Helin, based in Rijswijk, has raised €10 million to further develop its edge AI platform. The investment round was led by FORWARD.one from Amsterdam and follows an earlier loan from Rabobank. The company will use the financing to expand its international sales capacity.
Helin offers an edge computing platform that allows industrial companies to monitor and control their installations anywhere in the world, even without a stable internet connection. Think of offshore drilling platforms, wind and solar parks, or other critical infrastructure. What these environments all have in common is that a cloud connection is not always available or secure.
The platform allows AI applications to run locally at the edge. “In these sectors, connection problems or delays pose a huge potential operational risk,” says co-founder Martijn Handels. New legislation such as the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) makes it increasingly important for data processing to take place where it is collected: at the edge.
Helin now has more than 80 employees and operates worldwide. Over the past three years, the company has increased its revenue by 12 times. Its customers include multinationals such as BP, Shell, Boskalis, Stena, and Sunrock. Helin claims to be the international market leader in the oil and gas sector.
Scaling up with FORWARD.one
Paul Pruijmboom, partner at FORWARD.one and board member at Helin, emphasizes that the company has proven its added value under challenging circumstances. “The platform is used by customers, is growing, and is valued by major industrial players.” With this investment, FORWARD.one aims to increase commercial clout and roll out the platform on a larger scale within complex organizations.
The Amsterdam-based investment company focuses on early-stage European startups with defensive innovations for large markets. Helin fits that profile and now has the resources to expand its international sales team.
Handels formulates the ambition: “Our goal is to become the global development platform for industrial AI app development and ultimately achieve unicorn status.” They want to extend that status to other sectors in which they are active, such as renewable energy and maritime.