Startup of the Day: Estonian AI-powered platform for geodata production EyeVi Technologies

Founded in 2020 by Gaspar Anton, Estonia-based startup EyeVi Technologies develops an AI-powered platform for geospatial data production, as well as mobile mapping. To date, it has already raised over €4 million, including a fresh $2 million seed round led by the New York-based VC firm ff Venture Capital, and operates in the US, Baltic, the Nordic, and the UK markets.

In the Startup of the Day column, founder and CEO at EyeVi Technologies Gaspar Anton shares details about the startup’s idea, its product, and future plans.

The Startup of the Day column on AIN.Capital is dedicated to tech projects from all sectors that originated from the CEE countries. If you would like to introduce your project, please fill in the questionnaire.

Tell us about your startup. How does it work?

EyeVi Technologies offers an on-demand mapping technology for capturing and processing high accuracy geodata cost-effectively and fast. We help road maintenance crews do their jobs more efficiently, which contributes directly to a modern infrastructure.

How did you come up with the startup’s idea? What was the reason/motivation behind it?

Gaspar cut his teeth as one of the founding builders of Google Maps in the Baltics. As hardware prices fell and AI-driven computational platforms became easier to build, an opportunity was envisioned to automate data collection on infrastructure assets. EyeVi was built to address a gap in the mid-market sector; previous solutions were cheap but ineffective or highly accurate but ridiculously high in price. EyeVi provides super accurate data collection in a SaaS subscription pricing model that is approachable for any business.

How long did it take to reach the prototype or MVP? What did you encounter?

Development of our hardware and software solutions is a continuous process as technology improves and evolves. The MVP or prototype hardware solution for EyeVi was a fairly quick turnaround, as the team had previously already worked with said technology for Google Maps.

When exactly did you launch your product? Or when the launch is planned?

EyeVi was founded in 2020.

Tell us about the stratup’s business model. How do you monetize your product?

EyeVi offers hardware and software solutions to suit any use-case. We price our hardware and software per kilometer. That means you only pay for data processing, feature extraction, and hardware rental for the kilometers that you capture. The price per kilometer is tiered and changes depending on your requirements, for example how many extracted features you need.

What are your target markets and consumers?

EyeVi’s customers range from road maintenance vendors to national governments to startups working in the emerging autonomous vehicle industry.

If the startup has already launched the product, what are the results: metrics, income, or any clear indicators that can be evaluated.

To date, the company has raised over €4 million in grants and equity investments, and has operations in the US, Baltics, the Nordics, and the UK. The company recently established a US headquarters in Austin, Texas and won a contract with the NYC DOT through the DOT Studio program there.

What about your team? How many people are working in the startup? If you’re looking for new employees, indicate whom exactly.

EyeVi has 53 employees of 12 different nationalities. As a growing startup, we are always looking for motivated, talented people to join our team.

Have you already raised any investments? Provide us with more details on each funding round: the amount, investors, the purpose of the investment.

To date, the company has raised over €4 million in grants and equity investments, including a $2 million seed round of funding led by ff Venture Capital (with the participation of RKKVC, Decacorn Capital, Iron Wolf Capital, Superangel, Spring Capital, Kaamos Group, and several Estonian business angels including Väino Kaldoja, the founder of AuveTech, and Taavi Rõivas, the former prime minister of Estonia).

What’s next? Tell us about your future plans.

EyeVi is currently focused on expanding into the North American market, with a new headquarters in Austin. As we develop new customer relations there, we are also deepening our engagement with current markets such as the UK, Poland, the Baltics, and the Nordic countries. We are also continuously improving our platform and hardware and branching out into the emerging digital twins/infrastructure market.