The high-tech company specializing in digital building management NavVis announced the successful completion of a capital increase on Tuesday, December 15, 2015. New investors are the venture capital firm Target Partners and Don Dodge, an experienced financier in the digital indoor technologies segment and developer evangelist at Google. Also involved in the €7.5 million transaction were the VC firms already involved in NavVis. BayBG Bayerische Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH and the MIG Fund.
NavVis develops innovative products and applications for centimeter-precise mapping and navigation in indoor spaces and is the only platform for digital end-to-end building management: from fast 3D data acquisition using the self-developed and patent-pending M3 mapping trolley to visualization and web access via the NavVis IndoorViewer.
Voices of founders and investors
“Target Partners focuses on highly innovative companies in very high-growth markets and is therefore an ideal fit for us.”, says NavVis founder and managing director Felix Reinshagen. "With our products and services, we are making a real contribution to 'Industry 4.0' as part of the digitalization strategy of many companies."
Reinshagen continued that the fresh capital will serve as a "speed boost" for NavVis to accelerate growth and rapidly expand its technological lead. Increased R&D activities and the expansion of trolley production are therefore high on the priority list. The sales and service teams will also be expanded both in Germany and in key global markets such as China, Japan, the Middle East, and the USA.
“The NavVis technology is easy to use, much faster than existing technologies and up to a hundred times cheaper,” said Kurt Müller, partner at the new investor Target Partners. “We are investing in a top team with the first complete solution for indoor 3D.”
Don Dodge, Google Developer Evangelist, said: "I'm thrilled to be an investor in NavVis. NavVis is like Google StreetView in 3D for buildings and will generate countless new business opportunities in the future. I'm convinced that NavVis's mapping and navigation technology will surpass Maps and GPS in its importance."
Dr. Axel Thierauf, partner at MIG AG, which manages the MIG funds, added: "We were very pleased to have the opportunity to increase our stake in NavVis. NavVis has the potential to become a true game changer in a highly attractive market."
Since last year NavVis cooperates with the Deutsches Museum Munich in digitizing its complex exhibition spaces.
NavVis was developed at the Chair of Media Technology at Technical University of Munich (TUM). Its most important supporters include the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at TUM, UnternehmerTUM, BayStartUP, the ESA and that Center for Digital Technology & Management (CDTM) Ludwig Maximilian University and TUM. NavVis currently employs around 60 people.
About NavVis
NavVis GmbH develops innovative products and applications for centimeter-precise mapping and navigation in indoor spaces. For the simplest orientation, even in complex building complexes. The patent-pending trolley maps the surroundings in a very short time using laser scanners. At the same time, cameras create a dense network of high-resolution 720-degree photographs of the entire interior. A browser-based IndoorViewer enables users to look around the building, find their way, interact with any stored points of interest (e.g., video or audio files), and perform precise point-to-point measurements. The next generation of NavVis will also enable indoor navigation via smartphone (turn-by-turn). Similar to human orientation, this visual positioning requires no additional infrastructure such as Wi-Fi, RFID, or Bluetooth.
About Target Partners
With €300 million under management, Target Partners is one of the leading early-stage venture capital firms in Germany. The firm provides venture capital to young companies during their startup and early stages and supports them throughout their development and expansion phases. With extensive experience as managers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists, the Target Partners team supports companies in developing and marketing products and services, establishing organizational structures, securing financing, and taking companies public in Europe and the US. Learn more at: www.targetpartners.de
