Airtouch Solar, an Israel-based provider of robotic module cleaning technology, is looking to enter new markets after raising US$18 million in an initial public offering (IPO).
Joining the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the company’s shares will begin trading over the coming days with the ticker symbol ‘ARTS’. The IPO was led by Poalim IBI Underwriters, the law firm of Goldfarb Seligman and the accounting firm BDO, and values Airtouch at US$124 million.
Founded in 2017, the company has developed water-free robotic cleaning technology to remove dust from PV panels, with its products currently on sale in Israel and India.
CEO Nick Lanir Brown said funds raised from the IPO will help with research and development, to assist in entering new markets and to “significantly increase sales and services in light of the growing demand for the company’s products”.
The firm’s headquarters and manufacturing facility are both in Israel, and it is currently considering establishing another production site in India.
“We are proud of the company’s revenues and achievements this far but believe that the market is just getting started,” said Airtouch founder and chairman Yanir Allouche. “Robotic cleaning for the PV panels is a game changer, bringing important advancement to the solar energy world. Airtouch will continue to develop smart and precise robotic solutions for solar developers.”
The news follows a recent IPO by Ecoppia, a robotic solar panel cleaning business also based in Israel. Having secured its first contract in Egypt, the company is now readying itself to enter new markets, while also developing a more intelligent form of data collection for its cleaning robots.
Elsewhere, Indian start-up Solavio Labs last month secured funding to help it scale up its manufacturing footprint. The company has developed an artificial intelligence-based dry cleaning solution that it says is compatible “with almost any panel or climatic condition”.
