Helin lands €10 million to accelerate industrial edge intelligence
Rijswijk-based startup Helin, a specialist in industrial edge computing and AI data platforms, has raised €10 million in growth capital to expand its international footprint and deepen development of its edge intelligence platform. The funding round was led by Amsterdam investment firm FORWARD.one, alongside a previously secured loan facility from Rabobank.
The fresh capital will enable Helin to scale its sales operations across key industrial markets and enhance its technology for mission-critical environments where uptime, latency and cybersecurity are non-negotiable.
From Dutch startup to industrial edge specialist
Founded in 2017, Helin focuses on helping asset-heavy industries modernise how they monitor, control and secure their operations. Its platform is built for sectors such as oil and gas, renewable energy, maritime and manufacturing, where equipment is often distributed, remote and subject to harsh conditions.
Rather than relying solely on centralised cloud analytics, Helin deploys intelligence directly at the edge – on or near the industrial equipment itself. This approach is designed to reduce bandwidth costs, cut response times and maintain operations even when connectivity to the cloud is limited or unstable.
According to the company, many operators still depend on a patchwork of legacy on-site tools, proprietary software from equipment vendors and delayed insights from cloud-only systems. Helin aims to replace this fragmented stack with a single, unified industrial edge intelligence platform that can process, analyse and act on data in real time.
Running in critical industrial environments
Helin already operates in highly sensitive settings where downtime can be extremely costly and even dangerous. These include offshore energy installations, maritime fleets and large-scale manufacturing plants.
“We already run in critical industrial environments. This investment allows us to scale deployments faster while continuing to meet and optimise strict requirements on uptime, latency, and security,” said co-founder and CPTO Martijn Handels.
By processing data locally and using AI algorithms at the edge, the platform can support use cases such as:
- Real-time monitoring of equipment health and performance
- Predictive maintenance to prevent failures and reduce unplanned downtime
- Operational optimisation for energy usage, throughput and quality
- Remote asset management for ships, offshore platforms and distributed plants
- Security monitoring and anomaly detection on industrial networks
For operators in oil and gas or offshore wind, even a small improvement in availability or fuel efficiency can translate into significant financial impact. Helin positions its platform as a way to unlock this value while giving industrial players more control over their data and infrastructure.
Why edge intelligence matters for heavy industry
The rise of Industrial IoT and digital transformation in heavy industry is driving demand for platforms that can bridge the gap between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT). Traditional cloud-centric architectures often struggle with:
- Latency: Millisecond-level decisions are hard to guarantee when data must travel to distant data centres.
- Connectivity constraints: Ships at sea, offshore platforms or remote plants may have intermittent or expensive links.
- Data sovereignty: Operators may not want sensitive operational data to leave their premises or jurisdiction.
- Reliability: Safety-critical systems must keep running even if external networks fail.
By moving analytics and decision-making closer to where data is generated, industrial edge computing offers a way to address these challenges. Helin integrates edge devices, data pipelines, AI models and security controls into a single platform designed for industrial environments, where standards for robustness and certification are high.
Use cases across energy, maritime and manufacturing
Oil, gas and renewable energy
In the energy sector, Helin supports operators of offshore platforms, refineries and renewable assets such as wind farms. Edge-based analytics can help optimise production, detect anomalies in rotating equipment and improve safety through continuous monitoring of critical systems.
Maritime operations
For maritime customers, the platform can be deployed on vessels to monitor engines, fuel consumption and navigation-related systems. With edge intelligence on board, fleets can reduce emissions, improve route planning and perform maintenance based on actual condition rather than fixed schedules.
Manufacturing and process industries
In factories and process plants, Helin aims to simplify integration between diverse machines and control systems, enabling real-time analytics on production lines. This can support quality control, throughput optimisation and early detection of process deviations.
Funding to fuel international expansion
The €10 million growth investment, backed by FORWARD.one and a loan from Rabobank, gives Helin additional resources to expand beyond its Dutch base. The company plans to strengthen its international sales capacity, targeting industrial hubs across Europe and potentially further afield.
The capital will also be used to accelerate product development, with a focus on enhancing scalability, security and interoperability with existing industrial systems and cloud platforms. As more industrial players look to standardise their data infrastructure, Helin aims to position its platform as a central layer for edge-to-cloud data management.
With industrial companies under pressure to decarbonise, improve efficiency and modernise their operations, demand for robust edge intelligence solutions is expected to grow. Backed by new funding and operating in environments where reliability is paramount, Helin is seeking to establish itself as a key player in the next phase of industrial digitalisation.