The French startup IADYS designs, develops and delivers Artificial Intelligence & Robotic innovations serving the environment. Its robotized products, the Jellyfishbot and the Mobile Oil Skimmer, collect floating waste and oil from the water’s surface, protect biodiversity and guarantee users safe work.
Created in 2016 by Nicolas Carlési Ph.D., the company is located in the South of France, on the Mediterranean coast near Marseille. Ever since the first Jellyfishbot was sold in 2018, more than 100 robots have been deployed all over the world and the team now counts 17 employees. In June 2021, IADYS closed its first fundraising round (1.57 M€) to speed up its development, especially in the US market.
Since then, no less than 17 robots have been sold in the USA, mostly in Texas. The sales team has embarked on a series of exhibition shows & demo tours, diligently crisscrossing the country from west to east coast to further awareness and increase sales.
Last December, after attending the Clean Gulf Conference in San Antonio, TX, the team was in Florida for several meetings with marinas and local authorities. The Jellyfishbot Expert has been introduced to Miami Bill Bird Marina, Polk County, Lake Park, St. Petersburg Marina, Pinellas County, Coral Gables… Discussions are underway since.
It must be said that the IADYS US client list is made up of established, and well-known companies: Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, Poly America, British Aerospace (BAE) Systems, LA County, PSC group, Baystar, Bay West, Clean Harbors… Even if their needs are all quite different, the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ nature of IADYS’ products allow them to be adapted and transformed to fit the clients’ needs:
- Autonomous, robust and easy to use, the Jellyfishbot is a versatile solution for all types of profiles: industrial and petrochemical sites, anti-pollution, ports, waterways, marinas, shipyards & commercial, lakes, leisure and sports centers, hotels, golf courses, universities, scientists …
- The Mobile Oil Skimmer is designed for the pollution control sector. It enables oil to be collected without the use of consumables (reducing operating costs), and to intervene in narrow, shallow-draft areas, such as riverbanks. In addition to its great mobility, its main asset is its autonomy: it is completely free standing, with no need of any attachments (like the Roomba).
The size and maneuverability of the IADYS products allow them to access and clean the hard-to-reach areas from macro-waste, cyanobacterial blooms, plastic pellets and oil, in total safety, autonomously or remotely operated. Equipped with sensors, they also can perform geolocated water quality measurement and real-time water depth measurement (bathymetric surveys of up to 20m).
The industrial sector is a key component of IADYS’ strategy. A few indicators illustrate the urgency of the situation worldwide:
- 250,000 tons of plastic pellets are discharged into aquatic environments every year by industry, the equivalent of 60 billion plastic bottles
- 2.3 million tons of oil are discharged into the oceans every year
Manufacturers unable to find viable solutions are forced to pay tens of millions of dollars in fines to compensate for their discharge of plastic pellets. That cost is naturally passed on to the customer all while the oceans and waterways continue to be polluted by all the waste. The fines don’t solve the problem as the pollution is exacerbated.
IADYS is currently working on a second round of financing to expand its presence in the US notably by creating a subsidiary with business developers in various strategic locations, including Texas & Florida, and to develop its presence in the Middle East.
IADYS – contact@iadys.com – www.iadys.com – Cyril Castello, Sales Director – +33 (0)6 16 81 46 80
You can meet IADYS team at the following shows: AIChE – New Orleans (March), Clean Waterway – Cincinnati (April), the French Tech Capital Days – Miami (April), NPE – Orlando (May), IOSC – New Orleans (May) and the Clean Gulf – Houston (November).