OXFORD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FIDO AI Ltd – the software company helping to rapidly improve global water resilience using AI-led non-revenue water (NRW) reduction and curated water data insights – today announced that it has raised Series B funding required to further scale its business.
The investment round was led by CRH Ventures, the venture capital unit of CRH, a leading provider of building materials solutions. CRH Ventures joins FIDO’s existing investors SKion Water GmbH, Emerald Technology Ventures and others.
The new funding will enable FIDO AI’s management team to accelerate their continued commercial success in global water management and corporate water stewardship and to pursue additional strategic opportunities in adjacent building, equipment and infrastructure delivery markets.
FIDO CEO Victoria Edwards said: “I am thrilled to announce CRH Ventures’ investment in FIDO which builds on our existing partnership with CRH through its Oldcastle Infrastructure business in the United States. This investment not only secures our company’s future, but it will also allow us to grow at scale in markets we could not easily have reached and to really fulfil our mission of creating a world without water scarcity.
“The strong strategic relationship with CRH is fundamentally the right one for FIDO. It places us in the right market ecosystem to position FIDO AI as the world’s go-to smart solution for water resilience and water stewardship across infrastructure build, maintenance, management and sustainability reporting.”
Eduardo Gomez, Head of CRH Ventures, said: “This investment underscores our commitment to scaling the most promising and cutting-edge innovative technologies. FIDO’s AI technology aligns seamlessly with CRH’s focus on developing innovative and sustainable solutions for the built environment. We look forward to strengthening our existing partnership, particularly through Oldcastle Infrastructure, our US-based water infrastructure business, to drive transformative impact in water management.”
Jason Jackson, President, Oldcastle Infrastructure said: “The investment in FIDO AI is an important part of our enduring commitment to utilize innovative technologies to advance critical infrastructure solutions that solve global water challenges. Together, we will forge an alliance focused on reducing the serious impact of water loss in our communities while evolving leak detection technology to create a more sustainable future.”
FIDO’s unique volumetric AI has become a leading technology in the field of smart water management since its development in 2019. As well as providing unparalleled data insight on the presence, size and accurate location of hidden water leaks using acoustic analysis, FIDO’s AI is increasingly being used for broader watershed level management, including proactive maintenance, and, through its FIDO Plus offering, for collaborative corporate water replenishment programs.
The FIDO Plus innovative corporate water stewardship model, in collaboration with Oldcastle Infrastructure in the United States, enables corporates to support the deployment of FIDO’s AI on local utility networks where it is used to prioritise, verify and monitor the rapid repair of large leaks. The volume of water thus saved is validated using volumetric water benefit (VWB) accounting, a methodology for valuing water stewardship activities which is recognised by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS). Saved water contributes immediately to water availability through watershed replenishment and can be claimed as a VWB against corporate environmental, social and governance goals.
Microsoft is one of a growing number of multinational companies using FIDO Plus as a key part of their global water stewardship programs, with projects in London, Mexico and the Colorado river basin.
About FIDO AI
FIDO is a UK-based global technology company using deep learning from its vast curated water data sets to rapidly improve global water management and community water resilience at scale. Its AI is the only technology which can find leaks and other events occurring on water pipeline networks in real time and rank them by size for effective prioritization. Its results are validated using volumetric water benefit accounting, a methodology for valuing water stewardship activities which is recognised by the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS). FIDO AI is now used in five continents, with offices in the UK and the US. For more information visit www.fido.tech.
About CRH Ventures
CRH Ventures is the venture capital unit of CRH, a leading provider of building materials solutions. With access to a $250M Venturing and Innovation Fund, CRH Ventures partners with and invests ambitiously and strategically in ConTech and ClimateTech start-ups across the entire construction value chain. For more information visit www.crhventures.com.
About CRH
CRH (NYSE: CRH, LSE: CRH) is the leading provider of building materials solutions that build, connect and improve our world. Employing c.78,500 people at c.3,390 operating locations in 28 countries, CRH has market leadership positions in both North America and Europe. As the essential partner for transportation and critical utility infrastructure projects, complex non-residential construction and outdoor living solutions, CRH’s unique offering of materials, products and value-added services helps to deliver a more resilient and sustainable built environment. The company is ranked among sector leaders by Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating agencies. A Fortune 500 company, CRH’s shares are listed on the NYSE and LSE. For more information visit: www.crh.com
About Oldcastle Infrastructure
Oldcastle Infrastructure, A CRH Company, is the leading provider of infrastructure solutions to several North American market sectors, including Water, Communications, Energy, and Transportation. For more information, visit www.oldcastleinfrastructure.com
