Singaporean IIoT startup raises US$2.9M Series A funding from Tin Men Capital

Singaporean Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) startup, Overdrive, announced on 7 January the completion of the company’s Series A funding round with Tin Men Capital, a B2B venture capital (VC) fund.

The startup has raised a total of US$2.9 million from this first and only investor.

Overdrive operates an IoT platform that automates data sensing of various types of assets within a business ecosystem. These can range from vehicles and machinery to goods and people.

It leverages on a “mash-up” of different connectivity technologies and third party devices that are configured to deliver business objectives such as real-time tracking and monitoring, exception alerting and command centre visualisation.

“Overdrive has built a powerful and dynamic platform in allowing any devices and sensors to communicate with each other and with data and video capabilities,” said Aston Chia, CEO and co-founder of Overdrive.

“In order to keep our current and potential customers invested in our vision, we continue to upgrade our platform aggressively to stay ahead. With Tin Men’s involvement, we will expand our business regionally, focusing on logistics, facilities, transportation and people,” he added.

Founded in 2015 by technologists Aston Chia and Zen Chin, Overdrive’s customer portfolio include Sentosa, Nanyang Technological University, Fedex, Ascendas, the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore, and Volkswagen and Mazda in Malaysia via its local IoT partner.

Tin Men Capital is a Southeast Asia-focused B2B VC firm targeting early-stage enterprise technology companies with large and growing markets in the region.

The firm is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and run by venture investor-operators Murli Ravi, Jeremy Tan and Benjamin Tan.

In November 2018, Tin Men Capital led a US$9.1 raising fund with Globaltix, a Singaporean cloud-based e-ticketing and B2B marketing startup.

IIoT for sustainability in the global supply chain

Industrial IoT is the application of instrumentation, connected sensors and other devices to machinery and vehicles in the transport, energy and industrial sectors.

Recent research by multinational satellite company Inmarsat, revealed that improving the environmental sustainability of their operations through the adoption of IIoT technologies is a crucial priority for organisations engaged in the global supply chain.

The study shows that, across the supply chain, almost half (46%) of respondents reported that monitoring environmental conditions (such as water, soil and air quality) and improving resource efficiency are the two largest drivers behind the adoption of IIoT-based solutions.

The research also highlighted that many global supply chain organisations are realising their sustainability objectives through the use of IIoT. Over two thirds (67%) of respondents with fully deployed or trial-stage IIoT solutions stated they were achieving environmental sustainability improvements.

“The global supply chain is faced with a multitude of challenges, tasked with reducing its impact on the environment and adhering to stricter government regulations, while accommodating the needs of a growing population,” said Paul Gudonis, President at Inmarsat Enterprise.

“Our research shows that organisations are adopting IIoT to help them achieve these goals, and that many are succeeding in this aim,” added Gudonis.