R3-IoT — now re-branded as Krucial — has announced the launch of flagship product Krucial CONNECT, which connects smart devices anywhere on Earth, regardless of infrastructure or conditions.
Krucial CONNECT connects IoT devices, such as sensors, to automatically and securely transmit data from assets, infrastructure and buildings even from the most remote, hard-to-reach and off-grid sites. Automatic switching between satellite communications (SATCOM) and cellular technology enables the seamless connection of enterprise systems to IoT devices, helping organizations to remotely manage risks, improve efficiencies and digitize operations across multiple sites and locations.
In addition to satellite and telecommunications providers, the product is aimed at organizations and sectors that require resilient connectivity to their data 24/7 — including utilities, rail, energy and emergency services — and those with operations in remote areas lacking in traditional communications infrastructure. Krucial, which last year received seed funding of $4.3 million and has almost doubled headcount in the last 12 months, has undergone this full rebranding from R3-IoT that includes the firm’s name, logo and website. The change represents closer alignment to the company’s core offering, to provide critical access to data intelligence in any location or situation and digitize where and when others cannot.
The announcement of the new brand and Krucial CONNECT is expected to build on successful trials and partnerships undertaken to date and the launch of the company’s aquaculture-specific product in May of this year, Krucial Connected Seafarm. A new Connected Seafarm Trial Package, specifically for the aquaculture industry, has also been made commercially available.
Krucial CONNECT is Krucial’s core offering and can be used in industries including energy, utilities, transport, telecommunications and satellite communications. The Krucial Connected Seafarm Trial Package is an iteration of its Connected Seafarm product, which offers a drop-in digitization solution specifically for the aquaculture sector. It comes complete not only with Krucial’s connectivity solution, but also sensors, a weather station and a bespoke Insights Platform which allows collected data to be viewed on mobile and desktop to help spot trends, identify issues and understand site conditions remotely. It can be deployed in just six hours with no user technical expertise required.
Allan Cannon, co-founder and CEO of Krucial, said, “Although business may be global, infrastructure is still not. Digital transformation can unlock significant savings and improve sustainability, but that’s completely dependent on resilient, reliable connectivity. Our work will be critical in ensuring decision-makers have access to their data anytime, anywhere, and the launch of our new brand represents how important that is for businesses and organizations. As we take our next steps as Krucial, we’re confident of significant growth across international markets in the coming months which will act as the basis for further expansion, innovation and development.”
Allan Cannon, Co-founder and CEO of Krucial (L) and Kevin Quillien, Co-founder and CTO of Krucial (R)
Krucial, which was founded as R3-IoT in 2018 by Allan Cannon and co-founder and CEO, Kevin Quillien, closed a £3.1 million ($4.3 million) seed investment round in July of 2021, led by US-based VC Space Capital, joined by the Scottish National Investment Bank. Other investors include the University of Strathclyde, alongside North American-based Ryan Johnson, former CEO of BlackBridge, Nathan Kundtz, CEO of Rendered.ai, and Loren Padelford, former GM of Revenue at Shopify. Scottish Enterprise also became shareholders and continue to support the company.
Krucial has developed technology to connect enterprises to mission-critical data from anywhere on Earth. The company helps enterprises mitigate and manage risks, spot trends as well as make well-informed decisions, all made possible by a system that uses satellite and cell communications protocols to transmit data, automatically switching between the two depending on which is stronger, reducing the risk of downtime if one goes down or a power outage strikes.