The idea for the solution was born in response to the problem of workplace accidents and the associated costs, which statistics show are very high. At the same time, the company's founders recognized a market-driven need for more effective work safety tools. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are over 1 million injuries at work each day, resulting in at least a four-day absence. Workplace accidents can have a long-term impact on an employee's health and, in some cases, result in death. In the Polish industry alone, tens of thousands of workplace accidents occur each year, resulting in over 3 million days of convalescence.
The industry has long understood the need to identify risks and hazards in the work environment. This led to the introduction of stricter legal regulations and safety standards. Nevertheless, improper employee behavior is the main factor causing accidents, accounting for as much as 60% of all cases. In addition to affecting the health of employees, accidents at work also have negative consequences for overall productivity and costs associated with insurance payments. The cost associated with a single accident for an employer can exceed even 1.1 million zlotys in extreme cases. The industry struggles with a lack of modern solutions that could limit such incidents. Wojciech Tubek and Wojciech Turowicz addressed this challenge by creating Surveily.
Before the company was established, the founders had the opportunity to meet while working in London. Their paths crossed by chance. Wojciech Turowicz recruited Wojciech Tubek to one of the technology companies. The colleagues quickly became best buddies and decided to start their own business. Working abroad and technology projects provided them with a solid foundation to start their own business in Poland.
It was 2017. The area of virtual reality supported by artificial intelligence was something that fascinated the company's founders. The company quickly gained clients for its solutions and increased employment. However, the projects turned out to be difficult to scale, and the founders faced the need to change the operating model. The company parted ways with several employees. Based on the experience gained in working with industrial clients, it decided to use AI models to detect dangerous situations in the industry.
"Working for clients and creating dedicated solutions allowed us to grow the company, but one-off projects would not lead us to success in the long term. Besides, we always wanted to have a product that could be delivered to various customers and in this way scale the business," says Wojciech Tubek, CEO of Surveily.
Shortly thereafter, the company entered the Space3ac accelerator program, where it had the opportunity to work with the largest company in Poland, PKN Orlen. The company's successes attracted the attention of the first investors, and Surveily received €250,000 from Shape VC. Successful pilot implementation in the oil conglomerate legitimized the company and helped it acquire new industrial clients.
Currently, Surveily delivers AI solutions for supervision over work safety and hygiene. The company's products are used in industrial plants and other hazardous workplaces. The software analyzes CCTV video footage in real time and automatically alerts to safety breaches or anomalies. The company serves the most dangerous sectors requiring increasingly higher safety parameters, such as the chemical, gas, and oil industries, construction, mining, and logistics centers.
Surveily was preparing for the Seed round for several months. The founders did their homework well and received several term sheets with investment offers. They decided on co-investment from renowned VCs, each of which provided added value. Satus Starter had experience in investing in industrial and artificial intelligence projects, Kogito Venture will invest with Business Angels, who, in addition to capital, can also support companies with a valuable business contact network. Meanwhile, Black Pearls VC, due to a large amount of foreign investments, supports companies in internationalization and raising further capital from VCs outside Poland.
"Before investing, we had the opportunity to get to know the Surveily team very well, and we appreciated their professionalism and innovative approach to solving problems in the industry. Besides support on the international stage, we also count on the opportunity to use our B2B contact network, mainly in European corporations that are interested in cooperating with startups and looking for safety solutions offered by the company," emphasizes Wojciech Drewczyński, Head of Acceleration at Black Pearls VC.
The funds decided to invest jointly 1 million euros. The raised capital will give the company time to develop a structure responsible for international operations, expand the IT team to work on AI algorithms, and extend the platform with additional features dedicated to safety
Automated supervision, monitoring and risk prediction in areas of safety, quality and productivity.
