Construction tech Ackcio raises pre-Series A funds from Wavemaker and angel investor

ACKCIO, a startup that provides wireless-monitoring solutions for industrial uses, has raised an undisclosed amount of pre-Series A capital, co-led by venture firm Wavemaker Partners and Michael Gryseels, the president of True Digital Corpo, a unit of Thai communications giant True Corp.

The Singapore-based startup's key existing investors - SEEDS Capital, AccelerAsia Ventures, Aletra Capital Partners, Foundamental and Entrepreneur First -  also participated in the round. 

Founded in 2016, Ackcio builds wireless-monitoring solutions for industrial applications such as construction and mining. Its systems are able to monitor geotechnical and structural sensors, especially in harsh environments such as deep-tunnelling sites. 

Ackcio recently opened a sales office in Canada to enter the North and South American markets. It now serves clients in over 15 countries in South-east Asia, China, Oceania, Europe and North America. 

"The additional funds will help us expand our presence in our existing markets and also expand to new markets in the coming months," Ackcio's co-founder and chief executive Nimantha Baranasuriya said in a statement. 

In Singapore, Ackcio's solutions have been deployed in infrastructure projects such as the Thomson-East Coast MRT line and the Bedok Canal expansion. The firm was recently awarded a contract for a new infrastructure project in Changi Airport.

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With the onset of the pandemic, construction and mining projects all over the world have had to rely less on manpower onsite. As a result, contractors are now increasingly adopting more automated solutions for their monitoring work, and using less manpower.

Dr Baranasuriya said: "In post-pandemic times, we are seeing a sticky increase in demand for our technology, which allows contractors to monitor their projects in real-time without depending on manpower availability."  

Paul Santos, managing partner of Wavemaker Partners, added: "Ackcio has always been about affordable and reliable wireless mesh solutions that will not fail in harsh conditions... We're proud of their progress and excited to see even more organisations around the world adopt Ackcio's technology."