Renfe has made the first investment in a startup. Through the TrenLab accelerator, it has taken 20% of the capital of Imotion Analytics, a startup specialized in artificial intelligence born in 2015 in Castelldefels.
The price of the operation is confidential. Sources from the railway operator explain that the entry into the company has been carried out gradually. In March, TrenLab took 10% and this week, another 10%. The operation contemplates Renfe occupying a seat on the board of directors of the Barcelona company, founded by Alejandro Murillo, Oscar Peón and Ramón Espuga.
“Renfe has selected Imotion Analytics after an evaluation process of the startups participating in the TrenLab program calls,” they say.
The potential of the investment lies in the technology that Imotion Analytics has developed. Through artificial intelligence software and its own algorithms, it is capable of controlling the flow of influxes and capacity in real time – segmented by sex and age – monitoring people's emotions and counting objects. The company obtains the data through video surveillance cameras installed in its clients' spaces.
The company assures that it works for large groups such as Renfe, Adif, Aena, Caixabank, Ikea, Volkswagen, Opticalia, Janssen or Geox, among others. Every month, its technology is capable of analyzing 50 million interactions.
According to the latest data available in the Commercial Registry, relating to the 2022 financial year, Imotion Analytics had a turnover of close to half a million euros, a figure that remained stable compared to the previous year, and recorded losses of 291,000 euros, in contrast to the profits it obtained during the previous years. In its offices in Castelldefels, the company employs a dozen people.
