Climate Tech Startup Secures $50M for AI, Satellite Monitoring Advancements

AiDash, a climate tech startup, has raised $50 million for its technology using AI and satellites to monitor for fire and weather risks on power lines.

The company said the series C round was “oversubscribed” and indicated rising investor interest in climate solutions as businesses see increased instances of weather-related outages and hazards.

The round was led by Lightrock, with participation from SE Ventures, G2 Venture Partners, Benhamou Global Ventures, National Grid Partners, Edison International, Shell Ventures and additional strategic investors.

The round brings the company’s total funding to $83 million which AiDash said will be used to establish a European headquarters and scale production to meet growing international demand.

The company uses AI to search satellite imagery, identify potential issues across power lines, monitor for early stages of fire or severe weather and assess the condition of infrastructure and predict likely maintenance issues.

Products include the Intelligent Vegetation Management System, which helps utilities identify vegetation risks before they damage the grid and the Intelligent Sustainability Management System to help utilities comply with evolving environmental regulations.

The company says its products can reduce the number of vegetation-caused power outages during storms by 15%, boost grid reliability by 5-15% and deliver operations and maintenance cost efficiencies of 10-20%.

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“Our aging infrastructure is breaking under the strain of environmental change, putting lives at risk,” said Abhishek Singh, AiDash’s CEO. “Better tools and technologies are required to manage this growing risk and its potential future impact,

“Our combination of satellite technology and AI is capable of managing this risk and safeguarding at-risk systems, like those managed by utility companies which often span huge geographical areas.”