Axora secures $10 million platform-funding boost
Axora aims to come up with digital solutions which solve many business pain points on its new innovation platform after closing over $10 million in funding from private placements.
The latest round of investment welcomes new minority shareholders Traxys and Société Générale, and a group of private investors, including ABCP fund and the Boston Consulting Group provided further financing.
"We estimate that approximately $200 billion in Intellectual Property is duplicated every year across industrial companies," said Ajay Chowdhury, Managing Director and Partner, BCG Digital Ventures. "Many companies across different sectors are looking to solve the same or similar problems but unfortunately there's a lack of transparency across industries which results in wasted investment as companies develop technology solutions which have already been built elsewhere."
In addition to its new shareholders, Axora also welcomes Ritz Steytler as CEO, following an extensive search process. Ritz has more than 27 years' experience in the technology-led transformation and growth of multinational businesses. He spent the first part of his career as a consultant and systems integrator with Accenture and IBM, delivering transformation programmes for some of the biggest names in retail, telecommunications and financial services.
Later, he was CEO and board director of the omni-channel payment processor PXP up to its acquisition by Kalixa in May 2014, and subsequently COO and board director of Kalixa until October 2015. Before joining Axora, he was COO of Featurespace, the world leader in adaptive behavioral analytics and AI-based fraud detection.
"The need for companies to be digital, safer, sustainable and efficient has never been greater," said Steytler. "This new investment not only validates our offering but ensures that we continue to identify and provide digital solutions that solve many of the pain points suffered by businesses in industry today. I'm looking forward to leading Axora through the next phase of its development."
Together with its expert industry insights, Axora hosts more than 100 innovative solutions from sector leaders to start-ups, universities, and consultancies. Examples include machine vision technology that identifies mineral ore contaminants three times faster than the human eye, and predictive modelling for oil rigs which uses built-in sensors and AI to maximise production. Axora's proven digital solutions help to reduce wasted investment, avoid duplication and accelerate business growth.
Axora was developed by a team of industry experts, engineers and entrepreneurs including the Boston Consulting Group. It is currently focusing on the Oil and Gas and Mining and Metals sectors and will soon expand into other sectors.