The risk reporting software aims to significantly reduce accidents on industrial sites. Buddywise has today announced their £3.5M seed round to prevent workplace accidents in industrial spaces across Europe. The round was jointly led by specialist AI fund J12 and Kvanted, with Soundcloud founder Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss also participating.
Sweden-based Buddywise utilises machine learning and computer vision to identify safety risks in the workplace before aggregating this risk data to prevent further accidents. Industrial clients integrate their existing camera infrastructure with the Buddywise platform, which employs algorithmic analysis of the footage to highlight potential risks — such as if a worker is exposed to a gas leak and loses consciousness, triggering an alert for immediate assistance rather than remaining undiscovered.
The AI vision software is currently deployed at infrastructure and manufacturing sites across Sweden, Finland, Latvia, and Poland, with the new funding primarily directed towards outreach, recruitment, and further expansion across Europe.
Digital transformation has had a lesser impact on construction compared to other industries. In 2021, there were 2.9 million non-fatal accidents resulting in at least four calendar days of absence from work and over 3000 fatal accidents at work; the sector accounted for one fifth of incidents. The growing emphasis on environmental, social, and governance criteria today — particularly from investors — means that many businesses are seeking software solutions.
Emmet King, Partner at J12, commented on the funding:
“Recent advancements in computer vision models have led to significant improvements in image classification and object detection, while also enabling efficient learning from limited information and more reliable performance across diverse real-world conditions. This positions the technology as the primary tool in addressing the serious issue of workplace safety and replacing the existing methods of reporting apps, inspections, and sensors.”
As with all computer vision applications, the privacy of biometric data is a key concern. Buddywise stressed that GDPR compliance is a top priority, both in operations and in managing partnerships.
