AmbiSense raises €1million to scale up and expand overseas

By Eimear Dodd Journalism MA student, @TheCity_Dublin editor,@Irish_TechNews

AmbiSense, a Dublin City University (DCU) spin-out company which develops next generation sensor technologies for the environmental monitoring sector, has secured investment of €1 million to scale-up its business and to expand into additional overseas markets.

The recent financing round was led by Atlantic Bridge’s University Bridge Fund with support from existing investors including Enterprise Ireland.

Operating in the growing Internet of Things (IoT) sector, AmbiSense designs and manufactures low-cost, smart, solar powered landfill gas monitoring instruments and networks.

In 2016, the company released GasfluX, an online, continuous and adaptive ground gas risk assessment platform with land remediation, oil & gas, and waste management applications. The product can be used to monitor ground gas behaviour in real time to improve risk assessments and reduce costs.

Commenting on the deal, AmbiSense CEO Stephen McNulty said:

“Since launching GasfluX last year, customer feedback has been incredibly positive. We now wish to rapidly expand our commercial presence and accelerate our R&D activities. The opportunities to bring data analytics and a service model to traditional land asset management are exciting.

Securing the backing of Atlantic Bridge enables us to do just that, as well as benefiting from their considerable experience working with successful, high-growth companies across multiple sectors”.

Chris Horn at Atlantic Bridge noted:

“Atlantic Bridge is delighted to welcome AmbiSense to our growing portfolio of early-stage companies in the University Fund.  The Company strongly represents the commercial strength of world-class academic research undertaken in Ireland, and illustrates how the University Bridge Fund can accelerate the global growth of such opportunities.”

AmbiSense began as an Environmental Protection Agency-funded STRIVE project within DCU in 2008. Its objective was to develop a low-cost device for the environmental monitoring sector.

In 2014, AmbiSense was spun-out as an Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-Up by co-founders Stephen McNulty, Dr. Fiachra Collins and Professor Dermot Diamond. Following this investment Chris Horn, Atlantic Bridge Venture Partner, will join the AmbiSense Board as a Non-Executive Director.

AmbiSense continues to be based in the DCU Innovation Campus.  The company has plans to develop further IoT technology to monitor air and water quality.

The Atlantic Bridge University Bridge Fund is a €60 million investment fund to accelerate the commercialisation of ground-breaking research and the scaling of global businesses.  The fund represents a partnership between leading Irish universities and other institutional investors. It looks for opportunities to invest in companies that have evolved from research generated at Irish universities and third level institutions.

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