ExclusiveOn the map: Fortissimo to invest $40 million in Simplex Mapping Solutions
Exclusive
On the map: Fortissimo to invest $40 million in Simplex Mapping Solutions
The fund is acquiring 40% of the 3D modeling company at an estimated value of $50 million before the money, and in the second phase an additional 30% at a slightly higher value. Simplex maps cities at a higher resolution than Google Maps using aerial photographs
Fortissimo Capital is investing about $40 million in 3D modeling solutions. Calcalist has learned that the fund has signed a deal to acquire control of Simplex Mapping Solutions. The investment will be made in two stages: in the first, 40% of the shares will be purchased and in the second an additional 30% through the exercise of an option received by the fund and at a slightly higher value than the initial value, which was not disclosed but is estimated at $50 million. The money will all go into the company's account.
Simplex collects information using aerial photographs, maps areas in 3D and allows its customers to use mapping for various purposes - mainly for a three-dimensional virtual tour of an area. The image provided by the company is similar to that of Google Maps, but with one difference - while Google displays a resolution of half a meter, with Simplex the resolution is 3 cm, so the image is clear, useful and much more natural, and from more accessible angles.
Simplex was founded nine years ago by Avi Aflalo and two scientists from the Technion, Dr. Shahar Barnea and Dr. Ziv Shragai. The initial product, which was much simpler, evolved into technology to create a three-dimensional model of entire cities along with the SaaS platform for urban planning, smart cities and security management through analytics tools and access to multiple layers of information on an accurate geographic platform.
Simplex's system managed to overcome competitor Ofek Aerial Photography, which was once a monopoly, and today Simplex controls the Israeli market, mainly through contracts with bodies such as government ministries, local authorities, security services, and infrastructure companies, engineering, architecture and real estate. Simplex's system allows, for example, the user to analyze all the construction plans in a particular area and get a simulation of the look that will be revealed from the balcony of a building that is under construction 10 years later. The company sells the software to the purchasing body and also records revenue from accompanying the user later on.
Fortissimo's investment is expected to be used to expand Simplex's operations, to further product development, enter new international markets and develop additional platforms for mapping and creating 3D models. The company intends to recruit additional professional employees to develop innovative solutions, in order to accelerate its growth plans. The company, which controls the Israeli market, has recently entered new markets in the U.S., Chile, Nigeria and the UAE.
Simplex sales are estimated at several tens of millions of shekels a year, and Fortissimo intends to upgrade it to sales of hundreds of millions. The pandemic has hurt the company's operations abroad, and if in 2019 the share of revenues from abroad was 40%, then in 2021 this share shrank to only 10% of revenues. The company employs 30 people in its center in Herzliya.
The only investment in the company, amounting to several million shekels, was made in 2018 by private investor Arik Benon, who works mainly in the cybersecurity field. Fortissimo has no presence in the worlds in which Simplex operates, and this is its first entry into the field.
Aflalo, who serves as CEO of Simplex, told Calcalist that “the investment will help expand technological innovation in the 3D field, develop additional tools to enrich the SaaS system and implement artificial intelligence-based solutions. The developments will allow for expansion to other significant markets such as insurance, smart transportation, computer games and Metaverse environments. We strive to become market leaders in the development of a unique 3D platform that will provide advanced solutions to diverse customers all over the world."
Fortissimo Capital was founded in 2004 by Yuval Cohen, and focuses on acquisitions and investments in technology and industrial companies with global operations and growth potential. Fortissimo has raised$ 2.6 billion to date as part of six funds from institutional and financial investment bodies from Israel, the United States and Europe.
