Solar software company Raptor Maps has closed a US$22 million Series B raise that will be used to further develop its Raptor Solar software platform, designed to enable utility-scale and commercial and industrial (C&I) solar companies to make better use of their data.
The funding will be used to accelerate Raptor Map’s hiring plans alongside significant investment in product, software and data science, the company said. Moreover, it will rapidly advance its product roadmap with more functionality related to workflow automation, work orders, investor reporting and machine learning.
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The Massachusetts-based company said Raptor Solar was a software as a service (SaaS) platform that covers the entire lifecycle of a project, from financing through to operations.
The software “lets utility-scale and C&I solar companies standardise and analyse data, collaborate, optimise PV assets, reduce risk and ultimately lift financial return,” Raptor said.
The analysis is powered by machine learning and a data model created from over 50GW of solar power across 40 countries and Raptor has collaborated with Enel Green Power to integrate artificial intelligence and drone technology into the platform.
The software is used by the likes of Tesla, SOLV Energy, Rosendin Electric, Cypress Creek Renewables and McCarthy, Raptor said.
It serves as an “auditable system of record featuring state-of-the-art digital twins of solar assets” and users can scan in module serial numbers to streamline warranty claims and verify supply chains, Raptor said.
Moreover, subscribers can benefit from inspection analytics, productivity tools and ability to quantify financial loss and even benchmark portfolios against Raptor Maps’ global database, the company said, adding that it was designed to solve “major growing pains” across solar finance, development and asset management.
The round was led by Canadian private investment firm MacKinnon, Bennett & Co. (MKB), which specialises climate tech. Other investors include the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Blue Bear Capital, DNV, Buoyant Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Data Point Capital and ENGIE New Ventures.
“We’re very excited about our investment in the most sophisticated solar analytics and insights platform on the market,” says Chanel Damphousse, partner at MKB. “Raptor Maps has some of the most intelligent and skilled experts in the solar industry, and their product roadmap represents a bold vision for how data married with productivity tools unlocks value across the lifecycle of solar assets.”
“To meet the world’s urgent climate goals, the energy industry needs tools to become nimbler and deploy renewable energy quickly,” explains Mark Kroese, general manager of sustainability solutions at Microsoft. “Raptor Maps is digitising solar supply chains, deployment and operations, which will help accelerate the global transition to cleaner energy solutions.”