BreezoMeter Closes Series B Fundraising with $7.75M USD

HAIFA, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BreezoMeter, a global provider of hyperlocal air quality data and pollen information, announces the completion of a series B funding, totaling $7.75 Million USD, led by Goldacre and Entrée Capital. In 2014 BreezoMeter was the first company to introduce location-based and real-time air quality data, available via API, to businesses. Since then the company has landed major partnerships in the smart home, medical, automotive and lifestyle industries and has received investments totaling $12.5M USD.

BreezoMeter was founded in 2014 by three graduates of Israel’s Technion Institute of Technology: environmental engineers Ran Korber (CEO) and Ziv Lautman (CMO), and software engineer Emil Fisher (CTO). The founders were looking to buy family homes in the healthiest, cleanest areas in Israel, but realized they didn’t have access to relevant, location-based data that could help them. This drove them to create a company that could provide that insight.

Air quality awareness is increasing, as cities around the world struggle to control rising pollution levels. 80% of people living in urban areas are exposed to air pollution levels considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization. Air pollution kills 7 million people, linked to 1 in 8 deaths a year, and it is therefore critical for companies to reach out to their customers with relevant, real-time, location-based data that can help them reduce their exposure to harmful pollutants. Progress is being made as air quality data is also becoming increasingly democratized, as experienced by more news headlines and user-oriented search results.

Investing in The Future of Air Quality

Goldacre, an innovative family office investment house that forms part of the Noé Group’s £2bn asset management business, co-led the investment with Entrée Capital, a leading international venture capital firm. Also participating were Idinvest Partners, a European leader in financing small and medium-sized enterprises with almost €8 billion under management; and HELLA Ventures, the venture capital arm of HELLA, one of the leading automotive suppliers for lighting technology and electronics with more than 40,000 employees in some 35 countries. Also joining the funding round were AxessVentures, and Plug ‘n’ Play Ventures from Silicon Valley.

Idinvest Partners’ and HELLA Ventures’ investments are part of BreezoMeter’s strategy to expand in the mobility market. The funding round will enable BreezoMeter to further develop its smart cities solutions, already being used by companies like Cisco, Faurecia and others, and to expand its offering by utilizing proprietary spatial interpolation algorithms to integrate low-cost sensors data. This addition of small sensor data, to the already robust 1.8 TB of data that is processed hourly, will enable a higher resolution of air quality data in urban areas, down to just 30 meters.

Idinvest Partners’ expansive network will support BreezoMeter’s expansion in the European and Asian markets, while AirShield, HELLA Ventures’ automotive solution for in-cabin air pollution monitoring, will integrate with BreezoMeter’s outdoor air quality data, and will address the health risks drivers and passengers face as a consequence of pollution.

“Companies and Cities see the need to address the complex challenge that air pollution creates for their customers and citizens, and Breezometer has built an innovative solution for them to integrate and provide accurate air quality data, everywhere, and in real time. We are delighted to support BreezoMeter’s rapid expansion,” said Matthieu Bonamy, Senior Investment Director at Idinvest Partners.

“Our next generation environmental solutions will help smart cities reduce pollution levels, and protect their citizens with smart traffic management solutions, focusing on strategic areas with sensitive populations. For the automotive industry, we are introducing the most comprehensive solutions to protect drivers and passengers from air pollution, as they are often exposed to levels even higher than the surrounding outdoor air.” Ran Korber, co-founder and CEO of BreezoMeter.

Emil Fisher, co-founder and CTO added, “The future of air quality is complex, and the most powerful tool we have to improve the lives of billions of people around the world is through data and education. Previous funding rounds helped us establish our presence in North America and Europe, as well as partner with some of the world’s largest companies. This funding round will enable us to expand our market offering to new and exciting markets all around Asia.”

“The Goldacre team looks for exceptional and passionate founders that drive innovation through technology in the built environment. For us, BreezoMeter represents a unique opportunity to invest in the future of smart cities and the innovation that intersects between the physical and digital worlds. We’re always looking for genuine innovation that aims to solve current environmental problems and ultimately enhance the spaces in which we live and work and we believe we are only at the beginning of a wave of tech innovation to tackle environmental problems, of which air pollution and climate change are some of the most significant,” says David Bloom, Partner at Goldacre

Goldacre is an innovative family office investment house, which specialises in supporting early-stage technology-led businesses working with the built environment to scale up through strategic investment, advice and management. As part of the Noé Group, it leverages the scale of a £2bn asset management business with the nimbleness of a boutique. Goldacre’s portfolio spans the UK, Europe and Israel.

Entrée Capital, with offices in Israel, UK, and the US, was founded in 2009 to provide multi-stage funding to innovative seed, early and growth stage companies all over the world. Entrée Capital manages over $300m across a number of funds and its portfolio includes Snapchat, monday.com, and over 50 other investments

Idinvest Partners is a leading pan-European private equity firm focused on the mid-market segment with €8 billion under management, and has developed several complementary areas of expertise including growth capital investments in innovative European start-ups and secondary investments in unlisted European companies and private equity consulting. Founded under the name AGF Private Equity in 1997, Idinvest Partners was formerly part of Allianz until 2010 when it became an independent firm

BreezoMeter, the world leader in location-based, real-time air quality data, addresses air pollution in a way that can help billions of people worldwide improve their health. Combining data from governmental sensors, satellites, weather, transportation and other sources, the BreezoMeter APIs give businesses the tools to increase user engagement and sales, and positively impact lives with accurate, relevant, and intuitive data, which easily integrates into products relating to smart homes, fitness and lifestyle, cosmetics, automotive, and health technologies.

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