Digital twin technology is increasingly being adopted by companies to create virtual representations of physical spaces. These “digital twins” are being used for a variety of applications, including surveying, digital floorplans, construction management, and virtual exhibits, in a growing number of industries such as transportation, manufacturing, retail, museums, and real estate.
Munich-based NavVis is one startup using digital twin technology to provide indoor spatial intelligence solutions for enterprises. The company has just raised €31 million in Series C funding, in a round led by Digital+ Partners, with participation from new investor Kozo Keikaku Engineering Inc, and existing investors MIG, Target Partners, and BayBG. The company plans to use the new funds to accelerate international growth, and further develop its product.
NavVis helps enterprises optimise business performance through its digital twin platform that enables accurate mapping, immersive 3D visualisation designed for collaboration, and location-based apps that pioneer AI-powered positioning technology. Its interactive, virtual workspace allows team collaboration and delivers actionable insights that drive strategic decision-making as well as day-to-day-operations.
Gartner predicts that by 2021, half of large industrial companies will use digital twins, resulting in those organisations gaining a significant 10% improvement in efficiency. This rapid pace of adoption in the very near term has the digital twin market projected to be worth €13.7 billion by 2023.
Since launching in 2013, NavVis has experienced rapid growth, and in the last 18 months it has grown its customer base by 150%, with clients including Daimler, Lenovo and Deutsche Telekom. The company has also doubled its number of employees and opened an office in Shanghai, China.
Felix Reinshagen, NavVis co-founder and CEO, said: “The major German automotive manufacturers, who served as early adopters, paved the way for our digital twin technology to transform how enterprises will operate in the future. As a result, we are now experiencing a tremendous surge in demand for our well-established and trail tested platform. Our mission is now to empower every enterprise with the easiest and most powerful way to build and operate their own digital twin to the fullest potential.”
