Follow up investment for eyefactive

The High-Tech Gründerfonds and the MBG Schleswig-Holstein renew their investment in eyefactive GmbH. A six digit sum is provided to promote the international growth of the first app platform for professional Touchscreens.

In addition to their previous portfolio of scalable multitouch technology for interactive tables and walls eyefactive GmbH announced the world´s first app platform for large-scale touchscreens in November 2013. The apps enable users to simultaneously operate interactive content on displays by any manufacturer on basis of a specifically developed software technology. The technology facilitates a performant operation by any number of users on professional touchscreens or combined display walls in high resolution.

This so-called multiuser technology is the logical progression from the touch operation of smartphones and tablets to distinctively larger touchscreens. Such systems with diameters up to several meters are being employed in interactive brand communication in public spaces as well as in company in-house presentations and organization. Its range of application differs significantly from the conventional B2C applications that app stores for mobile devices offer. The still young digital signage branch has been continually enjoying high growth rates for years.

The operation of an application by several users has only just become possible since the appearance of larger touch systems with their many touch points and constitutes a completely new concept in human-computer interaction. Normally, at present expensive special solutions are being developed with conventional technology. The app platform strives at establishing the first standard for interactive software in the digital signage market.

All apps in the app store can be customized due to a content management system in minimal time. Now eyefactive already chose to cooperate with a growing number of international partners, who participate in the turnover by recommendations, can distribute apps themselves and offer additional services for end clients. eyefactive also wants to make its software technology available for third party developers medium term in order to constantly feed the ecosystem with new, exciting apps.

“We are very happy about the positive development of eyefactive GmbH and envisage the app platform to be a promising addition to the existing business with a high growth potential” says Dr. Sebastian Suhr, Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds in Bonn. Bernd Ernst of the MBG Schleswig-Holstein adds: “What the team has achieved so far is impressive and we believe eyefactive with its current developments to play a significant role in the field of digital signage”. The old investors HTGF and MBG first took a share in eyefactive GmbH in May 2011.

About Mittelständische Beteiligungsbank (MBG) Schleswig-Holstein
MBG Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein was founded in 1994 on the initiative of the provincial government of Schleswig-Holstein as a local investment company. The mission of MBG is to strengthen the capital base of small-scale companies and thus to support their bankability. MBG generally commits in silent partnerships in start-ups as well as established companies. In individual cases, MBG invests in the form of open participations. The team of MBG currently supports more than 500 companies exceeding 100 million Euro of investment. Please find more information here: www.mbg-sh.de

About eyefactive GmbH
eyefactive from Wedel (near Hamburg / Germany) is the leading provider for interactive multitouch and multiuser technology in large-scale. The product portfolio consists of flexible and scalable multitouch displays integrated into tables and walls as well as the first dedicated app-platform for interactive signage software. For effective marketing at points of sale & information and creative teamwork in companies. eyefactive has been awarded multiple times, e.g. “ICT start-up of the year 2012” by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Clients are world renowned brands like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz Bank, Beiersdorf, Siemens and Olympus. Please find more information here: www.eyefactive.com

About High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gründerfonds invests in young, high potential high-tech start-ups. The seed financing provided is designed to enable start-ups to take an idea through prototyping and to market launch. Typically, High-Tech Gründerfonds invests EUR 600,000 in the seed stage, with the potential for up to a total of EUR 2 million per portfolio company in follow-on financing. Investors in this public/private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the KfW Banking Group, as well as strategic corporate investors including ALTANA, BASF, Bayer, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, CEWE, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Evonik, Lanxess, media + more venture Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, METRO, Qiagen, RWE Innogy, SAP, Tengelmann and Carl Zeiss. High-Tech Gründerfonds has about EUR 576 million under management in two funds (EUR 272 million HTGF I, EUR 304 million HTGF II). Please find more information here: www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de

Contact:
High-Tech Gruenderfonds Management GmbH
Dr. Sebastian Suhr
Schlegelstraße 2
53113 Bonn
Tel.: +49 (228) 823 001-00
Fax: +49 (228) 823 000-50
info@high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de