SEATTLE, July 22, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- WattBuy today announced that it has closed a $1.2M seed round with Powerhouse Ventures, as well as funding from Schmidt Futures, focused on expanding market access and deepening its data science capabilities.
WattBuy is now backed by clean energy venture fund Powerhouse Ventures, Fort Worth based Fort Ventures, as well as energy titans such as John Sherman (former CEO of Inergy, board member of Great Plains Energy) and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like Justin Alanis (CEO of Rentlytics, sold to RealPage), and James Beshara (CEO of Tilt, sold to Airbnb).
Emily Kirsch, founder and managing director of Powerhouse Ventures said, "The global deregulated electricity market is enormous, and growing quickly. In the US alone, 60 million residential households and apartments are in deregulated markets, representing a $14 billion market. WattBuy has built a trusted platform with the right channel partners and necessary relationships with retail electricity providers (REPs), demonstrating a unique and scalable customer acquisition strategy and leveraging data to add value for users."
WattBuy also received funding from Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, to contribute to OpenEI (Open Energy Information), an open data initiative developed and maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with funding and support from the U.S. Department of Energy.
"Schmidt Futures is thrilled to support WattBuy in their data collaborative with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)," said Kumar Garg, Senior Director for Schmidt Futures. "This partnership has the potential to help families save hundreds of dollars on electricity costs, support the adoption of renewable energy plans in deregulated states, and showcase the potential for open energy data."
Background on WattBuy
WattBuy, founded in August 2017, operates an electricity marketplace for residents to set up electricity plans in states where residents have the choice for who provides their electricity. They currently operate in Texas, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
As a part of their product, residents are able to enter their address and see personalized results for their homes to identify the best electricity plan to save money and go renewable.
WattBuy participated in Techstars' Kansas City Accelerator in June 2017 and this year was selected as one of nine companies in Moderne Venture's Passport Accelerator Program.
The company today is also announcing partnerships with Hello Alfred and Zego to help residents seamlessly choose electricity services when moving into a new apartment. These direct partnerships with real estate companies will further expand WattBuy's ability to help residents save on electricity costs and reduce their carbon footprint.
"Zego's vision to enhance the living experience through technology and services aligns with WattBuy's, so we are happy to partner with them to empower their residents to make more informed decisions about electricity costs," said Adam Blake, Founder of Zego.
WattBuy's founders, Naman Trivedi and Ben Hood, founded the company to combat the pervasive lack of transparency in the world of energy choice. Naman, who worked at the White House Office of Science and Tech Policy and Google, stated that "consumers have had limited visibility into electricity choice for the last two decades. With WattBuy, residents can finally make intelligent, data-driven decisions to save money and go renewable."
About WattBuy
WattBuy is an online electricity marketplace that helps residents save hundreds a year on their electricity bill by choosing a cheaper, greener electricity provider. Through our personalized recommendation engine, residents living in states with electricity choice can find the best plan for their home based on their preference and usage. For more information about the company and its solution, please visit https://wattbuy.com.
About Powerhouse Ventures
Powerhouse Ventures backs early-stage startups building solutions to enable an energy and mobility system that is decarbonized, decentralized, democratized, and digitized. Our team supports entrepreneurs harnessing the latest in digital technology and business model innovation to advance software-enabled, distributed, and renewable energy in domestic and global markets.
About Fort Ventures
Fort Ventures, a subsidiary of Fort Capital, is a Texas-based venture fund which invests capital into emerging businesses.
About Schmidt Futures
Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, that bets early on people who will make our world better — helping people to achieve more for others by applying advanced science and technology thoughtfully and by working together across fields. Learn more at https://schmidtfutures.com
Media Contact:
Naman Trivedi
CEO, WattBuy
[email protected]
SOURCE WattBuy
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