Portfolio update: Villari & MISTRAS Group join forces

MISTRAS Group partners with Villari to scale wireless crack-detection sensors for critical steel assets

Villari’s scale path from proof‑of‑concept to international impact.
MISTRAS Group (NYSE: MG), a global leader in asset integrity solutions, is partnering with Villari, the Delft-based scale-up supported by InnovationQuarter, to bring wireless crack-detection sensors for steel structures to a global stage.
This collaboration delivers real-time structural health monitoring to industries where uptime and safety are essential.

Villari’s certified wireless system detects cracks early and tracks their growth using passive magnetic flux leakage and plastic deformation (the “Villari effect”). Data flows into an online dashboard with automated alerts and trend analytics, enabling proactive maintenance and smarter investment decisions.

Critical sectors benefiting from Villari’s technology

Villari’s technology is already making an impact in sectors where asset reliability is crucial:

Wind turbines: online monitoring of bedding plates, pitch bearing outer rings, tower welds, and manufacturing weld defects.
Oil & Gas: Eearly detection of fatigue and crack propagation in offshore supports, cranes, and aerial pipelines.
Bridges & Infrastructure: early detection of sub-surface or toe/root-initiated cracks to inform maintenance timing and extend service life.
Ports & Terminals: continuous monitoring on ship-to-shore and overhead cranes to identify fatigue damage and reduce operational risk.
Steel Manufacturing: 24/7 insights on high-stress components to improve uptime and safety in demanding production environments.

“At Villari, our mission is to empower asset owners with real-time insights into the integrity of their critical steel structures. By partnering with MISTRAS, we can bring our technology to a wider range of industries and geographies, combining their deep expertise in asset integrity and inspection solutions with our wireless monitoring system to help customers ensure safety, protect uptime and improve efficiency and sustainability.”

– Olivier Baas, CEO & Founder, Villari.

“Pairing Villari’s certified wireless crack-detection system with MISTRAS’ monitoring expertise gives operators a continuous view of asset health, helping them act before minor defects become critical, or confidently delay replacement and non-critical repairs to maintain operational safety and uptime,” said Jonathan Burns, Vice President, Monitoring Technologies, MISTRAS Group. “Together, we’re helping customers minimize unplanned downtime, optimize inspection and repair intervals, and extend asset life across wind turbines, bridges, cranes, and more.”

InnovationQuarter: supporting Villari’s growth journey

As an investor, InnovationQuarter supports Villari’s mission to scale across Europe and beyond, helping operators boost efficiency, sustainability, and safety.

With the early-stage fund UNIIQ, InnovationQuarter was Villari’s first investor in 2022, enabling early product development and market entry. A year later, Villari received a follow-up investment of €2.5 million from InnovationQuarter Capital, FORWARD.one, and Delft Enterprises. In 2025, Villari secured a €4 million growth investment to accelerate international expansion and further scale its technology.

Olivier Baas emphasizes the value of this partnership (source: InnovationQuarter, 2024):

“We are extremely pleased with the investments. UNIIQ is a fantastic instrument. For an average investment fund, a young startup is often too risky. But it’s exactly at that stage where you benefit most from support, including substantive guidance. InnovationQuarter also supported us with the follow-up investment and gave us valuable exposure by providing access to trade fairs, programs, and international missions.”

“Villari is a textbook example of how early-stage support from UNIIQ and continued investment from InnovationQuarter Capital can help a deeptech company scale from proof-of-concept to international impact. We’re proud to support Villari’s mission to make critical infrastructure safer and more sustainable across Europe and beyond.”

– Amée Leferink, Senior Investment Manager at InnovationQuarter Capital.

In addition to funding, InnovationQuarter helped Villari gain international exposure through trade fairs, programs, and targeted missions, to boost international visibility and open doors to new markets and partners.

About InnovationQuarter Capital

InnovationQuarter Capital (€143 M) strategically invests in disruptive startups and scale-ups with high technological risk. We focus on innovative industries in Zuid-Holland, including the key sectors Energy & Chemistry, Digital Technology & Cybersecurity, High-Tech Systems & Aerospace, Maritime & Harbour, Horticulture & Food and Life Sciences & Health. As a founder-friendly investor, we offer subordinated loans, convertible loans and/or equity. At InnovationQuarter Capital, we’re committed to long-term investments in innovative startups and scale-ups. Our focus is on companies led by strong management teams with clear growth trajectories. As patient investors, we prioritize sustainable development and strategic progress, combining societal impact with financial returns.

About UNIIQ

UNIIQ is a €50 million proof-of-concept fund that helps entrepreneurs in Zuid-Holland bring unique innovations to market. The fund provides academic spin-offs and innovative startups with the seed capital and strategic coaching needed to bridge the riskiest phase — from concept to promising company. Over 60% of UNIIQ-backed startups have already secured follow-on funding, collectively raising over €275 million. UNIIQ is made possible by Erasmus MC, TU Delft, Leiden University, Erasmus University, InnovationQuarter, the European Union, the Province of Zuid-Holland, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), TNO, and the municipalities of Rotterdam, The Hague, and Leiden. InnovationQuarter acts as the fund manager of UNIIQ.