Vianova became the seventeenth start-up to which the Ignitis Innovation Fund managed by Contrarian Ventures had directed its investments.

"With the rise of alternative mobility solutions in the world's major cities, such as mobility sharing, last mile delivery or urban freight logistics, there is a growing need to regulate these service providers and ensure sustainable mobility services for all. The data platform developed by Vianova connects different mobility service operators in the city and allows operators to securely share their data with them. One of the biggest advantages of this is not only the elimination of street congestion, but also the positive impact on the climate by encouraging the choice of environmentally friendly transport solutions,” says Dominykas Tučkus, Member of the Board and Director of Infrastructure and Development of Ignitis grupė.

Operating since the beginning of 2019, Vianova currently operates in ten European cities, including Brussels, Helsinki and Zurich. Currently, about 2 million trips are planned per month using the company’s mobility platform.

“The platform helps to break down and understand the vast amounts of complex data related to urban mobility. Municipalities can observe the movement, distribution and popularity of vehicles and can identify certain trends in users. In addition, this platform also allows to significantly increase the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of urban planning in the long run,” says Tomas Kemtys, Partner at Contrarian Ventures.

Founded in 2017, the Ignitis Innovation Fund has already invested about EUR 5 million in 17 companies in seven countries around the world, developing new technologies in energy and electrified mobility that could be applied to the activities of the Ignitis grupė. The fund has invested in these start-ups along with 37 co-investment partners, including such well-known companies as car manufacturers Hyundai and Honda, and energy giant BP.

D. Tučkus points out that although the investments of all venture capital funds are associated with certain risks, among the start-ups, in which Ignitis Innovation Fund has invested, there are already companies whose market value has tripled since the initial investment.

Ignitis Innovation Fund is one of the four directions of the Ignitis Innovation Hub, which aims to attract innovations and talents from the energy sector to the group, and to promote the growth of energy start-up businesses.