NetScientific PLC (AIM:NSCI) increased its investment in Q-Bot, a ‘robot-as-a-service’ startup that specialises in insulating homes, as part of a funding round to step up growth in the UK and internationally.
The £1.62mln funding round comprised £900,000 of new equity and conversion of £762,000 of loan notes, of which £500,000 was provided by NetScientific as a follow-up to a £1.3mln convertible loan note investment in December.
Using robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), Q-Bot has created intelligent robots to survey and then apply underfloor insulation underneath suspended floors for homeowners and both social and private landlords – helping to save energy and cut heating bills.
Pound for pound, home insulation is thought to be among the most effective contributions to reducing carbon emissions from homes, and a survey of 100 UK homes found Q-Bot’s solution was the most cost-effective retrofit measure available to improve EPC rating, after loft insulation.
So far Q-Bot has insulated more than 3,000 properties and, with a worldwide market in the tens of millions, plans to use the new funding to expand its network of accredited installation partners at home and abroad.
It made a first move overseas last October when it partnered with a national insulation company and a local installer in France.
For NetScientific, which contributed to a strategy review and changes to the company at Q-Bot last year, the loan note conversion sees its direct equity stake increase to 20.6% from 18.3%.
The stake is now valued at £2.77mln, which the company said was a gain of roughly £1.45m in less than one year.
In addition, NetScientific’s wholly owned subsidiary EMV Capital has capital under advisory representing another 16.7%.
Q-Bot chair Prof Peter Childs said since the changes effected following the strategy review last year the company is “seeing accelerated growth for the business in terms of sales, the on-boarding of a series of key partners and continued investor support”.
Dr Ilian Iliev, chief executive of NetScientific and a board member at Q-Bot, said: “Q-Bot's robotics as a service offering is at the right place and right time, providing a massively scalable solution not only to the transition to a low-carbon economy, but to the current crisis in growing households energy bills and energy security.
“We're pleased also with growing international interest in the technology, which can see a further step-change in growth in future years.”