PwC Germany buys stake in Austrian ToolSense GmbH
12 December, 2022
PwC Germany is investing in IIoT growth company ToolSense / PwC Germany is the lead investor in a series A round of financing / This round of financing involves an investment of around €8 million, with around two-thirds of that total coming from PwC Germany / ToolSense GmbH is a Viennese growth company offering process digitalisation solutions for appliances, equipment and machinery / This investment serves to underscore PwC Germany’s position as a growth investor and an innovation partner for digital transformation in industry
Frankfurt am Main, 12 December 2022
Auditing and consulting firm PwC Germany is using its investment arm, PwC Holdings Germany GmbH, to acquire a minority stake in ToolSense GmbH. With around 30 employees, this growth company specialises in developing an asset operations platform and IoT solutions for digitalising machinery, appliances and equipment. ToolSense allows companies to centrally manage their appliances, equipment and machinery, and enables efficient digital service processes. This represents a new standard in asset-intensive sectors, and enables clients to increase their productivity and sustainability. ToolSense is a software-as-a-service solution; it is intuitive to use and enables structured organisational frameworks. From asset and maintenance management through to analysis and reporting, this technology creates a digital, streamlined depiction of the entire process flow of appliances, machinery, operating materials and equipment.
In addition to current investors Matterwave Ventures (who have invested via their btov industrial technologies fund), the aws Gründerfonds venture capital fund and Dr. Georg Hoblik GmbH, new investors PlanRadar Gründer and joint CEOs Sander Van de Rijdt and Ibrahim Imam have also joined in this latest round of financing.
“Digitalisation is a necessity for almost all businesses in order to survive in the current market environment. However, there are often questions around where to start and which investments are worthwhile and promise rapid, positive results. Here, we see ToolSense offering a simple and comprehensive solution which provides answers.”
“This investment is a useful addition to our portfolio, it gives us insights from a completely new perspective in terms of smart assistance and asset operations, and it strengthens our ecosystem around industrial digitalisation. This will enable us to achieve synergies and continue to drive digitalisation in Germany and Europe,” adds Odrobina.
Full transparency and extensive insights into businesses’ appliances and machines
Digitalisation is the foundation of many data-driven optimisation processes. In asset-intensive sectors such as construction, there is a wide range of fixed and mobile machinery and equipment, making it a challenge to collect and aggregate data. Businesses use products from a variety of manufacturers, which means that open, supplier-independent systems play a key role in implementing unified, central solutions across the business. ToolSense’s central, supplier-independent asset operations platform gives businesses new insights into their equipment, so that they can be proactive in operations and draw conclusions about any changes that may be necessary. The platform can be used to ensure transparency and oversight, even if there are a large number of assets to monitor. The software allows detailed insights regarding the availability of units, their status, downtime and the costs incurred per asset. For clients, this opens up new optimisation opportunities and asset management strategies with major potential for cost savings.
A clean, unified, digital process also creates space for product development and for focusing on core activities. Digitalisation must be quick, simple and implemented during business operations. Different players must be introduced to the new processes and software, and an intuitive platform solution can safeguard this transition. The ToolSense asset operations platform allows data to be imported, analysed and evaluated, and new, optimised processes can then be implemented.
“For clients, it is important for digital transformation to have short-, medium- and long-term effects. Work processes are subject to major changes, which have considerable effects on businesses – and this is why appropriate solutions are critical.”
“ToolSense has taken an idea and developed it into a mature technology that increases quality of service and can be used as a source of data. As an investor and partner, we are looking forward to accompanying ToolSense on its journey,” adds Schrauf.
Using synergies to achieve goals faster
Interactions between the businesses, the development of potential joint business opportunities, and PwC’s network of industry experts and clients will support the development of this growth company and continue to drive industrial digitalisation in both Germany and Europe.
“Today, businesses in asset-intensive sectors such as construction, facilities management or industrial production still rely on clipboards and Excel to manage their appliances, tools and machinery. This wastes time and resources which businesses cannot afford, particularly in the current challenging environment. We deliver added value with our ToolSense asset operations platform.”
“We are delighted to have gained PwC Germany as an investor and partner: alongside financial support, this also gives us access to a great pool of knowledge and support in rolling out our technology,” adds Manafi.
Further information regarding acquisitions and investments by PwC Germany can be found here:
About PwC:
At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 152 countries with over 327,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services.
The term PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of the legally independent network companies. Further details at www.pwc.com/structure.
In this document, “PwC” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL). Each member firm of PwCIL is a separate and independent legal entity.
Über ToolSense:
ToolSense was founded in June 2017 by Alexander Manafi, Benjamin Petterle and Rostyslav Yavorskyi as part of the FH Technikum Vienna incubator programme. The vision of ToolSense is to support maintenance, repair and operations teams by digitalising asset processes, enabling automation and empowering smarter decisions.
Unifying assets, people and processes in ToolSense makes the lives of frontline workers easier and makes asset-intensive industries (e.g. construction) more efficient. Using specific ToolSense QR codes, service and inspection processes can be digitally mapped from the machine operator through to the machine manufacturer. This strengthens collaboration and previously manual tasks can be automated.
With this approach ToolSense has already gained numerous well-known, international customers from the construction industry. ToolSense has won the eAward Produktion, the Interclean Innovation Award, the Construction Equipment Forum Startup Award and several other prizes. https://toolsense.io/
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