Swiss chemtech startup CyanoGuard announces raising over €2.8 million in a seed round led by Wingman Ventures with participation of BlueOcean Ventures, and the awarding of a non-dilutive SME Instrument grant by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme.
CyanoGuard is a fast-growing chemtech startup based in Zurich, Switzerland, dedicated to shaping the future of cyanide detection, monitoring and optimization. Its solutions allow both trained and untrained users to test liquid samples using a sensor that changes colour upon the presence of cyanide – a fast and simple idea, that eliminates the use of hazardous substances.
Founded in 2016, its next generation cyanide monitoring solutions are used in gold mining, food safety and medical applications. For example, CyanoGuard manufactures and provides the best solution for safe and efficient cyanide monitoring for industrial process control and toxicological analyses. Additionally, Mines rely on CyanoGuard’s data-driven and connected solutions to extract more gold, while reducing their operating costs and environmental footprint.
Co-founder Benedikt Kirchgässler states: “These funds enable us to scale our ground-breaking monitoring solutions and roll them out to gold mines around the world. I am excited about the positive impact that our digital, AI-based technology has on the global gold mining industry as well as the local communities and the environment. I believe that we will benefit from both the experience of leading venture funds, Wingman and BlueOcean, as well as the support of the European Union to speed up market penetration and develop further applications for our technology.”
With the newly raised capital from this seed round, CyanoGuard plans to accelerate its go-to-market strategy in the global mining industry. Alex Stöckl, Founding Partner at Wingman Ventures, who has joined CyanoGuard’s Board of Directors in the context of the round adds: “With its current offering, CyanoGuard has a unique value proposition for its mining clients that is beyond improved cyanide testing. This encompasses an efficiency-enhancing digitization of process control and a more sustainable usage of cyanide in mining operations. We are convinced that Benedikt, Mathias and their team will drive CyanoGuard to become a globally leading provider of digital mining solutions.”
The freshly obtained funds are also intended to further expedite the development of CyanoGuard’s product offering for food safety and healthcare applications. This is also one of the reasons Geneva-based medtech and life sciences venture firm BlueOcean Ventures has joined the financing round, as General Partner Sacha Haymoz points out: “The opportunity to apply CyanoGuard’s unique and already validated technology to the medical field, be it in blood, urine or breath testing for cyanide detection, will be a huge game changer for healthcare professionals around the world in the treatment of smoke inhalation victims.”
via https://www.AiUpNow.com/ by contact@bcurdy.com, Khareem Sudlow
