Raptor Maps, a solar software company, has raised a $5 million Series A, co-led by Blue Bear Capital, Data Point Capital and Buoyant Ventures.
Other participants include notable clean energy investors Congruent Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, along with Y Combinator.
Raptor Maps solves major growing pains for solar project finance, development and asset management across an industry experiencing a 49% annual growth rate over the past decade. The current approach to developing and operating solar farms is increasingly 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,” says Nikhil Vadhavkar, co-founder and CEO of Raptor Maps.
“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,” he adds.
To date, Raptor Maps has improved the project finance and asset management of over 25 GW in 35 countries. Its diverse and growing 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 several publicly traded solar panel manufacturers.
Raptor Maps attests that its deliverables are ten-fold more accurate, human and machine readable, and lower cost than traditional methods. The company has built a strong reputation for its software and aerial intelligence – and it will deploy this investment to build additional capabilities into its state-of-the-art solar data model.
Several of Raptor Maps’ customers, such as Madison Energy Investments, require solar construction companies to use Raptor Maps at commissioning, and the O&M teams to use Raptor Maps annually. Other customers, such as solar panel manufacturers, direct asset owners to use Raptor Maps to create documentation for warranty claims.
Photo: Raptor Maps’ landing page