It’s an important step for Eindhoven start-up Avular. The company, which is developing a new, more stable kind of drone to inspect constructions such as bridges and oil tanks, has a large investor on board. The agreement was signed on 19 April in Beijing. Chinese investor Yu Ming Fang will invest 450,000 euros in the young company.
How was the investment secured?
Avular is one of the ten companies that were selected for last year’s Startupbootcamp HighTechXL. The programme is organised every year on the High Tech Campus for young, innovative entrepreneurs. The companies are intensively guided by more than 150 mentors for three months. Last February it all came to a gripping end at Evoluon. The ten start-ups introduced themselves to a large audience, which included Chinese investor Yu, who then expressed his interest in investing 450,000 euros in Avular.
What does Avular do?
Avular is developing a drone which is more precise and safer than anything that has been available up to now. Stability is an important factor. The device will even stay on course in windy conditions. The drone can be used to monitor farmland and inspect oil tanks, something that takes about two weeks now, but could be done in two days with Avular’s drone.
But Avular wants to do more than just sell drones. The company sees itself as a service provider to organisations wanting to work with drones. Everything from certification to the development of a smart database where all the data collected by the drone can be managed.
Who is the investor?
Avular is closing a deal with Chinese investor Yu Ming Fang. Yu was previously the director of the Belle International footware factory, which was ranked eighth in Businessweek’s Top 50 Asian Companies of 2008. Yu is now an art collector and active investor, having invested in companies such as Umanto, an online textile store offering the likes of bed linens and towels.
With thanks to Jeroen van de Nieuwenhof
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