Samp

Market position

Positioned as a deep tech supplier of "AI-generated" digital twins for existing, ageing industrial infrastructure, differentiated from CAD/BIM-based twins by not requiring a 3D CAD model. The company reported deployment across more than 150 industrial sites in France as of September 2024 and cites named references including Engie, SUEZ, Veolia, Teréga, Trapil and SFDM. Its lead investor describes the ambition as becoming "the operating system of Industry 4.0." No independent market-share or ranking data appears in the sources.

The company positions Shared Reality as usable without an existing 3D CAD model — customers such as Storengy and Elengy state they work directly with point clouds rather than creating and maintaining CAD models. Other claimed differentiators are automatic AI segmentation of scans into individually selectable assets, self-service updating of the 3D model (including from smartphone or tablet scans by field crews), browser-only access with no software installation or large file downloads, scalability to million-square-metre sites at 3mm detail, and linking of 3D assets to both 1D system-of-record data and 2D flowsheets. A surveying partner describes Samp as bringing intelligence to traditional 3D scans and going beyond the limits of BIM by making data easier to update.

Technology

Patented artificial intelligence combined with 3D streaming. Automatic segmentation ("3D Assetizer") converts monolithic point clouds from third-party reality capture into individually selectable assets; a "2D Assetizer" converts flowsheet images (PDF, SVG, PNG) into interactive diagrams; a Copilot AI suggests piping sections and equipment to link between 3D assets and 2D symbols. An "Infinistream" 3D engine is cited as enabling navigation of sites up to one million square metres at 3mm level of detail without local software installation or large file downloads. Integration with external systems of record (ERP, EAM, CMMS, document management, data historians) is via file exchange or API. The founding technical insight was that AI methods used to process LIDAR data in autonomous vehicles could be adapted to build digital twins of industrial facilities.

Go-to-market

Direct enterprise sales to industrial operators, supplemented by partnerships with surveying and engineering firms: TRAPIL states that it supports and promotes the partnership between its subsidiary SURVEY and Samp to deliver digital twin services to SURVEY's clients. Reality capture itself is performed by third-party surveyors rather than by Samp. Marketing includes webinars and product-release content aimed at segments such as midstream oil and gas operators. Proceeds of the 2024 round were allocated in part to building out the sales team in France and Europe, with existing presence in France, prospects in the UK, and preparation for expansion beyond Europe.

Primarily process industry operators — owner operators, contract operators and non-operating owners including public authorities — across utilities, power and energy (oil and gas), chemicals and industrial gases, maritime and offshore, pulp and paper, agribusiness, food and beverage, pharma and biotech, batteries and semiconductors, mining, and metals and minerals. Secondary user groups named on the website include engineering services and EPC firms and scanning service providers. Named users quoted include Teréga, SUEZ, SURVEY, TRAPIL, Storengy, BRL Exploitation, Elengy and Franciliane.

Geography

Headquartered in Paris, France, and described as a European-headquartered vendor with operations and clients across the globe. Deployment is concentrated in France (over 150 sites as of September 2024), with a team in France, prospects in the UK, sales expansion planned across Europe, and preparation for international expansion outside Europe. Client cloud environments can be hosted in the region of the customer's choice.

History

Sources give the founding date variously as 2019 (Promus Ventures portfolio page and press coverage of the funding round) and 2020 (the company FAQ, which says Samp was established in 2020, and an interview that says the company was founded in 2020 after the founders met at Entrepreneur First in 2019). COVID-19 struck just before the Entrepreneur First demo day, disrupting client engagements and site data access, though the interview notes the pandemic reinforced demand for remote site access. An early milestone was the go-live of the company's largest site, with more than 10,000 objects, at Engie subsidiary Storengy; around the same period Engie became a corporate investor through Engie New Ventures. The company reports four years of development of its patented AI and 3D streaming technology prior to the 2024 round, a €4M round led by Innovacom in 2022, and a €6M round led by Promus Ventures with Kvanted announced on 16 September 2024. Headcount reached about 30 by late 2024.

Risks & controversies

No controversies are reported in the sources. Sources disagree on the founding year (2019 versus 2020) and on the label for the €6M round (described as a Series A only in a newsletter interview). The €4M 2022 round led by Innovacom and the Engie New Ventures corporate investment are each supported by a single secondary source with no disclosed dates or terms, and no USD equivalents for the euro amounts are stated anywhere in the material. Much of the customer evidence consists of vendor-published testimonials. Operationally, the model depends on third-party surveyors for reality capture and on integration with customers' existing ERP/EAM/CMMS systems.