SensorFlow Raises $8.3m, Eyes Innovations to Help Hotels Manage Covid-19

Singapore-based property technology (proptech) startup SensorFlow, announced raising $8.3 million in a Series A+ funding round that the firm will use to develop solutions for automating heating systems.

In a statement, SensorFlow said combines the use of smart wireless IoT solutions and artificial intelligence to help buildings monitor, analyze, and automate energy consumption. These innovations can help hotels manage the Covid-19 pandemic, the startup said.

“For the hospitality sector, the need for optimizing energy and operational efficiency is especially pertinent now as it works on recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the firm’s co-founder and CEO Saikrishnan Ranganathan.

SensorFlow’s solutions, he added, can help clients save costs in the longer term and bounce back faster from the pandemic’s economic effects.

The latest funding round was co-led by Openspace Ventures and Gaw Capital Partners, which invest in early-stage technology companies in Southeast Asia and global real estate markets, respectively.

Other prominent investors who featured in the round were Aurum Investments, a proptech focused venture capital fund, and Pierre Lorinet.

Aside from financing the company’s smart building management solution for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, the funds will also be used to hire new talent in hardware and data science roles and expand to new markets globally.

Founded in 2016, SensorFlow offers buildings, including hotels, offices, and industrial spaces, the ability to automate HVAC systems, monitor equipment performance, and optimize housekeeping routes through an Internet of Things (IoT) technology and artificial intelligence-driven solution.

The company said its solution generates up to 30 to 50 percent of savings on hotel room HVAC costs, which can translate up to 30 percent in savings on total hotel energy bills.

To date, SensorFlow has been signed on by about 10,000 hotel rooms across Southeast Asia and recorded a 1,000 percent increase in hotel room installations since 2019.

Gervin Yang, VP Investments at Openspace Ventures, said SensorFlow’s solution leads to “energy and operational efficiency gains that contribute to substantial cost savings.”

“This is especially important in the current climate and can be adopted by any property manager looking to increase profitability as well as to reduce their impact on the environment,” Yang added.