Irish-based Protex AI (YC S21) has raised an $18M investment to help further grow our presence in Europe and North America, led by Notion Capital with participation from Playfair Capital, Elkstone and Firstminute Capital to empower EHS teams to protect their workforce with AI-powered technology.
According to Protex AI, The fresh fund utilized to expand both our commercial and engineering teams so that we can meet the demands of the global market and continue to innovate in a space that lags behind when it comes to AI adoption.
Dan Hobbs CEO of Protex AI said “The strategic investment from both Flexport and SCOR Ventures is a clear indicator that there’s a need for technology-based solutions to radically improve safety standards in the industry. Protex AI has a compelling proposition to address this need. With the cost of workplace accidents estimated at $171 billion in the US alone due to losses in productivity, insurance, and medical expenses; safety technology is a growing space as companies look to prevent huge losses in costs and time.
Ryan Petersen CEO of Flexport said “We’re delighted to back Protex AI and their mission to make every industrial workplace safer. Their unique use of computer vision within existing CCTV systems will save lives.”
Kamil Mieczakowski Principal of Notion Capital said “One of the silver linings of the Covid pandemic has been the increased appreciation for the blue-collar workers whose health and safety is now one of the key discussion topics inside the corporate board rooms. Protex is a leader in the proactive safety technology market and has quickly become the go-to platform for the leading enterprises globally wanting to achieve health and safety excellence. The founding team’s deep domain expertise in building computer vision products has already translated into an extraordinary level of traction for a company of their stage and we’re excited to be investing in the business to drive the further development of their platform and to put more resources into marketing, sales and increasing the company’s global footprint.”
Henrik Wetter Sanchez Principal of Playfair Capital said “Protex AI’s product is enabling a generational shift in the industry from reactive to proactive health and safety. This will bring safer, more reliable, and cheaper workplaces to workers and companies around the world, turning EHS teams from cost centres to profit centres.”
Founded in 2021 by Dan Hobbs and Ciarán O’Mara, Protex AI is helping enterprise EHS teams revolutionize how they make proactive safety decisions that in turn contribute to a safer work environment. Their AI-powered technology is enabling businesses to gain greater visibility of unsafe behaviours in their facilities. The privacy-preserving platform plugs into existing CCTV infrastructure and uses its computer vision technologies to capture unsafe events autonomously in settings such as warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and ports.