CE Pro June 2023 - 26

Lighting
FIXTURES | CONTROLS | MOTORIZED SHADES
European Circadian
Lighting Startup
Kumux Grows
VC Support
LIGHTING SOFTWARE
company Kumux has successfully
closed its latest
funding round with a sizeable
investment of €500K (about
$550,000 USD at press time)
from Venture Capital firm
BeAble Capital. The company,
which is a startup from
the University of Barcelona,
develops human-centric
lighting (HCL) software that
uses geolocation, time of
year and activity in conjunction
with lighting control systems
to more efficiently and
smartly run circadian lighting
routines within buildings.
BeAble Capital states it
has decided to invest in Kumux
due to its noteworthy
progress toward becoming a
reference in circadian lighting
automation. Currently, the
company has its algorithm
integrated with several
prominent building control
systems, including Casambi,
KNX, Lutron and OSRAM,
with more partnerships
planned, according to CEO
Javier Iglesias.
26 | CE Pro June 2023
The company also plans
to have 20 projects completed
this year featuring
its proprietary software in
the office, senior living and
healthcare sectors.
According to Adrià Huguet,
CTO and founder of
Kumux, " The technology we
have developed is based on
two fundamental pillars: the
science related to the effect
of light on people worldwide
and the study of natural
lighting. It is scientifically
proven that people need
different light depending
on the activity and time of
day, which can positively
affect their productivity,
rest, and recovery. "
In that sense, the company
seeks to " promote the
use of natural light in our
lives and raise awareness
of its positive impact, " and
bring the properties of sunlight
inside buildings. " With
our current lifestyles, spending
more time outdoors has
become complicated. That's
why Kumux exists, " states
Kumux Founder & CTO Adrià Huguet (left) and CEO Javier
Iglesias discuss the startup at a recent industry event.
Developed at the University of Barcelona, human-centric lighting software
provider Kumux targets senior living facilities, offices and healthcare, with more
on the horizon. By Nick Boever
Huguet, who presented the
TEDx Talk, " The Hidden
Power of Light, " in 2021.
The company has also recently
conducted a series of
studies looking at the overall
impact circadian lighting
schedules have on electricity
consumption in buildings.
Kumux has developed its
own web simulator that
allows the direct visualization
of these results for
buildings that implement
the technology.
" With this tool, our customers
can observe how the
lighting variation would be
throughout the day, but also
how they can save energy
and money thanks to this
regulation, " says Huguet.
According to Huguet, the
goal is " to create a solution
that allows improving the
well-being of people who
spend a lot of time indoors
- whether it's for work,
because they are in school,
or because they have to go
to the hospital - but that
also allows companies to
save energy and money at
the same time. In the past,
this often seemed difficult
to achieve, but we have created
a solution that creates
a positive impact on both
aspects and automatically,
depending on geolocation
and activity, and this
is one of the things that
differentiates Kumux from
the competition. "
The combination of more
efficient LED lighting combined
with Kumux's proprietary
algorithms can cut a
building's energy expenditure
by up to 20%, Iglesias
adds. However, the main
goal of the company stays at
delivering a positive impact
on people's health.
With more partnerships
on the horizon, Kumux
states it aims to continue
leading innovation within
the lighting industry in Spain,
but has also placed special
focus on entering into international
markets to " bring a
ray of sunshine into buildings, "
as Iglesias puts it.
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CE Pro June 2023

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