News
Brittany-based SME Purecontrol, founded in 2017, announces a 2nd round of funding of €7m. Its mission is to help manufacturers significantly reduce their energy consumption, carbon footprint and optimize the operational efficiency of their processes, with intelligent PLC control solutions.
This round of funding has been raised from two industrialists, Groupe OKwind and Veolia, and two investment funds, Noshaq and Unexo. It will enable Purecontrol to accelerate its development on the water market in France and Europe, and to support manufacturers in other sectors in their energy-saving and decarbonization objectives. This ambitious roadmap will be accompanied by 25 recruitments by the end of 2023 and the opening of subsidiaries in various European countries.
Founded in 2017 by Geoffroy Maillard and Gautier Avril, Purecontrol develops solutions based on artificial intelligence that enable real-time analysis and, above all, control of industrial equipment and processes according to multiple objectives defined with the customer.
These solutions are currently deployed at over 300 sites in France, mainly in the water management sector, which now accounts for 80% of Purecontrol’s business. The success of these Purecontrol-controlled sites has demonstrated the effectiveness of these solutions, with an average 15% reduction in energy consumption, and up to a 40% reduction in carbon footprint.
The Brittany-based company will be stepping up its development with ambitious deployment targets for players in the water and industrial markets, covering 1,500 sites by the end of 2023.
Strategic fundraising to meet growth objectives
Following a 1st fundraising round of 1.7 million euros in 2021, Purecontrol has just completed a 2nd fundraising round of 7 million euros to expand and strengthen its commitment to the ecological transition of industry.
The players in this round of financing are two industrialists, Groupe OKwind and Veolia, and two investment funds, Noshaq and Unexo. The historic investor, Groupe OKwind, confirms its commitment by maintaining its stake. The two co-founders, Geoffroy Maillard and Gautier Avril, remain majority shareholders in the company.The aim of this round of financing is to accelerate Purecontrol’s development in the water market in France and Europe, and to become the ma rket leader by industrializing the artificial intelligence solution. New applications will also be developed in other industrial sectors to reinforce the positive impact on energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and preservation of the natural environment.
“We’re delighted that this 2nd round of financing has opened a new chapter for our company. We are going to pursue our growth and innovations while remaining majority shareholders with Gautier Avril, a prerequisite for our independence and agility. Our priority is to continue offering cutting-edge products and services to our customers, while strengthening our market position to become a significant European industrial leader” announces Geoffroy Maillard, co-founder & CEO of Purecontrol.
“Since 2021, Groupe OKwind has been working with Purecontrol to support players in the water-sanitation sector in their energy transition and the decarbonization of their business, to optimize their energy consumption and make them increasingly self-sufficient. We are delighted to strengthen our investment in Purecontrol, an innovative company with which we share the same values in favor of decarbonizing the economy, to develop new synergies” announces Louis Maurice, President of the OKwind Group.
Pierre Ribaute, General Manager of Veolia’s Water business in France, comments: “Veolia is delighted with this new industrial partnership, which consolidates the relationship we have built up with Purecontrol over the last few years. Together, we will deploy innovative solutions targeting the most relevant use cases to accelerate ecological transformation. This is made possible today by combining our very strong expertise in environmental businesses, with the new artificial intelligence technologies developed by Purecontrol, for the benefit of our customers.”
“UNEXO is delighted to support Purecontrol’s commercial acceleration. This investment is in line with the Crédit Agricole Group’s strategy of supporting energy transitions and sobriety models. We’re convinced of the strong potential for disseminating our know-how in intelligent PLC control, beyond the use cases already addressed,” adds Jérémy Durand, Head of Venture Capital at UNEXO.
Building the future of industry
Purecontrol maintains the course it set 6 years ago: to revolutionize industrial automation with artificial intelligence, by adding a layer of hypervision, prediction and real-time control to act in favor of the environment. Research now extends beyond water management to other industrial sectors, starting in late 2023.
“Our use cases already developed for the industrial sector will be commercialized to replicate the successes we have achieved in water management. The participation of two industrial investors provides us with unwavering support to double our growth prospects in this sector. This will reinforce our positioning in the eyes of our commercial partners, prospective customers and future investors”, says Geoffroy Maillard.
“This round of financing will enable us to accelerate the positive impact of deploying our solution. In a climate of urgency, we need to move fast. And that’s what our solution enables us to do: effectively reduce energy consumption, and more globally, reduce our environmental impact. Our solution makes it possible to achieve, in a very short space of time, objectives that were previously extremely complex to achieve. We are committed to doing our part, and this is deeply rooted in Purecontrol’s values. In this context, we are more than ever keen to pursue, accelerate and diversify projects with our customers and partners, so that together we can build the future of the industry,” concludes Gautier Avril, Co-founder & CTO of Purecontrol.
Geographic expansion
To support this development and scale-up, more than 25 new hires are planned for 2023, bringing the total workforce to 80 by the end of the year. Sales offices will be opened in Montpellier, Paris and Liège, Belgium, where the company also intends to recruit technical profiles specialized in artificial intelligence. The first doors are already opening in Europe, with recruitment underway in Spain and the UK to accelerate international growth.
Stéphanie Sacré, Investment Manager, comments: “At Noshaq, our ambition is to invest in technologies that will be part of the solutions for the energy and environmental transition. Thanks to its unique solution and its experience in the water sector, we are convinced that Purecontrol is ideally positioned to respond to the environmental and economic challenges facing manufacturers in various sectors. We are delighted to welcome Purecontrol to the Liège region, and to support them in this new chapter of their history.
Purecontrol press contacts:
Armelle Léna : 07 82 40 40 65 – armelle@lenacommunication.fr
Enora Delanoë : 07 83 37 68 09 – enora.delanoe@purecontrol.com
