For all the interest around the new types of data generated by the connected universe and their potential applications in the enterprise, relatively little attention is being paid to the sensors that collect the information. Yet there’s a major revenue opportunity in the technology that a startup called Helium Inc. hopes to seize with the help of $20 million in new funding from Alphabet Inc.’s venture capital arm and a trio of other institutional investors.

The cash from the round will be used to widen the adoption of its sensor line, which consists of two models that share the same basic design but serve vastly different purposes. The first is built to monitor temperature in data centers, hospitals and other sensitive settings where even a slight ambiance change may warrant serious attention. And the other is a general-purpose unit dubbed the Helium Green that was unveiled in conjunction with today’s funding announcement and is capable tracking several different environmental parameters.

The sensor can track the humidity levels of a facility’s basement for signs of burst pipes, see if a conference room is not too bright to hold a morning meeting and watch out for unauthorized activity in restricted areas. The Helium Green even has a pressure detector meant to check for unexpected changes in sealed environments like a forensic lab, which usually means there’s been a breach through which germs might come inside. The startup’s sensors are designed to be used in conjunction with a specialized access point called the Helium Network that has a range of up to three city blocks if it’s installed outdoors and can cover a few floors when it’s deployed in an office building.

Each such device is able to support thousands of sensors within its range, coordinating not only the flow of data but also the behavior of each measuring unit. Helium provides a cloud-based control console that makes it possible to centrally define what measurements to collect, how frequently to transmit the data and in what cases should an administrator be notified. From there, a unit can be configured to either send positive hits to the management dashboard or display an alert on the nearest administrator’s mobile device.

According to Helium, its sensors are able to operate for up to three years on a single AA battery if they’re set up with efficiency in mind. The startup is currently negotiating deals with several top U.S. hospitals and will no doubt expand its sales efforts even further in the wake of the new funding round. It’s now raised a total of $38.87 million to date.

Image via Geralt