Ecometric, a startup founded in 2010 as an environmental consultancy, ventured into the development of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based device in 2017.
This innovative device, initially created in collaboration with Xenitt, can measure the acoustic impact of companies in various industries on local communities.
In 2022, Ecometric acquired Xenitt, making the founders of the latter, Angelo Cares and Sergio Mancinelli, partners in the consultancy.
“It became super necessary to start working together, and that gave us the power we needed to grow,” revealed Angelo Cares, CEO of Ecometric, in an exclusive interview with Forbes.
During the process, the company identified the opportunity to replace human tasks with a device capable of performing the same work in real-time.
They discovered that the wind energy industry was experiencing significant growth both nationally and internationally, observing the need to control the noise produced by wind farms to comply with regulations. This led Ecometric to enter this sector.
“We identified several things, but the most powerful was the continuous noise monitoring in real-time and the wireless transmission of those data. We developed the hardware and software, have a laboratory, and a team of developers,” explained Cares.
The startup points out the existence of two types of noise in wind farms: the aerodynamic noise generated by the blades cutting through the wind, and that associated with the operation of electrical equipment.
Their device, a small box with a microphone and electronic components, installed in communities near the generating plants, monitors the impact of noise in real-time and detects possible mechanical failures, offering a significant advance over current systems.
“Two of the main reasons for halting the operation of wind farms are related to the noise projected towards communities and mechanical failures in wind turbines that require very expensive repairs. We help prevent these things,” emphasized the executive.
The timely detection of these problems could save the industry worldwide up to USD$100 billion in repairs.
Ecometric currently has more than 100 of these devices in communities near generators in Chile and Guatemala.
With a current revenue of USD$1 million, the company expanded operations to Brazil and Mexico in 2023, and also plans to install devices in these countries in 2024.
They also aim to consolidate their presence in the Chilean market and have the objective to expand to the United States and Canada.
To finance these plans, Ecometric is about to join the ScaleX program of the Santiago Stock Exchange, hoping to secure up to USD$2 million in the next month.
