Solar data manager Solytic raises Series A from EWE and Vattenfall
Data is key and enables new business models. The more data you have the better. This is also true in the solar industry and that’s why solar data manager Solytic is a hot startup these days. We’re happy to break the news that Solytic celebrates the first closing of its Series A raising almost €5M from new investor EWE and existing investor Vattenfall, 2 of the top 5 utilities in Germany. As a result, Vattenfall owns a bit more than 20% and EWE a bit less than 20%. The A round was also joined by 3 business angels led by ex-Goldman Sachs banker Frank Oliver Lehmann. EWE’s impressive investment manager Justin Müller met Solytic’s Enrico Ohnemüller and Vattenfall’s Alexander Hain on 16 May 2019 at Ecosummit Berlin and learned that Solytic was planning a new round. As EWE is transforming into a smart green utility that believes in the power of data and wants to grow its renewable energy business, the Berlin-based startup immediately looked like a good strategic fit and smart investment. In fact, Solytic is open to talk to new investors providing strategic value because the next financing round is already planned.
Read moreFast-growing solar e-commerce startup Greenergetic attracts investment from RWE
Ecosummit TV: Selling PV systems online is a great business idea for a smart green startup. You can grow at Internet speed and drive the Energiewende by spreading renewable energy. If you want to build your startup in a capital efficient way with a small burn rate, it is also a good idea to minimise your customer acquisition costs by adopting a B2B business model and working with distribution partners. This is exactly what CEO Florian Meyer-Delpho and his co-founders did in 2012 when they launched Greenergetic as a white label portal for utilities to sell PV systems to their customers. At ECO15 Berlin in May, Florian pitched Greenergetic to increase investor demand for their €2M financing round (see Ecosummit TV video below). On 15 December 2015, RWE Vertrieb, the German sales company of RWE with 4 million customers and €12B revenues, announced their minority investment in Greenergetic. While the terms of the deal are undisclosed, we assume that Florian managed to raise a bit more than he was looking for given that Greenergetic expected €5M revenues in 2015.
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