Amsterdam-based satellite and communications company, Hiber, has raised EUR26M of EU financing and private investments to expand its first worldwide IoT (Internet of Things) satellite network.
The investors in this round
The funding was granted the investment Hiber from Hiber by European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) the agency for innovation in the EU and comes from their EUR 278 million Innovation Fund. The EIC co-invested the funds with an innovation credit from the Dutch government and the existing shareholders.
The selection of Hiber as one of three companies that receive most funding through EIC Fund EIC Fund is in recognition of the important role it has in advancing the EU’s goals. The Fund is also focusing on the gap in funding at the scale-up and startup stages in which there is a significant gap in the European investment market for venture capital generally does not perform as well as the world’s venture capital market.
Other investors participating in this round comprise Finch Capital, Netherlands Enterprise Agency as well as Hartenlust Group.
The use of funds
The capital raised will allow Hiber to expand its satellite networks and expand its client base. Coen Janssen, the Chief Strategist and Co-Founder of Hiber Coen Janssen, who co-founded Hiber, says “The EUR26M funding is fantastic confirmation of Hiber’s growth and will be a huge boost to the European “New Space” industry.
So far, the company has attracted significant funds and is now one of the select companies of the European Innovation Council (EIC). Nicklas Bergman, an EIC Fund Committee Member, says, “I am glad to announce the EIC Fund support to this very innovative business that has the goal of making it the next European leader for this satellite Internet of Things sector. This equity financing will allow Hiber to offer affordable and universal connectivity for IoT solutions.
Hiber is a “NewSpace” startup
The company was established in the year 2016 with Coen Janssen, Erik Wienk, Ernst Peter Hovinga, Laurens Groenendijk along with Maarten Engelen. Hiber’s own satellite constellation was designed in-house to provide IoT technology to places where there hasn’t been access to affordable cellular or WiFi.
In simple words the company will provide the capability to monitor and track machines and devices that are part of a broad array of IoT solutions in some of the most difficult-to-access locations.
The company states that the expansion of its satellite network and the innovative IoT solutions will have a major positive effect on many of the most pressing issues facing the world at present such as reducing food waste to decreasing impacts on the environment caused by mining fossil fuels.
Janssen states, “Every year, 30 percent of the food produced is wasted or wasted away and 33 percent of oil wells suffer leaks. Both of these issues can be resolved with the help of technology that monitors pressure, humidity or temperature. These are fantastic illustrations of ways that technology in space can help solve global problems and help improve the quality of life.”
The company employs over 60 employees around the globe as well as offices at Amsterdam as well as Delft within the Netherlands as well as Maryland and Maryland in the United States.
Recent developments
In the year 2021 the company announced HiberHeavy which is the first subscription-based heavy equipment monitoring system.
In 2020 Hiber’s comprehensive service for Oil and Gas Well Integrity Monitoring which is a subscription-based service that is unique in the market, became an actuality under the name HiberHilo.
In October of 2018 the company began the launch of its two first nano satellites, which were launched from California as well as India.
The current uses include monitoring the growth of crops in Africa and groundwater monitoring in Australia fishing boats across the Pacific carbon-free cars in Antarctica rail automobiles in America animals from South America, beehives in Europe as well as Dutch flowers.
New roles
Steven Kroonsberg and Roel Jansen join Hiber to assume their positions within the Hiber management team.
Steven was hired by the company in October of 2020 He will assume the position of CFO. He was previously the Director at Boston Consulting Group and CFO at WePayPeople who then moved to People 2.0.
For Roel, whom the business hired earlier this month, he was vice president of sales of Survey Monkey and co-founder and CCO of Usabilla (exit from Survey Monkey). Roel’s job as CCO will be to establish what is known as an “IoT-as-a-Service” commercial model for the company.
Additionally, another of the co-founders at Hiber, Laurens Groenendijk, will be stepping down as the Director of Operations to focus his attention on other investment ventures.
Concerning EU EIC Fund
In June 2020, in June 2020, the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) is an innovative initiative by the European Commission to provide direct equity investments and quasi-equity (between EUR500K and EUR15M) in European high-impact and advanced tech startup companies and scaling-ups.
The EIC Fund provides patient capital and invests in companies in any sector, in all EU countries as well as countries that are part of Horizon 2020..
The Fund is particularly focused on helping and empowering female entrepreneurs as and also contributes to reducing the gap in innovation between EU countries.
Its EIC Fund aims to fill an urgent funding gap and its primary goal is not to maximise the returns on investment in financial assets, but rather to make a significant impact by assisting companies that have innovative technologies to grow. The goal is to draw in market players and further share risk by establishing an extensive network of capital providers as well as strategic partners who are suited to co-invest and follow-on funding.
Hiber is a “NewSpace” startup
The company was established in the year 2016 with Coen Janssen, Erik Wienk, Ernst Peter Hovinga, Laurens Groenendijk as well as Maarten Engelen. Hiber’s own satellite constellation was designed in-house to provide IoT technologies to regions where there hasn’t been affordable access to cellular networks or WiFi.
In simple words it will give the company the ability to monitor and track machines and devices that are part of a broad array of IoT solutions in the world’s most difficult-to-access locations.
The company states that the expansion of the satellite network as well as new IoT solutions will have a major positive effect on some of the most important issues facing the world at present such as reducing food waste to decreasing impacts on the environment caused by mining fossil fuels.
Janssen declares, “Every year, 30 percent of the food produced is wasted or lost, and 33 percent of oil wells suffer leaks. Both of these issues can be resolved with the help of technology that monitors the humidity, pressure or temperature. These are fantastic instances of the ways technology in space can help solve global problems and help improve the quality of life.”
The company employs over 60 employees around the globe with offices located at Amsterdam as well as Delft located in the Netherlands as well as Maryland within the United States.
Recent developments
In the year 2021 the company introduced HiberHeavy which is an online heavy equipment monitoring system.
The Hiber’s complete service for Oil and Gas Well Integrity Monitoring which is a subscription-based service unique to the field, was made an actuality under the name HiberHilo.
In October of this year the company started its very first satellites in California as well as India.
The current uses include monitoring crop growth in Africa and groundwater monitoring in Australia fishing boats across the Pacific carbon-free cars in Antarctica rail automobiles in America livestock throughout South America, beehives in Europe as well as Dutch flowers.
New roles
Steven Kroonsberg and Roel Jansen have joined Hiber to fill their roles within the Hiber management team.
Steven is joining the company in October of 2020 Steven will assume the post of CFO. He was previously the principal of the Boston Consulting Group and CFO at WePayPeople and then transferred to People 2.0.
Regarding Roel who joined us early this month, she was vice president of sales of Survey Monkey and co-founder and CCO of Usabilla (exit into Survey Monkey). Roel’s job as CCO will consist of implementing what is known as an “IoT-as-a-Service” commercial model for the company.
In addition, among the founders Hiber, Laurens Groenendijk, will step down as Hiber’s Director of Operations to focus his attention on other investments.
Information About EU EIC Fund
The fund was established in June of 2020. It was established in the month of June, 2020. European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) is an innovative initiative by the European Commission to make direct equity and quasi-equity investment (between EUR500K and EUR15M) in European high-impact and deep tech startup companies and scaling-ups.
The EIC Fund provides patient capital and invests in companies of any sector, in all EU countries and those connected to Horizon 2020..
The Fund is particularly focused on helping encourage and assist female entrepreneurs as and also contributes to reducing the gap in innovation between EU countries.
Its EIC Fund aims to fill an urgent funding gap and its primary objective is not to increase return on investments in finance, but to create a positive impact by assisting companies that have innovative technologies to grow. Its goal is to bring in market players and further take on risk by creating an extensive network of capital providers as well as strategic partners that are suitable to co-invest and follow-on funding.
