Helsinki-based startup Measurlabs has raised €2.5 million in a seed funding round led by VentureFriends, along with participation from existing investors Lifeline Ventures, Tesi, and Curus. Measurlabs offers a one-stop online platform aggregating services from over 900 laboratories, simplifying laboratory analysis and testing for researchers, quality assurance professionals, and R&D teams. The startup, with a strong customer base in Finland and international reach in nearly 40 countries, plans to expand across Europe, starting with the UK, and enhance its platform capabilities with in-platform payments.
Founded by two PhD students, Teemu Myllymäki and Kalle Lagerblom, Measurlabs’ mission is to help product developers, quality controllers, and researchers save time and money by offering them all the tests they need in one place. Measurlabs’ online platform combines the services of 900+ laboratories, enabling companies to obtain all the required tests in one place, get the expert support they need, and save money on analysis costs.
“Finding a testing services provider that can perform the required tests and offer expert help is challenging. Requesting offers from several laboratories, dealing with poor communication, or waiting for delayed results causes inefficiencies in product development and quality management, is a waste of time and money, and interferes with project workflows,” explains Teemu Myllymäki, CEO and co-founder of Measurlabs, about the need for modern laboratory services.
After building a strong customer base in Finland during its first years, Measurlabs has already gained significant international traction, with customers from close to 40 countries and an average customer satisfaction score of 9.1 out of 10. Measurlabs’ clients include sustainability-industry forerunners such as Sulapac, Woodio and Kone.
“Our clients are prominent companies that have been excited to finally find an easy solution for their pressing testing and analysis needs. Our clients have specifically thanked Measurlabs’ range of testing methods, digital purchasing platform, and customer support from top experts in different testing fields,” explains Myllymäki.
With the new funding, the company is looking to expand further into Europe by setting up new local teams in new countries, starting from the UK. The company is also doubling down on the technical capabilities of its online platform by introducing in-platform payments soon.
Almost all materials and products need to be tested for their performance, safety, and legal compliance before market entry. Furthermore, the recent surge in the development of new semiconductor materials, quantum computing, electricity storage units, and many other deep tech solutions has increased the need for reliable and fast testing services, leading to the industry reaching an estimated annual value of €50 billion in 2022 (Intertek Annual Report 2021, Eurofins 2022).
“There is a pressing need to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy and a healthier, more sustainable environment. The pressure comes from both end-users but also from compliance and regulatory points of view. For example, getting a new bio-based material to the market requires mandatory testing on many fronts, like ensuring it is safe to use in contact with food or to comply with new sustainability directives like the EU Green Claims that require all statements about the material to be based on scientifically sound evidence like laboratory tests,” tells Myllymäki. “With our one-stop-shop, companies developing new and ground-breaking sustainability innovations such as bio-based materials can get their solutions to the market faster than ever before.”
“We are excited to join Teemu, Kalle, and the wider Measurlabs team on their journey to significantly improve laboratory testing services management and achieve lower costs and time-to-market for products. With increasing regulation and demand for end-customer safety, the team is tapping into a growing need for modern testing services,” says Apostolos Apostolakis, partner at VentureFriends and the lead investor in the round.
“We invested early on into the company, as we believe in Measurlabs’ unique ability to reshape the R&D landscape. Their team has a strong understanding of the market needs and is ambitious in their mission to change how the laboratory and analysis market operates. We continue to be excited about being a part of this journey,” tells Tuomas Rekonen, Investment Manager at Tesi, and early investor in the company.
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