EcoisMe, which has developed a system for managing energy at home, has obtained 30,000 euro from Polish incubator Hubraum at an undisclosed valuation. Consequently, the Ukrainian startup will move operations to Krakow, Poland.
EcoisMe has also reached an investment agreement with Deutsche Telekom, which manages Hubraum. According to the second agreement, the German telco giant will obtain 15% of shares in the Ukrainian startup in exchange for 50,000 euro.
EcoisMe will receive the funding once they have demonstrated initial progress, says CEO Ivan Pasichnyk. Last autumn, EcoisMe completed the acceleration program at Hubraum, but have only now signed an investment agreement. The company previously completed the Class C program at leading Kiev-based incubator Happy Farm.
EcoisMe is a service that aggregates your appliances and shows the user how much energy each device uses, while also incorporating social and gaming elements. Tracking energy-usage begins with the purchase of a “smart meter” from an authorized partner of EcoisMe (for approximately $100-200) and then registering it on the Ukrainian startup’s site. Sensors will then indicate which devices are connected to outlets in the home and for what purpose. From there, the information is transmitted wirelessly to the manufacturer, who analyzes and displays the data in real-time. Each device running on electricity receives a unique ID, which displays the time at which it was turned on, when it was turned off, and the level of consumption.
To raise revenue, EcoisMe intends to sell the data analyzed and aggregated by the project’s engine.
The team behind EcoisMe selected Poland over other countries as a new home due to its suitable business-climate and as a result of positive feedback from Polish telcos and electricity-providers. “Our project is focused on the electricity market. It is monopolized in Ukraine, but the cost of energy is low enough that a culture of careless consumption has developed among the local population. The potential to develop at a satisfactory rate is not there,” said Pasichnyk.
Heading abroad in search of investors and customers is not a new practice for Ukrainian startups, as PolitaiMo, which develops games using drones, obtained $24,000 and left to incubate in Dubai and myTips went to join London-based Seedcamp.
This story was originally published in Russian langauge on AIN.UA, a publication covering the Ukrainian tech and investment scene.
