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Story 15 February 2021
Public

Story: EIB backs EIC-funded company Worldsensing with 10€M to support their technology development

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Mariana Marques

The project is supported by the Investment Plan for Europe and is expected to create 50 new highly skilled jobs in the R&D sector.

 

The Spanish start-up Worldsensing raised €10 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to develop its R&D strategy, enhancing the company's innovative endeavours. The announcement was made by the EIB's Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix and Worldsensing's CFO David Deprez at the last edition of Web Summit. The EIB long-term and advantageous financing of Worldsensing will support its innovation efforts to increase its production capabilities, develop a portfolio of new products, and enhance its commercial and distribution network.

 

Thanks to the EU bank support, the Barcelona-based start-up will also progress on the development of Loadsensing, their next-generation industrial monitoring solution. This product aims to monitor, in real-time, the conditions of infrastructures to prevent accidents and preserve historic buildings. Furthermore, Loadsensing's technology can also help ensure safer work environments, namely, in the mining sector.

 

The Spanish scale-up obtained this amount from an EIB's venture debt operation in the programme loan scope called European Growth Finance Facility (EGFF) and supported by the Investment Plan for Europe. Start-ups and scale-ups that work in highly innovative technology areas are eligible for support under the financing instrument represented by the EIB's venture debt product.

 

Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said:

"This agreement between the EIB and Spanish start-up Worldsensing, supported by the Investment Plan for Europe, shows how technology can be placed at the service of society. Thanks to the new financing, Worldsensing will develop a solution to monitor remotely the status of critical infrastructure like bridges and railways: helping to prevent disasters and save lives."

 

The company's monitoring solution collects sensor data of critical infrastructure, including tailings dams in the mining sector, thus improving workers' safety and the communities that often live near these sites. Some recent examples of projects where Worldsensing's technology has been applied include new infrastructure projects. The expansion of the Paris metropolitan underground system, the metro tunnel construction monitoring of the U5 metro line extension in Frankfurt (Germany), and monitoring water wells across one of the world's largest open-pit mines (Chile) are just a few examples of projects featured in their portfolio.

 

David Deprez, Chief Financial Officer at Worldsensing, underlined that the EIB investment will enable the company to accelerate its solution development:

"As a market leader in the space, we see safeguarding critical infrastructures as a mission that Worldsensing is uniquely positioned to deliver on," said Deprez. "At this point in our growth, the EIB funding will help us to expand our global footprint and continue driving infrastructure resilience and safety through our partner network."

 

Worldsensing has received a Phase 2 Grant from the European Innovation Council to implement a project developing a smart mobility solution. With an app that combines live information on parking spots and traffic flow, Worldsensing aims to facilitate next-generation parking management. 

 

DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.

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