- Deep Detection SL builds multi-spectral X-ray cameras for quality control and product safety in manufacturing
- Vigo Ventures enter as the lead investor and partner to Tech Transfer Agrifood, managed by Clave Capital, and ESOM
- Pre-Seed financing round closed for 1 million euros to accelerate industrialisation of the technology in key market sectors, starting with Food & Beverage in 2022
Barcelona, November 18, 2021 - Deep Detection S.L., the IFAE, Institut de Física d’Altes Energies, technology spin-off promoted by The Collider - tech accelerator of Mobile World Capital Barcelona - has achieved funding of 1.000.000 euros from investors Vigo Ventures, Clave Capital (through Tech Transfer Agrifood), ESOM, and public financing.
Founded in July 2020, Deep Detection´s mission quickly became the protection of consumer safety by significantly enhancing the capabilities of inspection machine systems, where its technology can be used to simultaneously detect issues and measure composition or structure. Initially, the company will specialise in the inspection of food and beverage, where low-density materials that commonly occur in packaging, transport or harvesting can enter manufacturing and disrupt production because they are simply not detectable today.
“In a globalised supply chain, we depend on each other for the quality and safety of the end product. Errors upset consumers, harm the trust in brands and disrupt business operations. In the European food sector, there are around 100 product recalls per year due to a serious risk caused by foreign bodies. The direct costs alone can run into tens of millions and be catastrophic for SME´s. Incident prevention is the key and our technology is designed to avoid these incidents”, comments Colin Burnham, COO of Deep Detection and ex-Senior Director at PepsiCo.
Beyond highly sensitive detection, the technology segments the X-ray spectra into discrete energy bands, which are used to non-destructively characterise product attributes and identify their composition. Patents granted in the United States, Europe, Japan and China allow the company’s hardware to operate at high inspection speeds and maintain excellent spectral resolution.
“Deep Detection fits perfectly into our portfolio. Earlier this year, we announced an investment in KSM Vision, which is a system integrator and deals with optical quality control solutions. Both of these companies have complementary offers for many industrial applications. They could also be coupled with infrared detectors, in which VIGO System is a market leader. Deep market knowledge of industrial client’s needs allows us to create a comprehensive offer and expand the group of recipients internationally. We are counting on synergies in the commercial and research potential of these entities” - says Marek Kotelnicki, Managing Partner at Vigo Ventures.
Deep Detection is preparing to launch its first product, PhotonAi, and the business will develop high value add solutions for food and beverage using this new technology platform. First commercial sales are anticipated in 2022 after completing a series of industrial PoCs with international corporations to validate the technology in each market sector.
"For Clave, investing in Deep Detection gives us the opportunity to incorporate a disruptive and adapted technology to make decisions in food production processes, providing additional information for safety in the food chain", according to Pedro de Álava, director of the Tech transfer Agrifood fund.