Fifth Wall Invests in Aurora Solar’s Series A Round
Fifth Wall invests in Aurora Solar, the leading software platform for solar sales and design, used to design 2 million solar projects globally
SAN FRANCISCO: Aurora Solar today announced that Fifth Wall has taken a significant stake in its Series A round, taking the total raised to over $20 million. Fifth Wall joins existing investors S28 Capital, Pear, and lead investor Energize Ventures. This financing is further validation of Aurora’s pre-eminent position as the industry’s leading software platform for both residential and commercial solar sales and design. This investment will be used to accelerate the growth of Aurora’s engineering and customer success teams.
“As Fifth Wall has become increasingly focused on sustainable energy technologies for our real estate partners, it became clear that the precision and speed of Aurora’s technology has fundamentally transformed the process of designing and selling solar,” says Brendan Wallace, Fifth Wall Co-Founder & Managing Partner. “Starting next year, every new home built in California will require solar panels, which we believe is part of a more holistic commitment from the public and private sectors to sustainable energy and environmentally-conscious initiatives in the real estate industry. With this investment, we’re excited to leverage Fifth Wall’s investor base of the largest property owners in the world to help accelerate Aurora’s and the solar industry’s growth and to support greater sustainability in the world’s largest industry.”
Aurora is helping solar professionals cut the cost of installing solar by allowing them to design a completely accurate solar installation, without the need to travel to the site. This reduces costs and allows solar professionals to grow their businesses much faster. Aurora has achieved its outcomes through the development of a proprietary computer-aided design engine and best-in-class computer vision and physics simulation technology. Two million solar projects have been designed using Aurora, in the U.S. and internationally.
“Energize is thrilled to partner with Fifth Wall in Aurora. As solar becomes an increasingly default option in new home and building construction, Fifth Wall’s expertise and deep network in the real estate market will give Aurora a winning edge,” says Amy Francetic, Energize Ventures Managing Partner.
“As a company, our goal is to create a future of solar energy for all. We are excited to have Fifth Wall join us in this mission; their unparalleled network and expertise in real estate is going to create tremendous value for our clients, and will help us accomplish our goal,” says Aurora co-founder, Samuel Adeyemo.
“Transitioning to a world powered by sustainable energy is one of the biggest challenges facing our generation and we are looking forward to enabling more solar installers to sell and install more solar,” says co-founder Christopher Hopper. “We will be using this funding to attract the best and brightest to solve challenging technical challenges, to support our customers, and to expand the adoption of our platform.”
Aurora’s world-class engineering team has developed its patented SmartRoof technology, which is the only solution in the market that allows solar professionals to create a highly accurate 3D CAD model of a solar project site in just a few minutes. Using these models, Aurora can forecast how many solar panels will fit on a property, calculate how much energy they will produce, and predict how much money the installation would save a property owner. Aurora’s technology enables shade reports that are equivalent to on-site measurements, and are accepted by all major rebate authorities such as NYSERDA, MASSCEC, Energy Trust of Oregon, and the Connecticut Green Bank.
About Aurora Solar
Aurora Solar Inc. is a fast-growing company that builds powerful software for residential and commercial solar sales and design. Over 60,000 solar projects a month are designed in Aurora. For more information, visit http://www.aurorasolar.com and follow us on Twitter @AuroraSolarInc.
About Fifth Wall
Fifth Wall is among the largest platforms for corporate innovation in the real estate, hospitality, and construction industries. Fifth Wall is connecting the world’s largest owners and operators of real estate with the entrepreneurs and innovators redefining how the world interacts with its physical environment. Fifth Wall is backed by CBRE, Lennar, Hines, Equity Residential, Prologis, Macerich, Host Hotels, and many others. Fifth Wall invests in businesses from all sectors of the Built World, including retail, industrial, hospitality, multi-family, homebuilding, office, and brokerage, and structures real estate partnerships that accelerate the growth of its portfolio companies. For more information on Fifth Wall, its partners and portfolio, visit https://fifthwall.vc.
About Energize Ventures
Energize Ventures is a pre-growth stage, female-led, venture fund located in Chicago. We partner with companies that create digital solutions that drive affordability, reliability and security for energy and other industries. Energize Ventures has thus far made five investments spanning cyber security, mobility, data analytics, operational efficiency, and distributed energy.
For more information on Energize Ventures, please visit www.energize.vc.
Source: Aurora Solar Inc.
