Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
UrbanFootprint, an analytics startup that uses data to better map risk, raised $25 million in Series B funding, the company tells Axios.
Why it matters: The round closed April 15, CEO Joe DiStefano tells Axios, meaning current funding rounds are still a lagging indicator of current private market activity.
Driving the news: Citi co-led the round via Citi Ventures and Sprint with existing investor Social Capital. DiStefano declined to disclose the round's valuation.
- New investors 2150, A/O PropTech, Assured Guaranty and Dcode Capital joined the round with previous investors Valo Ventures and Radicle Impact.
State of play: Though funding rounds have dropped off in recent weeks, investors are still relatively bullish on data software startups in the climate space.
How it works: UrbanFootprint uses dynamic data from public sources, government agencies, climate reports and companies' internal stockpiles to create a multilayered look at risk for investments.
- DiStefano said UrbanFootprint works with utilities like California's embattled utility Pacific Gas & Electric to better prioritize investment in new and aging infrastructure.
- It uses PG&E's engineering data to rank asset age and combines that with data on the community it serves and its resilience to negative outcomes like loss of power and wildfires. PG&E can then use the data to prioritize which substations or generators to invest in.
- UrbanFootprint also works closely with companies in real estate and finance, plus government agencies on programs like better deploying SNAP benefits or rental assistance.
What's next: UrbanFootprint partly relies on the plethora of data companies popping up in the climate-technology space and plugs into their data sources to better juice its own technology.
- Whether it can operate on its own — or ultimately get rolled up into a larger provider — will likely be at the mercy of investors' own risk tolerance amid belt tightening.
