Raptor Maps raises $22M to track solar energy usage

Raptor Maps, a Y Combinator-incubated startup that's developed software to track the solar energy life cycle, has closed a $22 million Series B, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The company's portfolio includes customers in 40 countries that produce some 50 gigawatts of solar.

The details: The Series B was led by MacKinnon, Bennett & Co.

• Additional investors included the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Blue Bear Capital, DNV, Buoyant Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Data Point Capital and ENGIE New Ventures.
• The company will use the funding to scale-up hiring and invest further in product.

How it works: Raptor aims to capture the data that’s been unstructured or unavailable, co-founder and CEO Nikhil Vadhavkar tells Axios. That can range from weather conditions to solar panels' serial numbers.

• The company does this in part by creating "digital twins" of solar farms that are under construction or operation.
• The goal: "Make it easier to manage large-scale solar farms and get the most output out of them," Vadhavkar says.
• Customers include Tesla, SOLV Energy, Rosendin Electric and Cypress Creek Renewables, among others.

The bottom line: As more investors of all sizes enter the solar industry, supply chains and management are getting ever more complicated.