Project financing startup Banyan nets $25M

Banyan Infrastructure, a San Francisco-based project financing startup, raised $25 million in Series B funding, the company tells Axios.

Why it matters: The Inflation Reduction Act has supercharged investor interest in the green fintech category.

Details: Energize Ventures led the all-equity round and partner Juan Muldoon will join Banyan's board as part of the deal.

• New investors SE Ventures and Elemental Excelerator also joined existing investors VoLo Earth and Ulu Ventures in the round.
• The startup has raised $42 million since it was founded in 2018.

How it works: Banyan Infrastructure uses its customers' data to analyze potential returns for different projects and recommends different types of financing structures for project developers, CEO Will Greene tells Axios.

• NY Green Bank, the $1 billion sustainable infrastructure fund from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, is among Banyan's customers on the financial institution side.

Between the lines: Project financing is poised to become another lucrative asset for investors working with sustainable developers.

• Banyan Infrastructure is planning for that shift already, Greene says, with long-term goals to move from an SaaS subscription model to a transaction percentage revenue model down the line.

The bottom line: Billions of dollars in newly available funds will pour into project development over the lifecycle of the IRA, and fintech startups are looking to get a piece of the action.