Luxembourg – June 2, 2020 – Wizata, the Industry 4.0 Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup from Luxembourg, just raised €2.7 million from the original founders, longtime partner Expon Capital in a round led by two new partners: Volta Ventures and KBC Focus Fund.
Wizata provides an open architecture platform empowering engineers to optimize and automate the production process with AI in real time. Leading companies in the materials sectors are leveraging the Wizata platform to autonomously build and deploy AI directly on their production lines, while keeping data, models and IP under their exclusive control. Wizata customers produce better using less resources, at improved quality and yield while reducing downtimes and energy costs.
Wizata started in 2014 as a service company. After having won the 2017 Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award for Luxembourg, Wizata raised €1.5 million in 2018 to become a product company.
Volta Ventures targets fast growing internet and SaaS companies in Benelux. KBC Focus Fund is a deeptech VC fund with the ambition to boost the sector of nanotechnology, microelectronics and IoT. Digital Tech Fund fosters long-term innovation and supports the technology startup ecosystem in Luxembourg.
“The exceptional match of KBC Focus Fund, Volta Ventures, and Expon Capital’s Digital Tech Fund will allow Wizata to become an Industry 4.0 champion that will optimize and digitize manufacturing production processes through AI”, said Jean-Philippe Hugo, CEO of Wizata.
“We are happy to support Wizata’s ambition in driving operational efficiencies in the process manufacturing industry, leveraging their AI technology,“ said Koen De Waele, Venture Partner at Volta Ventures. “This marks the first investment of Volta’s second fund and our first investment in Luxembourg.”
Nuno Carvalho, Investment Director at KBC Focus Fund: “At KBC, we are investing in companies active in the IIoT domain that have the potential to become global players. Wizata is one of these. We see great potential in their open and very scalable platform, which will allow organizations to embrace the Industry 4.0 transformation and implement AI in their manufacturing operations. We are delighted to actively support Wizata through the network and expertise of KBC Group.”
Alain Rodermann, Managing Partner at Expon Capital: “The Digital Tech Fund is proud to have backed Wizata’s founders’ team at the very beginning of the project. The company created a lot of IP and value in 18 months, and has already deployed its product within global industrial corporations. This new funding will accelerate the growth pace of the company.“
About KBC Focus Fund:
KBC Focus Fund is a €50 million venture capital fund that focuses on advanced technologies with a particular focus on semiconductor, nanotechnology and IoT. We focus on Belgium and surrounding countries where well-known expertise centers are located. KBC Focus Fund leverages on the network and expertise of KBC Group and is managed by KBC Securities, with solid knowledge of the tech ecosystem with experienced teams in M&A, Finance, R&D, and Sales. KBC Focus Fund aims to be long-term partners for entrepreneurs.
About Volta Ventures II:
Volta Ventures provides (pre)seed and early stage financing for software & internet companies that originate in the Benelux. Now investing from its second fund it has € 95M under management. Next to capital, the fund’s team provides guidance to assist companies in growing from startup to scale up. The Volta team aims to make a substantial contribution to the portfolio companies by working with the founders and management to identify new markets and clients, attract talent, provide advice and support, and help raise follow-on financing.
About Expon Capital and the Digital Tech Fund:
Expon Capital is a Venture Capital Firm managing fund Expon I and the Digital Tech Fund. Expon I targets extraordinary teams that can leverage technology for a positive impact, driving massive and sustainable value creation while solving some of the world’s biggest problems. The Digital Tech Fund provides seed and venture financing to entrepreneurs running innovative startup companies active in the field of Digital Technologies, supporting the technology startup ecosystem in Luxembourg. The Fund is backed by a roster of very high profile private and public investors who are committed to the successful development of the Luxembourg start-up ecosystem in general and portfolio companies in particular, including SES, BIL, Arendt, SNCI, POST, Proximus, The State of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, Université du Luxembourg and several successful entrepreneurs from Luxembourg.
Press contact:
Raphaël CAYROL
Public Relations Officer, Wizata
rca@wizata.com
GSM: +352 671 156 811
