IMove Eyes $7.5M Round

While VCs haven’t poured rivers of capital into defense-related companies, those that angle toward defense continue to attract venture nuggets. Last week IMove Inc. announced that it received $7.5 million in Series B financing led by the Grosvenor Funds and SmartForest Ventures.

IMove sells a spherical imaging system, which is a three-inch cube about the size of a baseball that sits on a foot-tall stand and connects to a computer. Each side of the cube contains a camera, and the sensory apparatus creates a three-dimensional 360 degree image of its surroundings. Its software also works with Autodesk products for added modeling capabilities.

Roger Thomas, IMove’s chief executive, says the product is in its third generation and cites contracts with government integrators, like Northrop Grumman Corp., which is developing an unmanned surveillance vehicle using IMove technology. Thomas says Canada’s defense research department is also exploring the product’s usefulness on the outsides of tanks.

Locally, Thomas says IMove’s sensors, can help cities and companies develop emergency response plans. “Suppose somebody stuck one on the roof of a car and drove the streets,” he says. “They could combine those images with a GPS [global positioning system] to create a model of the city.”

Emergency response teams would know where every door to every building is, could plan evacuation routes and could predict the movement of terrorists. With a system weight of 10 pounds, building management companies could accomplish the same thing by sending a system through the inside of its buildings.

Thomas says the proceeds of this funding round will go to achieving critical mass, building inventory and exploring additional sales channels. The company’s previous round raised $7 million, and, he says, it may raise a little more in the Series B.

Contact Charles Fellers