ThunderMaps secures $1.5m European investment

NZ-founded software startup ThunderMaps secures $1.5m European investment to enter ‘smart cities’ market

ThunderMaps launches European base in Sweden focused on smart cities software.
New Zealand-born businessman wins European Commission innovation grant; attracts further investment from top Swedish businessman
Total investment NZ$1.5 Million for product development and market expansion
Wellington-based employees involved in helping deliver the smart cities solution
Smart cities solution available to NZ local authorities in first quarter of 2016

The European office of ThunderMaps - a NZ-founded company known locally for making easy-to-use mobile health and safety apps - has won a European Commission innovation grant and will develop a solution to improve the way public authorities including councils communicate with their citizens.

The European Commission recently selected ThunderMaps as a grant recipient in its Horizon 2020 programme, and awarded NZ$1.25 million to help fund the solution development after issuing a call for innovative companies with solutions in the mobile e-government area. The Commission describes its flagship investment programme as the ‘Champions League’ of European SMEs.

Mike Steere, Director of ThunderMaps Sweden said: "There is huge room for improvement in the way public authorities connect with their communities. Our technology enables location-specific mobile communication of open data, news and alerts from multiple authorities. It can receive reports and requests from residents, and vital information in times of emergency can also be communicated. The end result is a better user experience for citizens, cost savings & efficiency gains for the authorities, and improved community awareness about important issues.”

“Being selected by the European Commission in this prestigious programme gives us an excellent platform to enter the European market - where many public organisations are eager to improve citizen engagement and increase efficiency,” Steere said.

In addition to the European Commission funding, a leading Swedish businessman, Lars Appelstål, is investing in the project. Appelstål was a founder of ReadSoft, a successful financial process automation provider, which was recently sold to Lexmark for over US$250 million.

Closer to home ThunderMaps is rapidly expanding its health and safety offerings in the New Zealand marketplace and continues to release updates to its location aware, mobile reporting tool.

"New Zealand has a shocking rate of workplace injuries, and we are proud to continue to support businesses in their efforts to create a proactive reporting culture with regards to hazards, risks, and injuries in the workplace" says ThunderMaps Founder & Managing Director, Clint Van Marrewijk.

ENDS

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