Aiir Innovations, an Amsterdam-based developer of AI-based software solutions for aircraft engine inspection has successfully collected €2.1M in a funding round that received a lot of interest.
According to Aiir Innovations, the money will be used to develop globally, grow its remote-first staff, and create a new benchmark for engine inspections.
Aiir Innovations, a company founded in 2016 by Bart Vredebregt, Miriam Huijser, Cassandra Loor, Fritjof Büttner, Steve Nowee, and Jan van Gemert, asserts that it will speed up, improve, and secure aircraft engine inspection.
The visual inspection that makes up an aircraft engine examination necessitates intense focus the entire time. Most of the time, it is tiresome and time-consuming. The Dutch business steps in at this point.
The business has created software that mechanics can use to find anomalies like fractures and dents during borescope checks.
By speeding up the inspection, the program frees up the mechanic to concentrate on evaluating the damage. The program is self-learning and will include an indicating function.
To ensure the safety and effectiveness of aircraft, CTO Miriam Huijser states that it is essential to guarantee jet engines are thoroughly and impartially inspected. To do this, Aiir actively assists human inspectors in all facets of their work, from handling reporting requirements to using an AI assistant to find possibly overlooked flaws.
Huijser continues, “Aiir Innovations enables inspections with its software throughout the engine lifecycle, during maintenance, lease changes, and more.
Among its current clients are KLM Airlines, Waygate Technologies, and MTU Leasing Services.
The Netherlands-based VC fund Borski Fund took the lead in the round. The company, which was founded by Simone Brummelhuis and Laura Rooseboom, is dedicated to female equality and diversity and makes investments in tech entrepreneurs.
Over 80% of the companies in the portfolio of the Borski Fund, which invests in sustainable industries, fashion technology, and the future of healthcare, are AI-enabled.
HearstLab Europe and current shareholder Mainport Innovation Fund both participated in the financing.
HearstLab intends to reduce the financing gap between entrepreneurs with male and female founders. It is a project of Eve Burton, the organization’s chairwoman.
HearstLab was initially founded outside of the US in the Netherlands in 2019 by Marscha Krouwel, CEO of Hearst Netherlands. Kenan Packman oversaw the opening of HearstLab Europe this year (GM, HearstLab Europe).
“As an investor focused on female-led businesses, we were particularly intrigued by Aiir because of the strong presence of female leadership on the technology and product side with deep AI understanding and experience,” says Eve Burton, Executive VP of Hearst Corporation and Chairwoman of HearstLab.
A project of the Royal Schiphol Group, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Delft University of Technology, Dutch Railways (NS), and the Port of Amsterdam, in partnership with fund manager NBI Investors, is the Mainport Innovation Fund (MIF), which is based in the Netherlands.
It assists entrepreneurs by fusing venture capital with strategic knowledge and a network of transportation partners, with an emphasis on advancing innovations in logistics, aviation, and transportation.
Image Credit: Aiir Innovations
