The news
- Plentify, a South African climate tech company, has closed a 50% oversubscribed funding round to fuel growth within South Africa and support expansion into international markets.
- This funding round included a mix of existing and new investors, such as Third Sphere, TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, Susquehanna Foundation, and Fireball Capital.
- Jon Kornik, Co-Founder and CEO of Plentify stated that the company is assessing where it could make the most significant climate change impact as it expands globally.
The latest funding sets the climate tech company on the path to markets with growing solar adoption. Per the report, Australia and the United States have been identified as key markets due to their high solar adoption rates and supportive regulatory environments.
The expansion plans reportedly have support from a world-class team with backgrounds from organisations including Google, Tesla, Meta, NASA, Discovery Vitality, and McKinsey.
Jon Kornik and Kailas Nair founded Plentify in 2017 as a smart energy company that makes affordable, reliable, clean electricity. The company claims that its team combines advanced hardware, artificial intelligence, and user-centric design to develop smart home products to strengthen electricity systems for everyone.
Kornik explained that there's a mismatch between the timing of energy demand and clean energy supply. However, Plentify’s residential load management platform addresses the challenge for 75% less than the cost of batteries.
Over the years, the company has grown in developing resilient and adaptable technology solutions for diverse energy challenges.
Kailas Nair, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of the company affirmed that the growth has come in partnership with South African companies like Balwin, a real estate firm and Wetility, a company offering smart energy solutions. These companies deploy Plentify technology alongside their solar and battery systems to provide affordable, clean energy.
Shaun Abrahamson, Managing Partner at Third Sphere shared that “Plentify may have cracked the code on how to architect energy management in the smart home of the future — enabling homes to cheaply and easily maximize their solar self-consumption.”
In 2024, African climate tech startups have recorded $325 million in funding. Over the past five years, the climate tech investment has shown significant growth, starting at $340 million in 2019 and increasing to $344 million in 2020, $613 million in 2021, $959 million in 2022, and reaching $1.1 billion in 2023.
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