By Juan Pedro Tomás
UK smart city company Connexin announced it has raised an initial commitment of up to £80 million (US$103 million) in funding to further strengthen its position in the smart infrastructure and Internet of Things (IoT) sector.
The company said that new investment will support the expansion of its business to meet expected growth in demand for smart networks in UK cities.
The large injection of capital has been provided by Whitehelm Capital, one of the world’s largest independent infrastructure managers.
“Now more than ever, we have been taught by the pandemic the true value of technology and the societal benefits that it has for citizens,” said founder and CEO of Connexin, Furqan Alamgir. “At Connexin, we’re building sustainable, programmable infrastructure for today and tomorrow. This financing further validates the digital transformation we have delivered within cities, communities and the utility sector through our leadership and innovation in the smart infrastructure and IoT space.”
“We are extremely excited to be working with the Whitehelm team and look forward to continuing our commitment to building programmable infrastructure of the future that will address future challenges, drive economic savings, promote a better quality of life and create environmental improvements,” Alamgir added.
“Whitehelm is delighted to partner with Connexin to support the development of digital infrastructure in the UK. At a time when connectivity has become more important than ever, we have identified a significant need to invest in regional networks and support local communities. Connexin’s long and successful track record in providing connectivity services to these local communities, businesses and municipalities make it a perfect partner,” said Head of Business Development at Whitehelm Capital, Tom Maher.
“In addition to the initial commitment of up to £80 million, Whitehelm has earmarked further capital for investment through the partnership,” Maher added.
“By allowing all communities to have access to our digitally connected infrastructure, it enables connected devices to “speak” to one another which paves the way for amazing things. By way of example, we create solutions for councils that can monitor air quality and communicate this information with people who suffer with breathing conditions to help against prevent asthma attacks and reduce hospital admissions. We’ve also helped the utility sector with smart metering for leak protection for better water performance to help tackle the problem of 3.1 billion liters of water lost each day due to water leakage. With this investment, we can replicate the success we have in building smart communities across the country,” Alamgir added.
Founded in Hull in 2006, Connexin is a provider of end-to-end Smart City solutions, such as Smart Water, Smart Parking, Smart Lighting and Smart Waste.
This year, Connexin implemented a smart city project in Sheffield, where the company deployed its CityOS platform to integrate, view, manage and respond to information to improve highway maintenance services.
Connexin operates and manages its own national LoRaWAN network.
