Smart energy systems firm will use funding to further develop and market Energy Internet software applications
AutoGrid Systems has raised more than $20m financing from a group of global investors to help further develop and market its Internet of Things (IoT) smart energy software applications, the company announced this week.
The funding was secured from a consortium led by Energy Impact Partners, which represents four major utilities in the US and the UK – Southern Company, National Grid, Xcel Energy and Oncor. In addition, the consortium includes renewable energy technology developer Envision Energy.
AutoGrid said the funding would be used to further develop its Energy Internet suite of applications, which provide data analytics and real-time information for renewable energy project developers, utility providers, and electricity retailers and their customers.
“This announcement demonstrates the energy industry’s growing embrace of the Energy Internet, which enables them to build smart, renewable-friendly energy networks that can manage millions of demand response, energy storage systems, EV chargers, CHP units, smart thermostats and other distributed energy resources (DERs) in real time and at scale,” AutoGrid said in a statement.
The firm had previously said last year it expected further investment in providers of Internet of Things systems that help manage and optimise energy use.
Michael Donnelly of Energy Impact Partners, who will join AutoGrid’s board of directors, said the consortium was investing in a company which offered “unparalleled real-time connectivity and control with its software platform”.
“Big data analytics and automated control of grid operations will allow utilities to adapt to the increasingly complex distributed energy environment,” he added. “Having these capabilities in a system that is both scalable to millions of endpoints and rapidly deployable is a game changer.”
The investment follows AutoGrid’s 100 per cent year-on-year growth in annual recurring revenues in 2015.
“We are excited to work with our global consortium of strategic investors, who not only bring the needed capital but the benefit of extensive interactions with their business units to inform our product roadmap,” said Dr. Amit Narayan, founder and CEO of AutoGrid. “This investment will help accelerate our mission of creating software that can leverage data to power our future energy needs, eliminating our dependence on unsustainable fossil-fuels.”
Source: BusinessGreen
