The technology that combines Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), acessible to small and medium-sized retailers, promotes operational and energy efficiency and loss reduction.
São Paulo, April 2022. Indicator Capital, a Brazilian early-stage venture capital firm, announces the fifth contribution made through its Indicator 2 IoT Fund, the largest Internet of Things fund established in Latin America. The firm is leading a US$ 2.5 million investment round in SYOS, a startup from Rio de Janeiro that developed a cold chain management platform for Brazilian food retail. Through IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI), SYOS optimizes the operation of refrigerators, ensuring the quality of food products in an era where consumers are increasingly concerned about their health.
The invested startup brings disruption to a market (commercial refrigeration) that has passed by digital transformation so far, and intends to be recognized as a reference in the management of ‘food cold’, a fundamental item for retailers and consumers. Through a proprietary methodology, using wireless sensors and smart alarms, its platform guarantees to retailers that all products are always at the right temperature, preventing losses, ensuring product quality and, as a result, increasing sales. The solution can be easily installed on any equipment, without the need for further investment, works or hiring new employees.
The technology is sold in the SaaS (Software as a Service) + HaaS (Hardware as a Service) model, with charges for monitored equipment (refrigerators and ‘cold rooms’).
An important feature of SYOS technology, in terms of the market positioning, is the focus on SMEs. Monitoring the cold is an obligation of any food retailer, according to the ordinances of ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency), but it is still done manually or even neglected by most companies.
The application of cold in food preservation is essential for the reduction of chemical reactivity and enzymatic activity, as well as the inhibition, multiplication and activity of microorganisms. According to Paulo Lerner, CEO of SYOS, the strictness of the legislation regarding the quality of food tends to increase, given the volume of people who get sick from eating poorly preserved products. There are already global policy initiatives that support the requirement of ‘proof of good maintenance of food quality’ and its conservation under ideal temperatures.
“We foresaw a huge opportunity to innovate in this refrigeration systems market, to contribute to the preservation of the population's health, the reduction of waste and the optimization of equipment, with a truly disruptive technology that will impact the lives of all people. Cold food is serious business and there is no quality and healthy food without proper conservation”, explains Lerner.
Market potential and technology evolution are factors to the investment
The experience of the SYOS team, the high quality of the developed technology, the opportunity for application to SMEs and other markets, and the great potential to become the market standard for refrigerators and quality reference for consumers, due to its scalability to millions of equipment, were some of the factors that motivated Indicator Capital's investment.
“What caught my attention most about Paulo was his ability to execute, his strategic vision and, at the same time, his deep technical and commercial knowledge. Very clear vision of the company's strategic roadmap and products. We see a high demand for SYOS technology anywhere in the world, whether for operational, energy efficiency, loss prevention and compliance issues, such as, for example, supermarkets, convenience stores, bars, restaurants, hotels, pharmacies and consumer packaged goods, among others markets”, says Thomas Bittar, co-founder of Indicator.
As ‘Investors for Good’, the firm partners considered the potential of the SYOS solution to reduce food waste (impact of more than US$ 100 billion annually in retail alone), a 50% reduction in energy consumption and 90% of polluting gases responsible for global warming, aspects that are aligned with the metrics of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2, 3, 7 and 13.
Indicator's team will help the startup to connect with strategic players in the retail and IoT sector and with end customers, strengthening the team, its governance and market strategy, working together with SYOS and allocating an 'operating partner'. who will work in closer and daily contact with the company.
“We hope that with this investment, SYOS will quadruple the team, reaching more than 200 employees and, by the end of 2022, present in more than 200 Brazilian supermarkets. We estimate a reach of 5% of the retail sector for 2023”, concludes Paulo Lerner, CEO of SYOS.
About Indicator Capital
Founded in 2014, Indicator Capital is a Brazilian venture capital firm operating in Sao Paulo and the Silicon Valley. The partnership formed by Derek Lundgren Bittar, Fabio Iunis de Paula, and Thomas Lundgren Bittar, promotes the convergence between the dream of the entrepreneur and the financial return for the investor, tropicalizing American best practices to national startups. With more than R$ 300MM under management, Indicator Capital is the largest early-stage venture capital firm in Latin America specialized in the Internet of Things (IoT). In their investments, the partners apply value-adding, proprietary methodology Building Value Together®, besides acting as Investors for Good, a concept reinforced by the firm`s certification as a B System™ company.
About SYOS
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