Microshare, a Philadelphia-based provider of smart building data products to multinationals and public sector institutions, has closed a $15m financing round.

Microshare’s EverSmart suite of smart facilities products help global enterprises such as GlaxoSmithKline, Aramark and Rent-A-Center reassure workforce, tenants and customers about the safety of indoor spaces while producing operational efficiencies as well as data insights that boost environment, social and governance (ESG) performance.

The money came from the Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund, Avenue Capital Group’s vehicle for supporting firms working to bring about a more sustainable world.

“The Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund investment represents a major vote of confidence in the transformational nature of EverSmart,” said Microshare CEO Ron Rock. “As the pandemic hopefully subsides, our ability to create data where none existed before has never been more relevant as workers and tenants grappled with new concerns about indoor spaces, and companies rethink their real estate footprint and face new global expectations on climate and other ESG issues.”

Microshare provides sensing-as-a-service to clients in commercial real estate, corporate, healthcare, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals sectors. The company received international attention for the Universal Contact Tracing wearables it introduced early in the pandemic, credited with preventing major outbreaks at essential manufacturing industries such as pharmaceuticals and logistics.

“Microshare is a natural fit for our strategy,” said Sean Coleman, co-manager of the Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund. “We are excited to back Microshare’s strategy to address growing corporate demand for improvements in building energy efficiency and water consumption, both of which are critical considerations for a sustainable future.”

Microshare will use the funds to expand its sales and development teams, grow its business in North America, Europe and the Middle East, and solidify the complex supply chain and reseller relationships that underpin its efforts to deploy its data products at scale.

Microshare’s products create for digital-twins clients real-world assets that enable better decisions on operational systems and the data to inform and fuel sustainability initiatives.

The company recently reached a number of milestone agreements, including an agreement with Aramark, the largest facilities management firm in the USA, to provide the technological backbone of its AIWX Connect predictive cleaning, now being deployed in hospitals, stadiums and other infrastructure.

An agreement with the British government and the University of Leeds is testing contact tracing wearables for infection reduction in dozens of elder care settings.

It has also renewed global contracts for Universal Contact Tracing wearables for GSK’s manufacturing plants globally, Rent-A-Center’s headquarters facilities, and several other clients in the energy and logistics sectors.

The Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund seeks to provide creative financing to high-growth companies that can demonstrate a measurable, positive environmental outcome alongside competitive financial returns. It focuses generally on North American companies within the underserved segment of the market created by the widening financing gap between commercial banks and larger debt funds.

Microshare’s EverSmart smart buildings products are deployed at scale around the world to bring safety, wellness, cost savings and sustainability data to real estate assets. The company specialises in LoRaWan applications and is a member of the LoRa Alliance.