Bisly, a startup that is making it economically feasible to turn any building into an energy-efficient building, has closed a €3.6 million round of fundraising. The round was led by Aconterra with support from Second Century Ventures and REACH UK, SmartCap Green Fund, and Pinorena Capital, as well as several angel investors.
The Tallinn-based startup works with both commercial and residential properties and currently is deploying projects in cooperation with over 25 real estate developers and funds. The new funding will be used to capture a fast-growing market by widening and deepening Bisly’s market engagement in Europe, with an emphasis on the Nordics, DACH region, and the UK.
“With our unified intelligent building platform, Bisly is simplifying a very complex industry that is addressing the even more complex problem of climate change,” said Bisly CEO and co-founder Siim Vips. “People are just becoming familiar with the concept of smart homes or smart buildings, and intelligent buildings go even a step beyond that. We are driven by a high degree of urgency and by the fact that our solution will get more buildings into sustainable operations in less time and less money than any other solution on the market.”
“Intelligent Buildings” extend the potential of “Smart Buildings” to be even more efficient by integrating and optimizing individual smart controllers for functions such as HVAC, lighting, and security in a single platform. The global Intelligent Building market is estimated at $86 billion, growing at 11.4% CAGR, and is expected to reach $148 billion by 2027. This rate of growth is being driven by strategic factors such as high energy costs and ESG compliance. With the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) mandates major efficiency improvements in how all buildings utilize energy for things like heating, cooling, lighting, and hot water. According to the EU, 75% of current building stock in the bloc does not meet the required new standards.
With a demanding legislative timetable now in place, the search is on for economic solutions to construct and retrofit buildings with the technological intelligence to minimize energy consumption. Bisly is making waves in a market currently dominated by legacy solutions that cannot meet the demands of most real-world budgets. Bisly’s open-standard technology offers a drastic reduction in total project costs with specially-developed sensors that install quickly, together with a simple and secure software platform that uses bank-grade encryption.
“Aconterra’s dedicated commitment to enhancing building efficiency, safety, health, and comfort aligns seamlessly with Bisly’s innovative solutions. With a proven record of delivering high-quality products and a smooth onboarding process across Estonia and neighboring regions, Bisly has established itself as a reliable player. Aconterra looks forward to actively supporting Bisly in its global expansion,” commented Ron Schuermans, founding partner at Aconterra.
By combining all aspects of Intelligent Building — manufacturing, installation, building management software, and digital twin infrastructure — into one platform, Bisly is able to reduce acquisition costs to the point of near parity with conventional construction and management practices, while dramatically reducing installation and running costs. Its closest competitors are currently achieving a price point that is two and half times higher. Bisly offers either a nominal SaaS fee combined with a one-off installation “buyout” fee for residential projects, or a slightly higher monthly SaaS fee and no up-front costs for commercial projects. In its founding market of Estonia, Bisly has achieved a market leadership position in building automation, capturing over 25% of the total market there in less than five years.
“We are extremely proud to support Bisly and witness their successful participation in the REACH UK 2023 tech scale-up program,” added Tyler Thompson, Managing Partner of Second Century Ventures and REACH Global. “Intelligent building technology holds immense potential for global growth as economies worldwide are striving to achieve net-zero goals.”
“SmartCap Green Fund’s main objective is to support early-stage green technology companies, whose product or service is directly contributing to meeting the climate goals,” said Sille Pettai, Member of the Board and Fund Manager at SmartCap. “Estonian technology company Bisly has already established itself as an innovator in smart building solutions both in Estonia and on international markets, making a clear contribution to reducing the carbon footprint in real estate segment and thus contributing to climate change mitigation.”
