Founded in 2014 at the Cap Omega incubator, Sensing Labs surfs the burgeoning market of big data and the Internet of Things in the sectors of energy efficiency of buildings, intelligent measurement, industry 4.0, and intelligent farming (greenhouses and breedings). The start-up is specialized in the design of low-consumption and long-range LoRaWAN™ sensors.

They collect and process field data. Sensing Labs then processes this information to make it available to its customers via the Internet. The start-up has raised € 900 000 to finance its growth, especially internationally.

Hosted within the Cap Omega incubator of Montpellier Métropole’s BIC (Business & Innovation Center), Sensing Labs was created in 2014 by four partners from Coronis, another Montpellier start-up that specializes in communicating sensors. “We use the experience gained to develop a strategy based on three areas,” explains Yann Guiomar, CEO: “1) simplify access to data by working throughout the chain; 2) lower the cost of data acquisition by industrializing sensor production; 3) retrieve enriched information by putting intelligence into the sensors.”

The Montpellier-based company has installed pilot sites in around a hundred customers. It is already present in more than ten European countries via seven distributors. After opening an office in Great Britain in 2016, it plans to set up in Germany this year. To finance this development, Sensing Labs completed a first round of funding amounting to € 400 000 at the end of 2016, supplemented by € 500 000 of bank loans. A second fundraising is planned in 2018. The company, which currently employs ten persons, aims for a turnover of € 10 million over three years, with a workforce of about 25 persons. In particular, it has initiated exchanges with Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole. “We are fortunate to be able to work with a community that is very involved in Smart-City projects,” says Yann Guiomar.

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[Article by Marie Corbel – Objectif Languedoc Roussillon – February 10, 2017]

The start-up based in Montpellier announces having raised € 400 000 from five business angels, to accelerate the international commercial development of its connected sensors dedicated to water, energy, and temperature and humidity variables. A first office has been set up in the United Kingdom.

“In a very dynamic market of low-speed and long-range communicating sensors, this fundraising will allow us to accelerate the development of the company internationally,” said Yann Guiomar, CEO and co-founder of Sensing Labs.

The amount of € 400 000 was raised from five investment funds: BCR Finances, Capitole Angels, Cedars Participations, and Méliès and Provence Business Angels. A second fundraising is planned in 2018.

International growth objective

The first step towards international development: “We opened an office in November 2016 in the United Kingdom,” says Yann Guiomar. A second office will be opened abroad in 2017. Without necessarily having a physical installation, Sensing Labs also plans to break into the Asian market.

The funds raised are also intended to “continue R&D investments” in order to extend the range of products and to “recruit”, adds the Company’s CEO. A minimum of four people should be hired in the current year. They will complement the current team of seven employees. The company aims to achieve a turnover of € 1 million at the end of 2017.

Created in 2014, Sensing Labs is a start-up specializing in the Data Service dedicated to energy efficiency. By relying on communicating sensors dedicated to measuring water, energy, and thermal variables (temperature and humidity), Sensing Labs measures and helps to control energy consumption. The Senlab range is part of a Smart-Building and Smart-City approach.

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How sensors are already capturing and using data

First, people heard of the ‘cloud’. They were told of the wonderful things it could do with data. But then they began to realize the ‘cloud’ was not a magical place in the sky. They visited the data centers that housed the ‘cloud.’ What an energy hungry monster it was! They wanted the wonder – and more of it – but not at that price. Enter Sensing Labs, a startup ready to digitize the real world, affordably. To reduce the cost and carbon footprint of data, four entrepreneurs with a bit of time on their hands began to examine how to take data centers out of the equation, as far as possible. The Montpellier-based founders of Sensing Labs predicted a growing hunger for data – which if unmanaged could become prohibitively expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Their innovation was to seek out existing technologies to reduce the cost of processing IoT (Internet of Things) data.

They developed sensors with their own intelligence to do most of the work themselves, without depending on energy gobbling data centers. Using embedded software, Sensing Labs made a product that can capture and process data, before compressing and encrypting it for secure low-cost long-distance transport. Sensing Labs’ range of sensors monitor outdoor variables such as temperature, light, and moisture, as well as indoor factors such as energy consumption and machine maintenance. The sensors’ role is first to capture the data, like a regular sensor, then compress it and select the cheapest mode of transfer via long distance radio signals over LPWA networks (Sigfox or LoRa). The encrypted data is then sent to a customized web platform. The data analytics reported by Sensing Labs will finally allow clients to use their own computer to consult a range of variables – from the exact source of a water or gas leak, to the energy efficiency of buildings, or to find out whether fields will require additional irrigation. The possibilities for reducing cost and optimizing performance are enormous – and Sensing Labs has clients across a range of industries from smart buildings (energy consumption, temperature), to agriculture (luminosity, soil moisture) and industry (monitoring, preventive maintenance). Sensing Labs’ robust and easy-to-install products are designed to last 20 years, in all conditions. They are recognized by the LoRa Alliance, and approved by SigFox. In nine months of trading, Sensing Labs has attracted more than 60 clients and established distribution agreements in six European countries. The company expects sales to top €1 million this year, rising to €6 million in 2018. Sensing Labs is currently preparing for a second funding round after successfully raising €500,000.

Pour lire la publication en français “Et si nous pouvions digitaliser le monde?”

To read the publication « What if… ? French startups re-imagining the world »

Editor: Business France, Jan 2017