Milan, 23rd of november 2022
Primo Space, a fund managed by Primo Ventures SGR, announces three new investments in: ChAI, a company that develops proprietary artificial intelligence algorithms for forecasting the price volatility of raw materials, Irreo, a software company for precision agriculture and Eoliann, a benefit corporation that makes climate risks more predictable.
ChAI, founded by Tristan Fletcher, Marcus Dixon, Stephen Butler and Michael Button, develops proprietary tools that calculate hundreds of information sources in real time, including satellite data. The company has developed a web application that allows users to obtain unbiased information and forecasts on energy prices, achieved by applying, among other things, artificial intelligence to satellite images.
“We are very excited to welcome Primo to the family of investors in ChAI. It's great to strengthen our relationship with Europe and in particular Italy where many of our clients are and will be. Furthermore, growing our space tech investor community enhances our ability to innovate across new technological frontiers” said Tristan Fletcher, CEO and Founder of ChAI.
Irreo, founded by Andrea Pomente and Luca Calacci, estimates water requirements for different types of crops, based on the phenological stage, soil composition and climatic conditions. The company analyzes over 1.5 terabytes of satellite data every day, reducing crop water stress and water waste by 30% and increasing yields by 10%.
“We are proud to have investors, like Primo Space, who believe in our mission and support us to become the reference platform for precision irrigation in the world. With this round, the company has the necessary support to achieve its objectives in Italy and start commercial development in the rest of Europe. Our mission is to allow operators in the agricultural and ornamental sector to automate their irrigation system in an intelligent and efficient way by providing an innovative service, based on the analysis of different types of satellite data, to indicate to our customers when is the ideal moment to irrigate and the quantity necessary to increase the productivity of different types of crops” adds Andrea Pomente, CEO and co-founder of Irreo.
Eoliann, a benefit company founded by Roberto Carnicelli, Chiara Mugnai, Giovanni Luddeni and Emidio Granito, thanks to satellite data and proprietary machine learningalgorithms, predicts the probability and impact of natural disasters for financial institutions considering the effects of climate change.
“Climate change has increased the number of natural disasters by 345% over the past 50 years. Our goal is to exploit satellite data and new technologies to make these events more predictable and to reduce their human and economic impact globally. We are excited to continue this adventure together with Primo Space” adds Roberto Carnicelli, CEO and co-founder of Eoliann.
“The venture capital fund, set up in 2020 and with a total budget of around 85 million euros, has invested over 20 million euros in 11 space startups in two years. The three new companies consolidate a portfolio which thus includes 8 Italian and 3 foreign companies” declares the team of Primo Space Fund. Primo Space Fund has been active since its foundation in supporting the Italian space ecosystem. From Quasar, a tailor-made mentorship program for early stage space startups, to the participation in December at the New Space Economy ExpoForum 2022 with six of its portfolio companies, Primo Space Fund aims to identify and enrich the best talents operating in the New Space Economy sector.
Primo Ventures is an asset management company specialized in early stage technological venture capital in the digital and space sector. Primo Ventures currently manages the funds: Barcamper Ventures, Barcamper Ventures Lazio, in partnership with the Lazio Region, and Primo Digital in the digital sector and Primo Space Fund in the new space economy sector.www.primo.vcFor more information: francesca.boni@primo.vc
