- AXA Strategic Ventures (ASV) and Invitalia Ventures SGR (an asset management company which manages a Fund on behalf of Venture Industry) have decided to invest in Floome. The start-up created in the Veneto area has made a device that can be attached to a smartphone which allows drivers to check the alcohol levels in their own blood in seconds, and to take advantage of services and information with the aim of preventing damage, accidents and fines.
- ASV and Invitalia Ventures will complete the first round of a 750.000 € investment in Floome.
- Floome is the first early-stage investment in an Italian start-up for ASV.
The start-up, founded in Padua in 2013 by Fabio Penzo, Marco Barbetta and Luca Escoffier, has developed a device, with a dedicated app, that allows you to transform your smartphone into a blood alcohol level measuring device. Thanks to the technology developed by the team, the pocket-sized device is competitively priced compared to traditional breathalysers. It uses same sensors founds in law enforcement breathalyzers, has an internationally award-winning design, and does not need charging or for the batteries to be replaced.
The application is free to download and allows you to see the blood alcohol level measured by the device on your smartphone, along with lots of useful information such as the time needed for your body to break down the excess alcohol, the legal drink-drive limit, and any penalties you may face if you decide to take the wheel. The app also allows you to call a taxi or a friend to give you a lift home, or even to find a place where you can eat something. In this way, it discourages people from driving whilst under the influence of alcohol. The start-up expects to make important partnerships with various companies in 2017 that will allow them to offer additional services to their customers.
In Europe, drink-driving alone is responsible for about a quarter of fatal road accidents every year (this corresponds to over 10,000 deaths)[1], whilst in Italy it is the cause of 30-35% of deaths on the road (1,100-1,300)[2]. Driving whilst under the influence of alcohol accounts for around 4% of the distance covered by vehicles in Europe, and in southern Europe this figure rises to 7.5%[3].
Alcohol has a significant impact on reaction times when driving, greatly reducing the driver’s responses. Floome has a huge social impact because it aims to significantly reduce the “drink-driving” phenomenon, giving the opportunity for people, especially young people, to make an informed and smart choice.
“Our objective is to increasingly work in partnership with our customers, helping them prevent risks by leveraging technological innovation, said Patrick Cohen, CEO of AXA Italia. Floome responds perfectly to this challenge since it allows possible alcohol-related accidents to be avoided and promotes responsible driver behaviour.”
“We are particularly proud of this deal as it is the first investment in an Italian start-up, commented Minh Q. Tran, General Partner of AXA Strategic Ventures. Our aim is to invest in technology that can change the future of insurance services beyond national borders. This is why Floome is a promising Italian start-up to scale in Europe.”
The technology has a major impact on the role of insurance companies as 80% of Italians think that they should participate in prevention[4]. According to McKinsey, car accidents could decrease by 40% by 2040 thanks to smart insurance and technology.
“Floome has very interesting market prospects because the product is not only directed at the private user through global online distribution and retail, but also at businesses such as insurance companies, transport companies, alcoholic beverage producers (with the social responsibility of companies also in mind),” stated Mario Scuderi, Investment Manager of Invitalia Ventures. “Moreover, Floome represents an excellent big-data generator regarding alcohol consumption", he added.
Floome currently boasts 20 thousand active users and has recently reached customers in Europe, Asia, South Africa, Australia and the U.S. With this investment Floome aims to reinforce strategic marketing in the market, with the long-term goal, of even offering digital and remote control for the blood alcohol level devices in the sectors of transport, hospitals and for monitoring employees.
Fabio Penzo, co-founder and managing director of Floome, declared that “we are very proud to have the support and trust of two partners like AXA Strategic Ventures and Invitalia Venture. Thanks to this investment we will continue to make life simpler for people, and we will develop new products during 2017. Our team, which is expanding and planning to recruit, is an excellent group of people. Their hearts and minds may be Italian, but their vision knows no bounds”.
Floome is available to purchase online via the website www.floome.it.
[1] Source: “Alcohol interlocks and drink driving rehabilitation in the European Union”, Sjoerd Houwing, December 2016.
[2] Source: “Road accidents. Preventing death in high risk groups: young people and the elderly” (“Gli incidenti stradali. La prevenzione della mortalità sui gruppi a maggior rischio: i giovani, gli anziani”), the Italian National Institute of Health and the World Health Organization, April 2011.
[3] Source: see 1.
[4] Source: AXA Italia research conducted by Episteme entitled “Italians, the labyrinth of data and the role of the insurance sector” (“Gli Italiani, il labirinto dei dati e il ruolo del settore assicurativo”), October 2016.