EIC grants Ekkono Solutions €2.5 Million in funding for federated learning software development

Federated learning is a powerful machine learning technique that enables devices to share their learnings without sharing any data. Training models on local data relevant to each device’s environment allows the learnings to be shared with the cloud, where they can be merged and distributed across all devices.

“Synthesis, as our federated learning product is called, was already on our roadmap”, says Jon Lindén, CEO of Ekkono. “The EIC funding accelerates the development, putting it sooner in the hands of our customers, and further expanding our technology advantage.

In recent years, researchers have directed most federated learning research toward phones, but Ekkono specializes in making it available to industrial equipment, like microcontrollers. With Ekkono’s solution, the models from multiple devices can be compared and contrasted to identify any outliers or irregularities while allowing for more efficient model generation. This process can be used, for example, to optimize production, predict failure and improve machine learning models.

“We’re thankful for the support we’ve received from our partners and customers on this, including the six strategic customers who signed letters of intent expressing their interest in Synthesis,” said Lindén.

Ekkono, which has its headquarters in Sweden, is now used in multiple verticals from industrial equipment, automotive and energy sectors, with a strong portfolio of customers, the company says.

In August 2022, Ekkono closed a €3M funding round. For that funding round, Ekkono’s pre-existing investors were joined by the Finnish tech service company Etteplan Oyj, who gained a 20% stake in the firm.

Article Topics

Ekkono Solutions  |  European Innovation Council  |  federated learning  |  IoT