London based business, Inspection2 has secured a £250,000 loan from The Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
Inspection2 has been transforming the automation of industrial inspection since 2012. Inspection² was incubated inside Sky-Futures, a leading global drone services provider and spun out before the sale of Sky-Futures to Private Equity in May 2019.
Inspection² software uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automation, and 3D visualisation to automatically analyse inspection images, saving up to 70% of engineering time compared to traditional methods. A powerful AI platform that enables the captured data to be turned into actionable information. This delivers major reductions in OPEX and risk by providing a path to inspection automation and reporting by exception. Its ability to correctly identify billable assets also supports more effective inventory, Partner, and cost base management.
As an independent business, Inspection2 will focus on industrial inspections within the Telecommunications, Transmission & Distribution and Oil & Gas sectors, solving critical business infrastructure problems.
Whether inspection, upgrade, maintenance or decommissioning, this technology enables those sectors to utilise all of the information needed to make better and more informed decisions. The client can store and manage large volumes of data collected from multiple sources including handheld cameras and smartphones, delivering significant flexibility.
James Harison, Founder and CEO of Inspection2 commented: “Understanding the unique requirements of our target sectors is key to our business. The software solution was built to specifically address the volume of data being collected by drones and to automate data processing, allowing an operator to build up a picture of industrial asset condition over time, in a highly structured asset base. This loan will help us strengthen our business and I would like to thank GLIF and David at The FSE Group for facilitating the loan to help us continue to service our existing contracts and to deliver our future plans.”
David Booth, Senior Fund Manager for The FSE Group, who manage the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, commented: “We were impressed by the team at Inspection2 who have developed a product which saves time and money for operators of critical infrastructure assets. The market opportunity is substantial across Telecommunications, Transmission & Distribution and Oil & gas and we look forward to supporting the business through its next phase of growth.”
Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “Inspection2 's AI based solution, offers important efficiency gains in critical infrastructure sectors such as oil and gas. We are delighted the loan provided by GLIF will help James and his team deliver existing commitments, facilitate growth and achieve future business goals in 2021 and beyond.”
GLIF is a £100m initiative to help address the SME finance gap in Greater London, promoting economic growth through enterprise and an inclusive and sustainable economy. £55m of debt funding is available, via loans between £100,000 and £1m, to early-stage and established SMEs looking to scale-up and realise their growth ambitions. GLIF is financed through the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), London Waste & recycling Board (LWARB) and Funding London’s Legacies.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of, and with the financial backing of, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy (BEIS). Deadline for CBILS applications has been extended to 31st January 2021 for UK businesses.