London-based crowd analytics software specialist, Crowd Vision has closed a substantial funding round with participation from a syndicate of London Business Angels Investors and the Angel Cofund which will enable the business to expand international sales activities and execute product development plans.

The company offers a highly innovative software product that extracts crowd insights from video feeds in busy locations, enabling customers to understand and intervene in their crowds. The software has already been deployed at scale in Mecca where it helps to keep millions of pilgrims safe as they attend the Hajj. Beyond crowd safety it can provide accurate crowd counts, improve pedestrian flows and help businesses optimise their operations based on live and accurate crowding data.

Fiona Strens, Crowd Vision CEO, comments, "Crowding is a global phenomenon of our time. Whether struggling through commuter crowds or soaking up a festival atmosphere, we all experience crowding in everyday life. Crowd Vision provides unique, actionable data on crowd numbers, patterns and dynamics helping our customers turn a challenge into a business opportunity. Crowd Vision is committed to enabling our customers to deliver Safer Crowds and Smarter Cities across the globe. We were delighted that funding offers exceeded our target, as this investment provides us with the means to execute aggressively to address increasing demand."

Anthony Clarke, London Business Angels Managing Director, comments, "when Crowd Vision presented to the LBA network on 17 May 2012 they had received pledges for 50% of the round and an independent value-added lead angel investor had been identified. LBA investors were able to support the lead and expressed such interest in the round that they had to be scaled back. This is a very good example of how a company with a clear and well organised funding strategy can effectively close a round. This is also the second time this year that the Angel CoFund has co-invested with London Business Angels investors."