- French startup PlanetWatch announces rewards with token launched on blockchain from Ethereum competitor Algorand to mitigate air pollution.
- PlanetWatch raised 550,000 euros in a mixed investment round targeting private and institutional investors.
In a press release, French startup PlanetWatch announced that it had completed a mixed funding round. Open to both private and institutional investors, the French startup raised 550 million euros in the round led by the Italian investment company RA.MO.
PlanetWatch incentives environmental conservation with Algorand
According to the statement, the money from the investment will be used to fight air pollution. Through the development of a mesh build by PlanetWatch that will store information obtained in real time in Algorand’s blockchain.
After obtaining the real-time information, the release states, the owners of the sensors that make up the grid will be rewarded for keeping air pollution levels low. The owners of the sensors will receive their reward in the PlanetWatch utility token, PLANET issued on the Ethereum competitor’s blockchain. The sensors will be installed by their owners inside or outside their homes and PlanetWatch may install additional sensors in cooperation with telecommunication companies and local authorities.
For the French startup, air pollution is one of the most important problems today and its monitoring has become a global challenge. Therefore, PlanetWatch’s high density network will be used to detect local levels of air pollution, identify its causes and offer a solution. According to RA.MO’s CEO, the largest contributor to the funding round, Federico Tomassini:
In this era our ambition is also to be part of Social Impact investments and PlanetWatch represent a combination between Technology Innovation and a model of growing the Environmental awareness among the people. This is a culture we aim to contribute to spread.
For his part, PlanetWatch CEO Claudio Parrinello said the funding round will help them monitor and contribute to keeping the air clean with citizens and a state-of-the-art technology portfolio:
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.
Finally, Algorand’s COO, W. Sean Ford, added that PlanetWatch has demonstrated its ability to provide a solution to the problem outlined in its funding round. In addition, he said that Algorand has supported the project since its inception and expects its launch in the coming months.
