Image credit: Spotr.ai
Netherlands-based Spotr.ai is a company that utilises image recognition and AI to gather and maintain asset management data. It has announced that it has raised €2.5M in its Seed round of funding.
The company mentions in a statement that this new investment is like “taking a big leap forward in determining the quality and maintenance status of residential and commercial real estate with AI-powered image recognition.”
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The proceeds from this round will help the company to accelerate its growth in the UK market.
Investors in this round
The round saw participation from investors including Volta Ventures, InnovationQuarter, and Concrete Ventures.
Speaking on the development, Concrete Ventures’ General Partner Arnaud van der Wyck says, “We expect this will deliver meaningful value to our partners Starwood, JLL, Nuveen, VINCI, Lockton, and Hammerson and we look forward to actively supporting the Spotr.ai team in bringing value to real estate partners.”
From Octo to Spotr.ai
Spotr.ai (previously Octo) was founded in 2015 by Dirk Huibers (CEO), Tara Campagne (COO) and Marieke Dijksma (CTO). Octo now continues as Spotr.ai and HeadsUpp. Following the growth of Octo’s two products into two different markets, the Octo brand ceased to exist and become Spotr.ai. In the meantime, Octo’s sensor-based facility management platform continues under the name HeadsUpp.
HeadsUpp is a facility management platform powered by sensors detecting occupancy, temperature, and air quality. It aids the tasks of facility managers by providing data through an online dashboard.
Spotr.ai utilises a mixture of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Drone Imaging Technology to give data-driven insights on both an operational and a strategic level. The result is a digital inspection product that aims to make building inspection and maintenance more efficient.
According to the company, its product started out as a tool for inspecting buildings using drones. Now, it uses over nine image sources ranging from humans to satellites to analyse entire building portfolios in minutes.
The company uses image recognition on satellites, airplanes, drones, cars, and images made by inspectors and tenants to take measurements, perform condition surveys, and find upgrade potential in real estate.
According to the company, only 8 per cent of buildings are currently being inspected every year due to budget and time constraints of building owners and facility managers. Dirk Huibers, CEO at Spotr.ai says, it is the company’s ambition to inspect every building in the world every year.
He believes, “In the largest global sector in the world, a small deviation can have a major impact on maintenance costs and valuations. Our smart software can make better, faster, and cheaper budget estimations than humans alone, which makes us a reliable and trustworthy partner.”
Huibers further explains, “It’s about knowing and understanding your portfolio. Think of the dimensions, quantities, and conditions of buildings and their specific components. This information is crucial to make smart decisions when achieving sustainability goals. But it’s also about asking yourself the basic questions. On which buildings can you place external wall insulation? How many floors does a building have? Can you still reach that high floor with a fire truck? Are there trees close to the gutters that could cause water damage? You need accurate data to make the right decisions for your portfolio and wallet. And that data simply doesn’t exist today.”
Currently, Spotr.ai monitors and inspects over 250,000 buildings in the Netherlands and has recently launched in the UK with 10 housing corporations that will start inspecting their real estate portfolios with Spotr’s software solution.
A brief about the investors
Volta Ventures invests in (pre)Seed and early-stage rounds for software & internet companies that originate in the Benelux. Managing Partner Sander Vonk is investing from its second fund and has €100M under management. Besides capital, the fund’s team assists companies in growing from a startup to scaleup; working with founders and management to identify new markets and clients; provide advice and support; and, help raise follow-on fundings.
As for Concrete Ventures, it claims to be a leading European Proptech venture capital fund investing in Seed and Series A software companies. Concrete Ventures supports the portfolio of companies to drive strategic revenue, support talent acquisition, assist with capital syndication and provide strategic product development support.
Another investor in this round is InnovationQuarter. It is the regional development agency for the greater Rotterdam – The Hague area. It invests in innovative, fast-growing local enterprises and helps transnational companies become established in this delta region. InnovationQuarter finances companies in different cycles of their business growth and draws its investments from four funds: IQCapital, UNIIQ, ENERGIIQ, and the Energy Transition Fund.
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