10 July 2023

Purecontrol raises funds from Veolia, OKwind, Unexo, and Noshaq

Fund raising

sector Impact & Environment

Purecontrol, the specialist in industrial process automation using AI, raises €7M to strengthen its presence in France and internationally

Customer Purecontrol

Intelligent control solution for industrial equipment

Counterparties Veolia

Veolia offers services for water cycle management, waste management and recycling, and energy management to a client base composed of local authorities and businesses

Counterparties OKwind

Intelligent management of energy production and consumption through AI and machine learning solutions

Counterparties Noshaq

Noshaq is an investment fund based in Liège

Counterparties Unexo

An investment fund of the Crédit Agricole Group, it supports leaders and entrepreneurs in the Greater West region.

Purecontrol confirms its international ambitions with a new €7M funding round, with participation from the French groups Veolia and OKwind, joined for the occasion by investment funds Unexo and Noshaq.

Founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Geoffroy Maillard and Gautier Avril, Purecontrol offers industrial process automation solutions based on artificial intelligence, enabling companies to significantly reduce their energy consumption, carbon footprint, and optimize operational efficiency. Already deployed on over 300 sites in France, mainly in the water treatment sector, Purecontrol’s solutions have demonstrated their effectiveness with an average energy consumption saving of 15% and up to 40% in carbon footprint reduction.

Through this new operation and several recently concluded partnerships, the Rennes-based SME will be able to support industries in other sectors with their energy savings and decarbonization goals. This project has been embraced by Veolia, the world leader in water treatment, as well as OKwind Group, a specialist in solar trackers, which participated in the first funding round of €1.7M in 2021 and maintains its stake. Unexo, an investment arm of Crédit Agricole in the western region of France, and the Belgian investor Noshaq complete the funding round. It’s worth noting that after this operation, the leaders Geoffroy Maillard and Gautier Avril retain the majority of shares.

Purecontrol’s deployment is rapid, with the goal of equipping over 1,500 sites by the end of 2023, marking the first step toward its clear ambition: to become the European leader in industrial process automation through artificial intelligence. To achieve this, 25 recruitments are planned for the year, which will bring the team to 80 employees. European subsidiaries will also be established, with Belgium, Spain, and the UK being the first target markets, where recruitment is already underway.

"We are thrilled about this new chapter for our company with this second round of funding. We will continue our growth and innovations while remaining majority shareholders with Gautier Avril, a necessary condition for our independence and agility. Our priority is to continue offering cutting-edge products and services to our clients, while strengthening our position in the market to become a significant industrial leader in Europe," announces Geoffroy Maillard, co-founder & CEO of Purecontrol.

PAX Corporate Finance was mandated last year to structure the fundraising process in a context where the company was approached by numerous financial and industrial players. Ultimately, a hybrid solution was chosen, ensuring the company’s independence while opening the door to sustainable operational partnerships, particularly internationally.

"Our use cases already developed in the industrial sector will be commercialized to replicate the successes we’ve had in the water management field. The participation of two industrial investors provides us with unwavering support to double our growth prospects in this sector. This will strengthen our positioning in the eyes of our commercial partners, prospects, and future investors," says Geoffroy Maillard.

"This fundraising allows us to accelerate the positive impacts related to the deployment of our solution. In the context of climate urgency, we must move quickly. And that’s what our solution enables: effectively reducing energy consumption, and more broadly, reducing our environmental impact. Our solution allows us to achieve, very quickly, objectives that were previously extremely complex to accomplish. We are committed to doing our part, and this is deeply embedded in Purecontrol's values. In this regard, we want more than ever to continue, accelerate, and diversify projects with our clients and partners, to build together the future of industry," concludes Gautier Avril, co-founder & CTO of Purecontrol.

Related sector

Impact & Environment

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