Innovacom acquires a stake in UAVIA, dedicated to revolutionising industrial data collection

Paris, 14 December 2021 – Innovacom, a venture capital pioneer in France, announces an equity investment in UAVIA. The start-up has established an innovative robotics platform to enable the use of remote, connected and autonomous drones, revolutionising collection and leveraging of data for the benefit of Industry 4.0.

Dedicated to supporting innovative tech start-ups that stand out as trailblazers in the environmental, economic and industrial transition, Innovacom is participating in this funding round through its “Avenir Numérique” funds alongside Cattleya Finance, the investment holding company of Benjamin & Ariane de Rothschild, and two of UAVIA’s long-standing investors: UI Investissement and the F3A fund, managed by Bpifrance as part of the French “Investments for the Future” Programme. The conclusion of this round brings the company’s capital financing to €7 million since its creation.

Founded in 2015, UAVIA is developing the “Uavia Robotics Platform”, a software platform that allows users to harvest data through safe and simple operation of unmanned drones that can be set in motion 24/7 from anywhere in the world. Thanks to its innovative technological solution, based on artificial intelligence modules, UAVIA is fully rising to the challenges of Industry 4.0.

Industrial players can obtain essential sector-specific data and carry out key operations with no human presence on site. Applications include measuring emissions, inspecting, monitoring and securing industrial sites, performing remote crisis management, carrying out curative or predictive maintenance, conducting audits and detecting anomalies. The initial target markets are the oil and chemical industries, mining, ports, construction and any sensitive site.

Several of these applications have recently been validated by TotalEnergies and Capgemini Engineering.

UAVIA’s new funding round will help the company further its growth to best meet the needs of industrial players while accelerating the roll-out of its solution.

“UAVIA provides non-drone specialists and industrial actors, as well as fire-fighters, maintenance officers and security staff, with advanced tools that ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency, even in remote-use contexts.  As such, the company is actively contributing to the rapid rise of Industry 4.0, for which the collection and use of data are paramount”, explained Jérôme Faul, Chairman of Innovacom’s Management Board. “This equity investment perfectly reflects our investment philosophy: Innovacom’s prime objectives include identifying technologies that support the development of a safer, more competitive and more sustainable industrial landscape”.

“We are delighted to welcome Innovacom as an UAVIA shareholder. This fund-raising initiative will allow us to accelerate our development, focussed on a clear goal of becoming the main technology supplier for autonomous drone operations in industrial environments”, added Pierre Vilpoux, CEO of UAVIA.