Bisly, an Estonian startup providing next-gen smart building automation solutions has closed a Series A funding round totaling €6.2 million. The round saw new investors Foxway founders Urvo Männama and Paul Padrik joining Aconterra, SmartCap Green Fund that backed Vox Bikes, Pinorena Capital, and several angel investors who invested in the company via convertible instruments last year.
How will it use the funding?
The funding will be directed towards Bisly’s plans for expansion throughout Europe, especially Germany and the UK, where the company has already opened offices and started courting high-profile partnerships.
In future, the company expects to deepen its presence across Europe by 2025 before setting its sights on the US.
Investors’ views
“Bisly is in an excellent position, and it has the team capable of rising to the occasion. The global intelligent building market is expected to hit $148 billion by 2027. That, together with ESG measures growing stricter to meet the EU’s carbon neutrality goals, mean there is virtually no limit for how far a practical solution like Bisly’s can go,” said Urvo Männama, co-founder at Foxway.
“The demand for smart building automation is increasing and will continue to grow, but building professionals often struggle to find scalable and easy-to-install solutions. Bisly’s technology bridges this gap and raises the bar for smart building systems,” said Ron Schuermans at Aconterra.
“Having proven their expertise in Estonia, Bisly is well-positioned to meet the increasing global demand for smart building technology. Their advanced solutions and strong team make them well-equipped to drive significant reductions in the carbon footprint of buildings worldwide, contributing to broader climate change initiatives,” said Robert Martin at SmartCap.
What challenge does it address?
According to the European Commission’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, around 40% of all the energy consumed in the EU is used in buildings. In addition, 85% of all buildings in the EU were built before 2000, and 75% of those buildings have poor energy performance.
Such a large stock of older, energy-inefficient buildings presents a serious challenge to the EU’s next set of climate goals and underscores the need for smart building solutions. These solutions already exist for new builds, but they are expensive, which is the biggest impediment for widespread adoption. If every building in the EU were converted to a smart building, it could reduce EU-wide emissions by as much as 10%.
This is where Bisly has a major role to play with its no-code smart building tech, which is touted to be affordable and scalable.
The team behind Bisly!
Founded in 2018 by Siim Vips, Mihkel Kõrgmaa, Rene Üpraus, and Hanno Riismaa, Bisly recently appointed its former Chief Operating Officer Ants Vill as CEO to spearhead these growth efforts. Prior to this, he facilitated scaling efforts as COO and then CCO at Skeleton Technologies, a global leader in supercapacitors and batteries.
Co-founder Siim Vips will now take on the role of Chief Strategy Officer. The supervisory board has also expanded with the additions of Sergei Anikin, the respected angel investor and former Pipedrive CTO, and Jarek Kurnitski, best known for his work as a Professor of Energy Performance and Indoor Climate in Buildings at Tallinn University of Technology.
“This funding round enables us to do two things simultaneously: expand into new markets while continuously innovating our product range in such a way that we continue to set the newest industry standards. In addition, we are convinced of Bisly’s potential in our generational mission to combat climate change. Its emissions reducing systems are a much-needed partner to advances in clean energy production elsewhere. We’re thrilled to have forward-thinking investors who feel the same,” said Ants Vill, CEO at Bisly.
What does Bisly do?
Bisly addresses the scalability, cost, and integration issues related to smart buildings with its hardware and software. Its solution is cost-effective, secure, and cloud-connected.
On the software side, the company blends its unique Single Cloud Platform that integrates different stages of the customer experience with its patented digital twins system.
Created using the specific building’s floor plans and specifications, the digital twin system accelerates setup and continually tracks consumption data, optimising areas where efficiency measures are lagging and improving energy conservation and financial savings over time.
On the other hand, Bisly’s hardware products integrate with different brands so developers don’t suffer from vendor lock-in. This translates into overheads that are up to 80% lower.
What do we think about Bisly?
The Estonian startup is revolutionising smart building automation with its affordable, scalable, and no-code solutions. With the recent investment that aims to expand across Europe and the US, the company addresses energy inefficiency in buildings. It acts as a crucial player in reducing carbon footprints and enhancing energy conservation.
