Posted On 6/10/19
Blue Bear Capital leads the round, with support from Congruent Ventures and Powerhouse Ventures, to support growing demand for Raptor Maps software.
Raptor Maps, the global leader in aerial inspection software for PV systems, announced a new round of funding from veteran energy investors. The round was led by Blue Bear Capital, specializing in data-led energy investments, with participation from Congruent Ventures and Powerhouse Ventures, and previous investor Y Combinator.
“Raptor Maps is impressive because the team provides immediate value to solar portfolios while laying the digital groundwork for true predictive analytics,” explained Ernst Sack, Managing Partner of Blue Bear Capital. “Solar owners and operators are leveraging Raptor Maps analytics to increase project revenues by 2% above baseline, and reduce costs for required inspections by over 50%. Simultaneously, Raptor Maps is compatible with enterprise software and used by data scientists to de-risk portfolios, carefully track degradation, and inform future projects.”
The company makes software to build geospatial, digital models of photovoltaic (PV) system asset health. In the past year, Raptor Maps has analyzed over 25 million solar panels in 21 countries across 6,000 MW. Uses include PV system inspection and verification, due diligence, commissioning, and construction site installation progression. Data is captured aerially by FLIR infrared cameras, operated by Raptor Maps customers or local providers under stringent requirements, and analyzed using machine learning. Every finding is presented with original data to enable audits from clients and independent engineers.
“The reason Raptor Maps has gained so much traction is that we’re built on software excellence and data transparency,” explains Nikhil Vadhavkar, co-founder and CEO. “Companies like Enel Green Power, Cypress Creek Renewables, and Swinerton Renewable Energy recognize that they don’t have to compromise between immediate actionability, client-facing deliverables, and long-term digital initiatives.”
Raptor Maps currently provides a variety of analyses, including the ability for solar customers to meet the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Specifications for PV system thermography. The company intends to use its funding to expand its global presence and roll out new features and products, such as iOS and Android mobile applications for field technicians and portfolio-level tools to optimize project finance.
About Blue Bear Capital:
Blue Bear is a venture capital and growth equity firm driving digital technologies into multi-billion-dollar verticals across the energy industry. The team comes together from leading energy private equity firms and features technology expertise from the tech startup world alongside operational leadership from the NASA astronaut corps. Blue Bear’s portfolio covers AI, IoT, and cyber security technologies, all deployed with leading enterprise customers as they improve the economics of wind, solar, and storage while driving efficiencies across the global energy supply chain. www.bluebearcap.com
About Congruent Ventures:
Congruent Ventures is an early stage venture fund which partners with entrepreneurs to build companies addressing sustainability challenges. The fund invests early across the spectrum of hardware, software, enterprise, consumer, deep technology, fin-tech, and business model innovation. Investment themes include Urbanization and Mobility trends, the Clean Energy Transition, Food and Agriculture, and Industrial and Supply Chain innovation. Congruent’s unique model and long-term investor base allows us to invest early and provide ongoing support to teams enabling them to move the needle on critical sustainability challenges. www.congruentvc.com
About Powerhouse Ventures:
Powerhouse Ventures backs early-stage startups building solutions to enable an energy system that is decarbonized, decentralized, democratized, and digitized. Powerhouse backs entrepreneurs harnessing the latest in digital technology and business model innovation to advance software-enabled, distributed, and renewable energy in domestic and international markets. https://powerhouse.fund
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Raptor Maps is building the digital foundation for a more resilient and scalable solar. From construction to end-of-life, we are your long-term software partners to ensure your sites are operating as expected and producing reliable energy to support the energy transition.
