Everactive raises $30M for industrial IoT sensors without batteries

Everactive (formerly PsiKick), a start-up based in Santa Clara, California, announced $30 million in new funding for its development of wireless, batteryless Internet of Things (IoT) systems.

Everactive said its initial products target the industrial sector, where collecting and analyzing data on physical equipment and infrastructure can have a profound and measurable impact—serving to reduce downtime, cut maintenance costs, improve safety and environmental impact, as well as boost overall efficiency. In late 2018, Everactive launched Steam Trap Monitor (STM), which is designed to continuously monitor the pervasive industrial and district energy steam trap in order to determine whether or not the trap has failed so that maintenance personnel can act to minimize costly energy waste and safety concerns. Currently in small-scale deployments, the company’s latest products include a Machine Health Monitor that analyzes vibration on rotating equipment, such as industrial motors, pumps, and fans. Everactive also offers a Flare System Monitor that mitigates the length and costs of flaring events in refineries.

Everactive eliminates batteries due to its underlying integrated circuit and wireless networking expertise. The company’s co-founders, Drs. Benton Calhoun and David Wentzloff, have been working on ultra-low-power electronics since their days together at MIT’s Electrical Engineering & Computer Science program. On top of that core chip technology, Everactive has not only built its own self-powered sensor devices, but also all the networking, software, and cloud analytics to be able to deliver insights to customers.

The funding round was led by Future Fund and joined by new investors Blue Bear Capital and ABB Technology Ventures, alongside existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Osage University Partners. The company has raised $63 million to date.

“Removing the need for batteries solves one of the key limitations of the IoT and represents a fundamental paradigm shift, allowing our customers to deploy wireless sensors at scale and gain access to new, high-value data-driven insights,” said Bob Nunn, CEO of Everactive. “Over the last 18 months, Everactive has productized our ultra-low-power silicon technology and developed a compelling go-to-market strategy that is now driving rapid customer adoption. Everactive will use the proceeds from the new round to meet the growing customer demand for our existing and future products.”

http://www.everactive.com