US-based smart hardhat manufacturer Guardhat has closed a $20m series A round featuring 3M Ventures and Caterpillar Venture Capital, respective subsidiaries of manufacturing conglomerate 3M and construction equipment maker Caterpillar.
Venture capital firm RTP Ventures led the round, which also featured venture debt provider Silicon Valley Bank, VC firm Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund and investment firm Detroit Venture Partners (DVP).
Founded in 2014, Guardhat has devised a smart hardhat for industrial sites that enables supervisors to monitor the wearer’s health, safety and work environment. The internet-of-things device connects to software that measures safety parameters such as heart rate and body temperature.
Guardhat will use the series A capital for technology development and business growth as it looks to build market traction internationally. The company has now raised $24m of funding to date, it said.
DVP provided Guardhat with undisclosed amounts of funding in 2015 and February 2018, according to Crain’s Detroit Business, though it was unclear whether the series A round included DVP’s February commitment.