New venture capitalist for Vialytics

Norwegian financial investor Statkraft Ventures is getting in on startup Vialytics, which helps municipalities fix road damage using artificial intelligence.

Put an end to driving from pothole to pothole, that's the goal of the founders of Vialytics. The start-up has developed an artificial intelligence that independently records and evaluates the condition of the roads. Statkraft Ventures has also recognised the potential behind this and is now joining as a new investor. Existing investor EnBW New Ventures is staying on.

The data for Vialytics' AI is to be supplied by urban vehicles such as those used by the refuse collection service or the public order office. According to Vialytics, a smartphone attached to the windshield captures an image every four meters via a camera, a motion sensor captures vibrations, and the GPS receiver determines the location.

EnBW New Ventures and Starkraft Ventures are teaming up to help the Stuttgart-based startup grow. Statkraft Ventures is a European venture capitalist that invests particularly in the energy sector. It is backed by the Norwegian Statkraft Group, which is a producer of renewable energy. The savings potential for municipalities using Vialytics is considerable, says Steffen Funck, Managing Director at Statkraft Ventures. He was convinced by "the user-friendly installation, intuitive operation and the great scaling potential" with Vialytics.

Vialytics was founded in 2017 by Achim Hoth, Patrick Glaser and Danilo Jovicic. The goal is to manage municipal roads "more efficiently and thus optimize the municipal budget," according to the founders.