- bm|t, MBG Saxony and a US-American business angel invest in the start-up Dashfactory, located in the center of Germany
- The company, which started with a ‑data-privacy-compliant cycling safety solution, expands its business model to include a B2B digital division
- Commercialization of the first bicycle dashcam Dashbike© starts in spring 2021
To secure production and prepare for commercialization of the data-privacy-compliant bicycle dashcam, bm|t is investing in Dashfactory GmbH together with MBG Sachsen and a US-American business angel as part of a follow-up financing. The multiple award-winning start-up establishes another market application of its technology by utilizing sensor data collection and evaluation in order to improve traffic infrastructure.
From bicycle dashcam to traffic infrastructure optimization
So far Dashfactory has developed a data-privacy-compliant safety camera that uses enhanced bike lights to increase the visibility and safety of cyclists. Now, the central German start-up is also making a valuable contribution to improving cycling infrastructure by digitizing and anonymizing sensor data collection and conducting data analysis together with cities.
Pilot project with the city of Leipzig
Last year, Dashfactory started a pilot project together with the city of Leipzig to support the city in its goal of increasing the attractiveness and safety of its cycling infrastructure based on robust data. The anonymous sensor data will highlight the cities danger spots where overtaking frequently occurs under 1.50 meters and other dangerous situations. Likewise, roadway conditions, highly-frequented routes, standing and waiting times, also in relation to the time of year and time of day can be analyzed. This analysis enables efficient new construction and demand-oriented expansion of a continuous network of bike lanes. In 2021, further cities in Germany will follow, as well as the first cities in another European country. In the future, Dashfactory will also employ artificial intelligence to generate traffic forecasts and real-time traffic measurements.
Using the pandemic situation as an opportunity
«During the lockdown, the bicycle market benefited extremely from a change in mobility behavior and grew by 12% within a few months,» said Lelia König, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Dashfactory GmbH. «Due to missing component deliveries and development delays caused by the Corona situation, Dashfactory has focused on structuring as well as growing our team and making it even more diversified in terms of software and hardware skills for the future. The product development of further innovative physical and digital products will happen in our internal development department in the future. Additionally, existing products have been developed further, and upselling and cross-selling models have been designed. All Dashfactory GmbH products are 100% developed and produced in Germany,» adds Sandro Beck, Co-Founder and Managing Director.
Multiple award-winning start-up with ambitious plans
Having already passed through the SpinLab Accelerator, TRIP Accelerator, EIT UM Special Covid by XPRENEURS Accelerator (UnternehmerTUM), Dashfactory was selected as one of the 25 most promising startups in Europe out of several hundred applications to the EIT Urban Mobility Accelerator. Together with the cities and partners of the program, the topics Smart City, Urban Data and Urban Mobility will be progressed in Europe. Dashfactory intends to use this opportunity to make cycling safer, expand its business model, and open up more markets, initially within Europe.
«We are proud of the immense progress Dashfactory has made within just one year of our initial investment and are happy to continue to support the company in its upcoming growth,» said Katja Butzmann, Senior Investment Manager, bm|t. Christian Mordowicz, Investment Manager of MBG Saxony adds, «We are happy to support the startup in its further corporate development and upcoming product launch.»
Next steps
To launch initial sales, Dashfactory will start a crowd campaign at the beginning of the new cycling season in March 2021 to increase national and international awareness of the innovative Dashbike© bicycle dashcam.
On April 1 of this year, Dashfactory will start the delivery of the first Dashbike dashcams to those who pre-order.
About Dashfactory
Dashfactory GmbH started in 2019 with the aim of increasing the safety of individual mobility, especially cycling, by means of a data-privacy-compliant safety camera with enhanced bike lights. In the meantime, digitized data collection and analysis to optimize traffic infrastructure is also part of the Jena and Leipzig-based start-up´s offering. The multiple award-winning company is about to launch its products and is implementing pilot projects with several cities for the digital infrastructure application of its technology.
https://www.dashbike.de
About bm|t — beteiligungsmanagement thüringen gmbh
bm|t is the first address for investments in Thuringia, Germany. bm|t invests in start-up teams and companies in the Free State of Thuringia with a clear aim of generating positive investment returns. This is how innovation and economic growth in Thuringia are financed. bm|t currently manages ten funds with a total volume of over EUR 440 million and invests in innovative companies in nearly all sectors and in all phases of company development — from the start-up and growth phases to buyouts and other succession cases.
www.bm‑t.com
About Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen mbH (MBG Saxony)
Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen mbH is a private investment company with public funding. Its mission is to improve the equity base of small and medium-sized enterprises in order to enable them to achieve stable corporate development. For that purpose MBG invests in start-ups as well as established companies in the commercial sector.
www.mbg-sachsen.de