The funds will be used to accelerate the company’s development and to further field test hyperTunnel’s revolutionary construction method, which combines artificial intelligence, 3D printing and swarm robotics.
hyperTunnel recently joined Leonard as a member of the CATALYST programme, which provides the most advanced innovative companies with the means to deploy innovative services and products in partnership with VINCI companies. hyperTunnel also won the annual construction start-up competition in Miami last year, which Leonard co-organises with other major players in the sector such as Ferrovial and Cemex Ventures.
“hyperTunnel’s technology can be truly game-changing when it comes to improving the safety and sustainability of underground construction projects,” said Guillaume Bazouin, Head of Startup and Intrapreneurs programs at Leonard. “It strongly aligns with our goals of rapidly responding to the climate emergency by enabling technological advances that have a substantial environmental impact. hyperTunnel also boasts exceptional leadership and engineering teams, and we are looking to support their great success in the near future.”
hyperTunnel co-founder Jeremy Hammond added, “VINCI and Leonard are real experts when it comes to construction innovation, so to get their backing in such a concrete and substantial way means we must be doing something right. They can see the huge potential of the technologies we’re developing, and they share our passion for improving how the world works. We’re excited to see what we can achieve together over the coming months.”
Earlier this week, the European Innovation Council (EIC), Europe’s flagship innovation programme to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and game-changing innovations, selected hyperTunnel to receive funding of 1.88 million Euros under its EIC Accelerator scheme. The funding will be used to complete the development of hyperTunnel’s advanced swarm robotics underground construction platform.
