April 23, 2024
Driving Industry 4.0 Forward : Leveraging the Power of 5G Connectivity
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Press Release – Paris, March 25, 2024
As France and European countries commit to the reindustrialization of their territories, numerous challenges remain to be overcome to achieve this goal. Among these, telecommunications play a crucial role in creating sovereign, secure systems that enable the digitalization of industries of all sizes across all territories.
In French factories, barely 3% of communications are wireless. Firecell’s 5G solution offers unprecedented simplicity of installation and use, as well as exceptional stability even in the most challenging industrial environments. By reducing the footprint of 5G technologies to operate on standard servers and through strategic partnerships with renowned manufacturers, Firecell enables industrial enterprises of all sizes to pave the way for a smart industry.
The startup is part of the French Tech 2030 initiative under the category of “Mastering Sovereign and Secure Digital Technologies” and is a winner of the government’s 5G acceleration plan with an initial use case on a Stellantis production line.
A fundraising to accelerate the deployment of the first industrial 5G As A Service in Europe.
Founded in 2021, shortly after the opening of dedicated mobile frequencies for enterprises by regulators in around twenty countries, Firecell already counts 75 clients, including: SNCF, Airbus, Thales, Fives, US Army, the US Department of Energy, ID Logistics, Campus Schwarzwald, and Team Henri Fabre.
In this promising context, Firecell is accelerating its deployment and concludes a €6.6 million seed round in equity led by Ventech and Matterwave Ventures, accompanied by Bpifrance’s Digital Venture fund and Bouygues Telecom Initiative.
These funds will be used to:
Robust, sovereign, and user-friendly 5G networks.
Firecell’s 5G solution ensures unmatched efficiency in mobile communications, covering warehouses and logistics centers of over 30,000 square meters with less than 5 5G access points. Furthermore, it ensures an unparalleled level of security with native communication encryption and compatibility with all modern industrial terminals.
With its software developed in Nice in collaboration with the Eurecom research laboratory, and hardware equipment partners among the leading French and European companies, Firecell’s offering guarantees transparency and sovereignty.
“We are delighted with the enthusiasm and support we have received for our 5G solution,” said Claude Seyrat, co-founder and chief executive officer of Firecell. “This fundraising will allow us to accelerate our deployment and offer industrial enterprises cutting-edge connectivity to meet their growing communication and data management needs.”
For Jean Bourcereau, Managing Partner of Ventech: “In three years, Firecell has demonstrated undeniable technological and product expertise, acclaimed by numerous players in Europe and worldwide. Moreover, Firecell has surrounded itself with a first-rate ecosystem of partners and advisors. We are very pleased to accompany Claude, Olivier, and the entire Firecell team in accelerating their plan! For Ventech, this represents a new investment in the European Deeptech sector following successes such as Artéris IP, Codasip, Microoled, …”
Silviu Apostu, Principal at Matterwave Ventures, adds: “In order to fulfill the promise of the industrial transformation, companies need secure, reliable, and high-performance wireless connectivity. In a short span of time, Firecell has built a compelling product and convinced demanding customers to deploy it in their production environments. We are convinced that the Firecell team has the experience and ambition to make mobile networks ubiquitous and we are excited to continue supporting them on their mission”
“Reindustrialization through innovation is one of Bpifrance’s priority objectives. We are delighted to be able to support a company that has developed groundbreaking technology that enables new use cases in factories and warehouses, not accessible with existing technologies,” continues Gwenaël Hamon, Senior Investment Director at Bpifrance Digital Venture.
For Edward Bouygues, President of Bouygues Telecom and the Bouygues Telecom Initiatives fund: “Bouygues Telecom faces the challenge every day of accompanying companies and organizations in their digital transformation. Being able to support projects like Firecell’s, through Bouygues Telecom Initiatives, demonstrates the agility of our teams in forging structuring partnerships for companies. Providing tailored solutions with industrial 5G and enabling companies to gain competitiveness is fundamental for developing Industry 4.0 and territories.”
About Firecell :
Firecell offers state-of-the-art connectivity solutions tailored to the specific needs of industrial companies. Designed for demanding industrial environments, Firecell’s 5G solution provides reliable, secure, high-performance connectivity. By simplifying the deployment of 5G networks within enterprises and lowering overall costs, Firecell aims to accelerate return on investment. Founded in 2021, Firecell serves a diverse customer base in Europe, the USA and Asia. To find out more https://firecell.io/
About Ventech :
Ventech is a global early-stage venture capital firm with a strong digital focus. Founded in 1998, Ventech backs the most innovative and visionary tech entrepreneurs with a global ambition. With its dual structure platform, Ventech has dedicated funds for Europe (Paris, Munich, Berlin & Helsinki) and Asia (Shanghai and Hong Kong).
Since its inception, Ventech has raised over 900m€, and has realized over 200 investments, (including Vestiaire Collective, Passion.io, Ogury, Picanova, Veo, Reveal, Speexx) and over 90 exits (Fintecsystems – acquired by Tink; Believe (BLV.PA) – listed on Euronext; Arteris (AIP) listed on Nasdaq).
For more information, visit www.ventechvc.com
Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @Ventech_VC
Contact presse :
Yakun Wang
06 16 44 14 87
Alexis Bollaert
06 63 73 82 97
About Matterwave Ventures :
Matterwave Ventures is a Munich-based venture capital firm specialized in deep-tech innovations with industrial applications and actively investing throughout Europe. Matterwave focuses on the early development stages of technology companies, including hardware- and software-based business models. The goal is to build world-leading companies that drive the future of industrial value creation, primarily through resource efficiency and digitalization. Matterwave invests “full stack”, from materials and components to complete systems and software solutions. Over the past 20+ years, the team has invested in more than 60 companies. With over EUR 200 million of capital under management, Matterwave typically participates in Seed and Series A financing rounds across Europe with initial investments ranging from EUR 1-4 million. Including follow-on financing rounds, over EUR 10 million can be invested per portfolio company.
More info at https://matterwave.vc
About Bpifrance and Digital Ventures :
Bpifrance’s equity investments are made by Bpifrance Investissement. Bpifrance finances companies -at every stage of their development- with credit, guarantees and equity. Bpifrance supports them in their innovation and international projects. Bpifrance now also provides their export activity through a wide range of products. Consulting, university, networking and acceleration programs for startups, SMEs and ETIs are also part of the offer proposed to entrepreneurs. Bpifrance Digital Venture is the team in charge of venture investments in innovative technology companies in the digital sector. It supports technology companies at the seed, Series A and Series B stages, with the ambition of becoming international leaders in their market. With €720 million under management, Bpifrance Digital Venture has invested in nearly 120 companies and completed 30 divestments since 2011. The team has invested in Talentsoft (Cegid), Netatmo (Legrand), Meilleurs Agents (Axel Springer), Cardiologs Technologies (Phillips), Manomano, Openclassrooms, Shippeo, Strapi, GitGuardian, Livestorm, Swan, Exotrail or even Alice&Bob.
For more information: www.Bpifrance.fr – https://presse.bpifrance.fr/
Follow us: @Bpifrance – @BpifrancePresse
