In this Research Note, we examine Priva, the Dutch company that develops hardware, software and services in the field of climate control, energy saving and optimal reuse of water. Target markets are horticulture, indoor and city farming, and commercial buildings such as offices, retail, hotels and hospitals.

We review the partnerships and investments made by Priva across building automation, controlled environment vertical farming and greenhouse automation.

The company was founded in 1959 by the same family that still owns and runs it today. Their headquarters are based in De Lier, Netherlands. LinkedIn reports 1,200 employees. They report 15 offices, activity in over 100 countries, and over 400 distributors.

Priva Building Automation

Priva Building Automation has an installed base of over 50,000 buildings in Europe, with 4,000 buildings per year equipped with their solutions, according to a May 2021 brochure. In the Netherlands, they have been a market leader in this sector for many years.

However, they are also increasingly active in the world market, with more than 600 employees in 100 countries, 18 subsidiaries, and training centers on all continents. Together with over 500 partners, the company automates commercial and public buildings through a suite of cloud-based services.

The company sees itself as a part of a larger ecosystem in both building automation and horticulture. They have forged several strategic partnerships and alliances, creating a network of startups, technology partners, and commercial alliances, described below.

Viessmann

In April 2021, Viessmann, a leading provider of climate solutions for residential and commercial environments, completed a significant strategic investment in Priva. Viessmann, a family-owned company based in Allendorf, Germany with 11,000 employees worldwide, acquired a minority shareholding in Priva to emphasize the long-term perspective of the partnership.

The rationale for the alliance was to allow Priva to pursue its strategy, which focuses on technical innovation and international growth while maintaining its independence. Viessmann, in turn, could use its stake to rapidly develop its business in climate solutions for commercial buildings and explore opportunities in the horticulture sector.

However, with the acquisition of Viessmann’s Climate Solutions business by Carrier in April 2023, Memoori believes that Priva’s position as an independent second-tier building automation supplier may have weakened. Their former family-owned partner has sold out to one of the top three global HVAC equipment manufacturers worldwide, with a competing Automated Logic BAS brand.

bGrid

In March 2022, Priva announced the acquisition of a minority stake in bGrid. The Amsterdam-based startup provides an intelligent sensor platform that collects data from buildings and connects it to various third-party apps. They have been working together on projects for some time enabling Priva to strengthen its portfolio with a joint digital services proposition for smart buildings.

Greenhouse Automation

In October 2023, Priva and Koidra announced a partnership to accelerate the evolution of autonomous greenhouses. Founded in 2020, Koidra is a US autonomous growing technology startup based in Seattle, WA. Koidra, with its Datapilot and Autopilot solutions, enhances their range of process automation hardware and software solutions, resulting in a more complete integrated offering for customers.

In an alliance with another Seattle, WA startup, Priva and IUNU expanded their partnership to focus on AI-driven growing in October 2023. Founded in 2013, IUNU aims to close the loop in greenhouse autonomy and is focused on being a leading controlled environment specialist.

IUNU’s flagship platform, LUNA, combines software with a variety of high-definition cameras — both fixed and mobile — and environmental sensors to keep track of the minutiae of plant growth and health in indoor agricultural settings.

Indoor Farming

In January 2022, together with 80 Acres Farms and the UK-listed online retail giant Ocado Group, Priva established Infinite Acres, a joint venture for indoor farms. They remain associated with the new company as a primary supplier of technology and services for the process automation of indoor farms.

Priva offers an interesting portfolio of hardware and software for building and process automation, combining its expertise as a manufacturer of building management systems with its specialized range of indoor controlled environment solutions for greenhouse automation and vertical farming.

This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori.