Copel, in partnership with Indicator Capital, announced a R$12.5 million investment in the Brazilian startup Fu2re, which specializes in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision solutions for asset management in the electricity sector. The round is led by Copel Ventures I, the company’s Corporate Venture Capital fund (in partnership with Vox Capital), with up to R$7.5 million, and by Indicator Capital, with a stake of up to R$5 million.
The investment is aligned with the review of Copel’s innovation program, as part of its digital transformation driven by Copel Beyond, a program to digitize the electricity sector. One of the initiatives of this movement was Innovation Week, held in May, which brought together more than 700 participants at Copel’s headquarters in Curitiba and featured 20 speakers from leading technology companies (Google, SAP, NVIDIA) and innovation companies (BTG, Globo, Toyota).
Follow the latest business news in the state on Paraná S.A.’s LinkedIn page.
One of the companies speaking at Innovation Week was Fu2re, which holds the distinction of being the first Latin American startup invited by NVIDIA to Inception, an acceleration program created to support startups and stimulate technological innovation. Fu2re’s relationship with NVIDIA reinforces the startup’s positioning as an important partner for developing AI-based projects.
The investment from Copel Ventures I, a fund that promotes national and international startups at the forefront of ongoing transformations, aims to scale the startup’s technology development and enhance its generative AI solutions.
The investment decision was based on a proof of concept conducted in Almirante Tamandaré, in the Curitiba Metropolitan Region, where a vehicle equipped with cameras traveled 680 kilometers along Copel’s power grid, capturing more than 1.4 million images. Processed by Fu2re’s solution, the images allowed mapping of assets such as poles, cables, and transformers, as well as identifying vulnerabilities such as vegetation near the grid.
Cutting-edge technology at Copel’s service
Fu2re’s solution—whose name evokes the “future”—combines cutting-edge artificial intelligence and computer vision to optimize asset monitoring in the electricity sector. The technology allows for the digitization of field routines, automation of meter readings, improvement of inventories, and identification of fraud and non-technical losses.
“This project is an important step toward improving our grid inventory, with productivity gains of approximately 30%. AI also helps us anticipate problems and better direct maintenance teams,” says Daniel Slaviero, president of Copel.
Diogo Mac Cord, Vice President of Strategy, New Business, and Digital Transformation at Copel, adds: “In addition to assets and public lighting, the technology has the potential to identify other vulnerabilities, such as damaged poles and even vegetation. This will facilitate preventive maintenance planning, bringing greater security and reliability to Copel’s system.”
One of Fu2re’s distinguishing features is its no-code system, which allows for the creation of variations of computer vision applications without the need for programming, accelerating development and implementation for new clients. The startup also offers pre-trained models, which facilitate rapid adoption and integration with corporate databases and ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning), software systems for automating and integrating a company’s processes.
“Our unique advantage lies in combining technological depth and high scalability, balancing performance, low latency, and efficiency in critical applications. We achieve this through an advanced solution, with a plug-and-play approach, without major customizations, and with a venture mindset unique in the market,” says André Sih, founder and Managing Partner of Fu2re.
Fabio Iunis de Paula, co-founder of Indicator Capital, adds: “Fu2re is fully aligned with our artificial intelligence thesis. We seek startups with scalable, practically applicable technologies that have a real impact. Running AI on edge devices enables real-time decisions and increases the autonomy of solutions.”
