Singapore, 29 June 2020 - Ackcio announced today the completion of its Pre-Series A capital investment with co-lead investors Wavemaker Partners and Michael Gryseels. All existing major investors of Ackcio including SEEDS Capital, AccelerAsia Ventures, Aletra Capital Partners, Foundamental, and Entrepreneur First, participated in this round with new investors.
Founded in 2016, Ackcio builds reliable and cost-effective wireless monitoring solutions for industrial monitoring applications. Ackcio’s current wireless solutions are used by the construction and mining industries to monitor geotechnical and structural sensors. COVID-19 has affected many construction and mining sites around the world but demand for Ackcio's solutions has remained consistent.
With the onset of the pandemic, construction and mining projects all over the world had to rely on less manpower onsite. As a result, contractors are now increasingly adopting more automated solutions that would help them carry out their monitoring work with less manpower.
“In post-pandemic times, we are seeing a sticky increase in demand for our technology, which allows contractors to monitor their projects in real-time without depending on manpower availability,” says Ackcio Co-Founder and CEO Dr. Nimantha Baranasuriya.
Ackcio is headquartered in Singapore and has recently opened a sales office in Canada to penetrate the North and South American markets. Ackcio currently serves clients globally with a presence in over 15 countries in Southeast Asia, China, Oceania, Europe, and North America. “The additional funds will help us expand our presence in our existing markets and also expand to new markets in the coming months,” says Dr. Baranasuriya.
In Singapore, Ackcio’s solutions have been used for monitoring geotechnical sensors in major infrastructure development projects, such as the Thomson–East Coast MRT line, Bedok Canal expansion, and Paya Lebar Quarter. The company has recently been awarded a large contract to supply their equipment to a new infrastructure development project at the Changi Airport.
“Ackcio has always been about affordable and reliable wireless mesh solutions that will not fail in harsh conditions. Their solution is thus extremely relevant to mission-critical monitoring situations. They have secured many commercial projects, which validates the strength of their technology and has allowed them to expand to over 15 countries. We're proud of their progress and excited to see even more organizations around the world adopt Ackcio's technology,” says Paul Santos, Managing Partner of early-stage venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners.
Along with this new funding round, Arnoud Balhuizen recently joined Ackcio’s advisory board. Arnoud is a commercial mining and resources executive with deep global cross-commodity experience. He has been with BHP, a global mining giant, for over 20 years in various key commercial roles based out of The Hague, Houston, and Singapore. In his last role as Chief Commercial Officer, he oversaw BHP’s procurement, logistics, supply chain, sales, marketing, trading and economic, and commodity analysis activities.
Under his advisory role, Arnoud will be helping Ackcio expand their presence in the mining sector. “I am excited to join the Ackcio team and support them with delivering their simple, innovative and effective solutions to the mining industry”, says Mr. Balhuizen.
Built on years of research in wireless networks, Ackcio’s technology helps contractors monitor their projects to manage risks and increase safety. This, in turn, helps the construction and mining industries reduce costs, improve worker safety and also comply with regulatory requirements on geotechnical monitoring that govern construction and mining operations in many countries.
Shubhankar Bhattacharya, Partner at Foundamental says "We are excited about the future of structural and geotechnical monitoring, where technology replaces methods that are highly manual and unreliable. Ackcio is strongly positioned to lead the creation of a new paradigm in the construction and mining industry and we are thrilled to continue and deepen our partnership with Nimantha, Mobashir and the rest of the Ackcio team on their journey."
As countries get back on their feet after the COVID-19 pandemic, they are likely to invest more in infrastructure development projects to boost their economies. Most infrastructure development and mining projects have an associated geotechnical monitoring contract that can be fulfilled by Ackcio’s revolutionary wireless monitoring technology. With their presence in many countries and the planned expansion to new regions in the coming months, Ackcio is ideally positioned to benefit from the fast-growing geotechnical monitoring market globally.
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About Ackcio
Founded in 2016, Ackcio is headquartered in Singapore. Ackcio builds reliable wireless monitoring solutions for industrial monitoring applications. Ackcio’s flagship product, Ackcio Beam, is used to monitor geotechnical and structural sensors in the construction and mining industries.
Out of Ackcio’s headquarters in Singapore and its sales office in Canada, Ackcio serves clients globally. Ackcio’s products are currently being used to monitor major infrastructure development and mining projects in over 15 countries in South East Asia, China, Oceania, Europe, and North America.
About the Founders
Ackcio was founded by Dr. Nimantha Baranasuriya and Dr. Mobashir Mohammad. Nimantha obtained his Ph.D. in Wireless Networking from the National University of Singapore. Some of his Ph.D. research was used to improve the quality of Skype calls. Mobashir is a Ph.D. holder in IoT and Wireless Networking from the National University of Singapore. His contributions to Indriya, an open wireless testbed, is used by over 150 institutions internationally.
About Wavemaker Partners
Wavemaker Partners is Southeast Asia’s go-to seed-stage VC for enterprise and deep tech with 100+ investments (85% of total portfolio) in the space. Its portfolio includes startups in software, AI, and cybersecurity as well as precision agriculture, cleantech, additive manufacturing, and laser communications. Recent exits include Moka’s and Coins.ph’s acquisitions by Gojek, Red Dot Payment by PayU/Naspers and Wavecell by 8x8. Learn more at wavemaker.vc
About SEEDS Capital
As the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, SEEDS Capital catalyses smart investments into innovative Singapore-based startups with strong intellectual content and global market potential. They co-invest with independent investors in innovative startups. They help their startups commercialize and expand globally through leveraging on the expertise and strategic networks of our co-investment partners in areas such as technology translation, commercialization and market expansion. Through co-investments, SEEDS Capital aims to catalyse investments into nascent and strategic sectors. These include Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Health & Biomedical Sciences, Urban Solutions & Sustainability, and Services & Digital Economy.
About Enterprise Singapore
Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development. They work with committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and internationalise. Enterprise Singapore also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups, and build trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards. Learn more at www.enterprisesg.gov.sg.
About Foundamental
Foundamental is the global investor in construction, mining and renovation technology with offices in San Francisco, Berlin and Singapore. Foundamental is currently in its second fund generation investing in extraordinary tech companies in construction, mining and renovation across the globe. Learn more at foundamental.com.
Connect with Ackcio
Email: hello@ackcio.com
Website: www.ackcio.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ackcio
Media Contact
Summer Zhang
Business Development Executive
Tel: +65 8630 0930
Email: summer@ackcio.com
