Raptor Maps 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 stands out by providing immediate operational value to solar portfolios while laying the digital groundwork for true predictive analytics,” explained Ernst Sack, Partner at 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%. The company’s SaaS products are compatible with enterprise software and used by data scientists to de-risk portfolios, carefully track degradation, and inform future projects.”
Raptor Maps makes software to build geospatial, digital models of PV system asset health. In the past year, the company 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 either by Raptor Maps customers or local providers under stringent requirements, and analyzed using computer vision and 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 the funding to expand its global presence and roll out new features and products, such as mobile applications and software tools to optimize project finance.
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