(Bloomberg) -- Investors injected $35 million into a startup that sells software to manage the world’s increasingly vast arrays of solar panels.
Boston-based Raptor Maps Inc. raised the money in a Series C round led by Toronto-based Maverix Private Equity. The round was also backed by MacKinnon, Bennett & Co. Inc., Blue Bear Capital LLC, Congruent Ventures, Buoyant Ventures Inc. and Y Combinator Inc.
The company digitally models solar panel arrays, aggregating data and images of the systems. Analyzing that information allows operators to sense aberrations in circuitry or problems like vegetation obscuring the panels. The software, which employs machine learning, can automate inspections and launch drones to investigate issues — freeing up labor and other resources.
Thousands of sites in 45 countries use the software, Chief Revenue Officer James Wagstaff said in a phone interview. One large customer is Brookfield Renewable Partners LP’s clean energy company, Luminace.
Raptor Maps — founded in 2015 — previously raised $30 million, including from Microsoft Corp. The company wouldn’t share a valuation but co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Nikhil Vadhavkar said the new round was at a “very healthy premium” to its Series B in 2022.
Photovoltaic solar power generation increased by a record 270 terawatt hours in 2022, or 26%, according to the International Energy Agency. With billions of dollars now tied up in solar farms, owners want to wring out every cent’s worth of performance.
“These assets are underwritten for 30 to 40 years,” Vadhavkar said, noting the increased importance of maximizing panel efficiency and lifespan. Labor shortages are also increasing the cost of staff. These factors have strained financial assumptions underlying past solar investments, he said, even as solar panels become key parts of grid infrastructure.
Vadhavkar researched thermal controls for space suits at MIT, and worked on a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project that used drones to deliver emergency supplies.
Ironically, solar farms are themselves exposed to climate change, he said, and can be damaged by extreme wind or hail. This has “caused a hardening of the insurance market around solar assets,” adding to operators’ vigilance.
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