
PlanetWatch Secures over USD 600,000 in Seed Funding Round
The World Bank cites air pollution as the fourth largest health risk in the world. Initial studies also indicate that long term exposure to high air pollution levels increases COVID-19 death rates.
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CIO Applications Europe | Wednesday, May 20, 2020

The World Bank cites air pollution as the fourth largest health risk in the world. Initial studies also indicate that long term exposure to high air pollution levels increases COVID-19 death rates. As a result, responsible air quality monitoring has become a global challenge for governments, regulators, and citizens
Fremont, CA: French startup PlanetWatch, which decentralizes and incentivizes air quality monitoring with the help of Algorand blockchain, secured over USD 600,000 in a Seed funding round led by RA.MO. The company will store real-time data gathered from a dense mesh of air quality sensors onto the Algorand blockchain. Subsequently, it will reward contributions to the ecosystem by distributing the PLANET token, a utility token, to sensor owners. The majority of these sensors have been installed by individuals inside or outside their homes or are carried with them on the go. PlanetWatch has also installed sensors in partnership with transport and telecommunications companies, local authorities, and more.
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"This successful financing round enables us to pursue our unique approach to air quality monitoring, which leverages the engagement of responsible citizens together with a top-class technology portfolio," said Claudio Parrinello, CEO of PlanetWatch. "Our ambition is to fill a data gap in air quality monitoring and facilitate the study of correlations between air pollution peaks and potential causes at the local level. This is needed because today, when cities experience high levels of air pollution, mitigation measures are sometimes ineffective. Typically, road traffic restrictions are enforced, but their impact on air quality is often limited as other pollution sources (domestic heating, industrial plants, open fires, etc.) play a role which is hard to assess due to the lack of high-resolution, real-time data."
The World Bank cites air pollution as the fourth largest health risk in the world. Initial studies also indicate that long term exposure to high air pollution levels increases COVID-19 death rates. As a result, responsible air quality monitoring has become a global challenge for governments, regulators, and citizens. "In this era, our ambition is also to be part of Social Impact investments, and PlanetWatch represents a combination between Technology Innovation and a model of growing Environmental awareness among the people. This is a culture we aim to contribute to spread," said Federico Tomassini, CEO of RA.MO.
The company's high-density network is aimed at tackling the problem of undetected local air pollution peaks occurring in areas where dangerous pollution levels may be reached relatively close to governmental sensors reporting acceptable air quality. “PlanetWatch’s ability to close a successful round of funding and also deliver a Minimum Viable Product demonstrates the value of their environmental solution on the blockchain," said W. Sean Ford, COO of Algorand. "We have been supporting this project from its inception, and we look forward to their full launch in the coming months."
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