manufacturing industry. Its flagship product is the “Bright Machines Microfactory,” a pre-integrated, programmable assembly line that can be deployed in existing and new production facilities. The Microfactory runs on the company's proprietary “Brightware” cloud-based software platform, offering a scalable solution that enables manufacturers to enhance supply chain resilience and adapt production capacity according to market demand. This software-defined manufacturing allows factories to change the products that they manufacture if needed. The company offers its service on a subscription-based microfactory-as-a-service (MaaS) business model.The company reportedly generated USD 83 million in revenue in 2021. In May 2021, Bright Machines reported that its revenue doubled each year since its inception (2018) and forecasts a 5-year CAGR (2020-2025) of over 84%.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsBright Machines served over 40 manufacturing companies as of October 2022.The company collaborated with Microsoft Azure in May 2024 to leverage the latter’s infrastructure to deliver a full-stack environment for all stages of the manufacturing lifecycle.The company also has distribution/sales partnerships with Anstar Corporation (April 2021), SMT Capital (April 2021), MaRC Technologies (May 2021), PAC Global (May 2021), Restronics (June 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/3618">BROCK Electronics</a> (June 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4740">Murray Percival</a> (July 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4412">Competitive Edge Manufacturing Equipment</a> (CEME; July 2021).Key competitors: None comparable (Bright Machines is the only company in the smart factory industry that offers microfactories-as-a-service, which combines intelligent software with adaptive hardware to automate manufacturing processes.)

Bright Machines

Augury offers AI-based predictive maintenance solutions. It uses wireless halo sensors to record the vibration, temperature, and magnetism of machines and upload them to the cloud, where AI will be used to diagnose faults and predict potential malfunctions. The system can predict failures and provide early, actionable insights on equipment status, allowing companies to plan maintenance more effectively. Augury offers Machine Health solutions for Critical Assets (MH CR) and Supporting Equipment (MH SE).&nbsp;Furthermore, it offers a warranty policy (one-of-a-kind in the predictive maintenance field) for up to USD 100,000 of repairs and replacements if the software fails to successfully predict machine faults. The company reported that its machine health (predictive maintenance) solutions can deliver an ROI of 3x–10x. In December 2023, the company launched a product loss guarantee solution, in partnership with HSB, which covers a broader range of production-related assets, including protection against production loss due to mechanical failures.&nbsp;In May 2022, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10286">Augury acquired Seebo,</a> another Israeli company that offers predictive quality and yield solutions for manufacturers to identify process-driven inefficiencies.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAugury has built a customer base consisting of companies such as Hershey’s, Colgate-Palmolive, Grundfos, Heineken, Danone, and Bausch Health. The company announced an insurance plan for its customers in 2020, partly as a strategy to attract more customers. Augury’s Machine Health Solutions are integrated with PTC’s ThingWorx IoT through a partnership in July 2020 and are available in the PTC Marketplace. In October 2021, it partnered with Baker Hughes, a provider of energy technology solutions, which integrated Augury’s solutions into its System 1 software and asset performance management (APM) solutions. It went on to integrate Baker Hughes’ “Ranger Pro” wireless condition monitoring sensor and “Cordant” gateway into its platform in June 2024.&nbsp;In November 2023, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23991">Augury partnered with IFS Ultimo</a>, a provider of cloud-based enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions, to offer machine health monitoring and asset management workflows for industries. It went on to partner with DSV, a logistics solutions provider, in March 2024, to introduce a new Parts As a Service (PaaS) solution. The solution utilizes machine health to predict machine faults and enables users to automate the procurement of replacement parts.

Companies that provide robotic fleet management software, robotic automation software, and inspection software.

Companies that provide an industrial IoT platform across factories as the primary offering.

Companies that provide cobots, sorting/ picking robotics, modular production robotics, and microfactories.

Companies that focus on data analytics for operations streamlining and process optimization, and may offer predictive maintenance.

Companies that provide autonomous mobile robots (AMR) or self-driving vehicles (SDV) used in manufacturing/ factory operations.

Companies that monitor the manufacturing equipment and assembly lines.

Companies that provide predictive maintenance as a primary offering. 

Creates digital twins of assets and processes to help manufacturers improve processes, quality, and productivity

Connected devices, sensors, IoT, and analytics are used to optimize factory operations

Uses advanced robotics, AMRs, and related software to improve the efficiency of factory operations

Uses connected devices and sensors to gather data—IIoT, predictive analysis, and equipment inspection

Uses AI/ML to analyze data for predictive maintenance and AI-based vision systems for line inspections

5G standard allows for faster reaction times and supports high connection densities

Uses edge computing for data processing at the edge

Some companies in the predictive maintenance space uses generative AI to generate possible alternative scenarios

Sensorfact

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