Utilities Tech Outlook Weekly Brief
Be first to read the latest tech news, Industry Leader's Insights, and CIO interviews of medium and large enterprises exclusively from Utilities Tech Outlook
Raptor Maps secures $5 million from Series A round of financing to develop additional capabilities into its state-of-the-art software model
FREMONT, CA: Raptor Maps, a solar software company, raises a $5 million Series A funding round co-led by Blue Bear Capital, Data Point Capital, and Buoyant Ventures. Other participants include notable clean energy investors Congruent Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and Y Combinator.
Raptor Maps resolves major concerns for solar project finance, development, and asset management across an industry experiencing a 49 percent annual growth rate since the past decade. The current approach to develop and operate solar farms is untenable, resulting in demand for software and standardization of required processes and documentation.
“Our mission is to build software that enables the solar industry to scale,” explains Raptor Maps co-founder and CEO Nikhil Vadhavkar. “We are on track to be the system of record, and we already serve as the source of truth that our customers rely on for collaborative decision-making. The diversity of our investor base, including those that have experienced these pains firsthand, underscores that we cannot afford to take a reactive approach in the climate fight.”
Raptor Maps have improved the project finance and asset management of more than 25 GW in 35 countries. The company’s diverse and increasing customer base includes global utility, Enel Green Power, asset owner Greenbacker Renewable Energy, construction company McCarthy Building Companies, operations and maintenance (O&M) providers QE Solar and SOLV, and numerous publicly traded solar panel manufacturers.
“People think of solar as just panels and wires,” says Ernst Sack of Blue Bear Capital, an investor specializing in energy, infrastructure, and climate solutions. “The industry has evolved to rely on a tremendously rich and complicated supply chain, with dozens of operations and hundreds of counterparties involved in any given plant—just as one would expect for other energy and infrastructure asset of this scale. Raptor Maps is building the digital operating system to coordinate and manage all of this activity for maximum productivity, efficiency, and safety.”
Raptor Maps claims that its deliverables are ten-fold more accurate, can be read by humans and machines, and have a lower cost than conventional methods. The company has built a strong reputation for its software and aerial intelligence. It will deploy this investment to build additional features into its state-of-the-art solar data model.
“Raptor Maps is leading the charge to digitize the solar industry, resulting in both immediate and long-term benefit,” explains Daniel Hullah of Buoyant Ventures, a fund that invests in early-stage, digital solutions that address climate risk. “The company makes solar power more valuable and accelerates the transition to clean energy.”
