London-based cleantech startup Airly has raised a $5.5 million Series A fundraising round led by firstminute capital (who previously invested in Instant Commerce and Sequence) and Pi Labs, making a total raise of over $8.8 million from investors since March 2021.
Sir Richard Branson Family Office, AENU, Untitled, as well as new investors Cal Henderson, and Marcin Zukowski, and institutional investors Semapa Next and TO Ventures were among the investors who took part in the round.
The UK company will use the money to quicken product development so it can fully realize the promise of its comprehensive air quality monitoring platform and support local governments fighting for clean air with an all-inclusive approach.
CEO and co-founder of Airly Wiktor Warchaowski state, “With the fundraising round, we are diving deeper with our users. Our sensors’ monitoring has aided in bringing the problem to light. Now that our dashboard is providing actionable insights and nudges, we think that this will function as a catalyst to encourage the implementation of measures and regulations to improve the air we breathe.
Air pollution is responsible for more than 10 million fatalities annually. In addition, children are particularly susceptible to the effects of air pollution and are at an increased risk for stroke, dementia, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory illnesses.
Micha Misiek, Wiktor Warchaowski, and Aleksander Konior founded Airly, a company that provides a complete SaaS solution for air quality monitoring and management.
The business delivers hyper-local real-time air quality data using a low-cost distributed sensor network that is proprietary to it. To improve air quality and comprehend its effects on health and well-being, the solution can monitor the data and derive actionable insights.
Numerous tools, such as a report generator, insights, effect tracker, and city rating, will be available on the dashboard.
Airly recently set up 165 sensors in Warsaw to create the largest air quality monitoring network in a European city. Similar to Indonesia, the UK (Birmingham and the London boroughs of Lambeth, Haringey, and shortly Southwark) has also built major networks (Jakarta).
The business also entered into a strategic relationship with JCDecaux, NHS, and NILU (Norwegian Institute for Air Research), and it is a significant participant in the DivAirCity project, which is supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program.
“London is setting the bar for how real-time local air quality data can spur action to improve the health and sustainability of our cities. I anticipate that many towns and local governments will take after them, starting with data that is more local and exact. We’re very delighted to extend our support of Airly by co-leading their Series A because they are at the vanguard of developing this data infrastructure and our fight against air pollution, said Brent Hoberman, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Founders Forum and firstminute capital.
“The ways that towns and cities contribute to our health and well-being, will determine how we live for years to come, and air quality plays a big part in that,” says Stefania Ponzo, Partner at Pi Labs. We are confident that Airly’s solution will become a crucial instrument in cities all over the world, assisting in raising living standards, lowering emissions, and ultimately bringing us closer to sustainability and wellness objectives. We are thrilled to collaborate with a group whose impact may be felt all across the world.
Image Credit: Airly
