Setting the Scene
We often hear, “the grass isn’t always greener,” but on sports fields some spots might actually be greener, safer, and more resource efficient. 🌱
Shockingly, 90% of sports injuries result from slips on inadequately maintained turf.
However, proper field maintenance can come with hours of manual labor and tools that lack precision, resulting in excess resource use and imperfect results.
This week’s company uses robotics and AI to scan fields and ensure optimal conditions while decreasing resources needed.
In a Sentence
E-Nano designs robotics and software tools to help grounds keepers ensure optimal field conditions.
Robotics: Advanced machinery navigates fields and uses sensors and data analysis to identify areas that need attention.
Optimal: E-Nano's approach ensures prime and cost-effective surface maintenance, reducing resource overuse.
Bulleted Version
- Think of E-Nano as the ski groomer for sports fields; just as groomers survey ski slopes to plan for optimal runs, E-Nano uses AI and robotics to assess fields, pinpointing patches that require attention. ⛷️
The Basics:
- Headquarters: London, England
- Employee Count: 5
- Investors:
- Funding amount: £175k pre-seed and £250k in public funding
- Currently raising: £1.2M (£180k in seed and £235k in public funding committed)
- Business model: Robots as a Service (Install + Recurring Service Fees)
- Early traction: Contracts with UK, EU, and FIFA Football leagues amounting to £175k in orders on the books and £2.5M in negotiation agreements.
Due Diligence
🌾 Sports field management market: E-Nano targets the athletic field construction and maintenance market that currently faces inefficiency and high costs.
E-Nano's technology enables automatic data collection, drastically slashing labor requirements and associated costs.
⛳ Use cases: Beyond traditional sports fields, E-Nano's versatile sensors can be brought to golf courses, farms, parks, and more.
🍃 Environmental Impact: E-Nano helps reduce the use of fertilizers, water, and other inputs, resulting in greener grass and a lower carbon footprint.
🔄 Sales cycles: E-Nano could encounter prolonged sales cycles, especially when targeting end customers who have historically been slower to embrace new hardware and software solutions.
⚙️ High touch: Given their complex product offerings, E-Nano must work closely with customers for seamless hardware-software integration and maintenance.
💰Costly production: E-Nano has high input costs and may need to continue to spend heavily on the production of the units before selling the product at scale.
Founder Profile
Christian Von Schedit, CEO: Previously worked as a Project Engineer on both software and hardware development projects at ALP Technologies.
Erwann Lompech-Leneveu, COO: Previously worked as an R&D Project Manager at ALP Technologies.
Gabor Zichy, CDO: Industrial designer with 6 years of manufacturing experience and co-founder of 88LAB Design Consultancy.
Alan Jurnet Berteloot, CTO: Previously worked as Project Engineer at ALP Technologies and +OTROS.
Comps
GreenSight: Backed by Toro, Tabard Venture Capital, Emerald Development Managers, and the US National Science Foundation.
Ronovatec: Backed by Technology Fund.
Turf Tank: Privately held.
Sythe: Backed by Lemnos, True Ventures, Zigg, Inspired, Energy Impact Partners, and others.
Why E-Nano
Pioneering the automated assessment of sports fields and agricultural lands, E-Nano's patented robotics sensor, is set to revolutionize the playing field in the sports and agtech markets.
