Aurora Solar: Solar Innovation at Its Finest
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Environmental concern and reduced solar power cost has driven a boom in solar installation in commercial and residential buildings. Solar is estimated to make up around 2% of the United States power infrastructure and is projected to boost by an order of magnitude in 20 years.
While the demand for solar is increasing dramatically, the complexity of designing and installing solar panels remains. It's when Aurora Solar emerged as the market leader by offering AI-driven solar design software.
In this article, you can explore every detail of Aurora Solar, including its founding story, founders, business and revenue model, products and services, funding, and more.
Aurora Solar – Company Highlights
| Company Name | Aurora Solar |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Sector | Solar Energy |
| Founders | Christopher Hopper and Samuel Adeyemo |
| Founded In | 2013 |
| Revenue | $4B (2022) |
| Website | Aurorasolar.com |
Aurora Solar – About
Aurora Solar – Industry
Aurora Solar – Founders and Team
Aurora Solar – Startup Story
Aurora Solar – Mission and Vision
Aurora Solar – Business Model
Aurora Solar – Revenue Model
Aurora Solar – Products and Services
Aurora Solar – Challenges Faced
Aurora Solar – Funding and Investors
Aurora Solar – Mergers and Acquisitions
Aurora Solar – Patents and Trademarks
Aurora Solar – Growth
Aurora Solar – Partners
Aurora Solar – Awards and Achievements
Aurora Solar – Competitors
Aurora Solar – Future Plan
Aurora Solar – About
Aurora Solar, precisely called Aurora, develops cloud-based software to help solar companies transform solar design, sales, and delivery. The company just needs an address and electricity bill to empower its clients to generate a full, accurate, and customizable design for their customers.
90% of the 100 leading residential U.S. solar companies depend on Aurora to outpace the industry as of 2023. Moreover, the company has designed approximately 7 million+ solar projects worldwide for renowned customers, including Freedom Forever, Sunnova, SunPower, Zolar, SunPro, Namaste Solar, GAF Energy, and Gippsland Solar.
Aurora Solar – Industry
The global market size of solar energy systems was estimated at $160.3 billion in 2021 and can register a CAGR of 15.7% from 2023 to 2030. The increasing demand for sustainable energy and the declining solar energy costs have led to market growth.
With most of the research funding invested in the P.V. hardware research, Aurora offers solar P.V. designing and installation solutions. Other leading solar energy systems market companies are Jinko Solar, First Solar, SMS Technologies, BYD Company Ltd., Sungrow, and Tesla.
Aurora Solar – Founders and Team
Christopher Hopper and Samuel Adeyemo are the co-founders of Aurora Solar.
Christopher Hopper
Christopher Hopper studied Master of Engineering at Imperial College London and an MBA at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He is the ex-co-founder and ex-Chairman of e.quinox and a Founding Member of BBOXX Ltd. Currently, he is the Investor at Panther Labs and Co-founder and CEO at Aurora Solar.
Samuel Adeyemo
Samuel Adeyemo attended the University of Chicago for an A.B., Economics, and Stanford University for an MBA and MSc, School of Earth Sciences. He is the ex-Analyst and ex-Vice President of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Moreover, Samuel has been CALISSA's Board Member. He co-founded Aurora and worked there as its COO and CRO.
Aurora is a team of 560+ employees.
Aurora Solar – Startup Story
Aurora was founded in 2013 was Christopher Hopper and Samuel Adeyemi while studying at Stanford. They both worked on a solar installation project for a school in Nairobi, Kenya. It took them seven months to design the solar energy system and two weeks to install it. They spent more than half a year cobbling together several tools to design the solar system since there wasn't another way to complete the project.
However, the project was a hit; the process wasn't. After witnessing the designing and installation challenges firsthand, they decided not to work on these smaller projects. Instead, they thought of tackling a larger problem, i.e., making designing a P.V. system as easy as installing it. Therefore, they came up with Aurora Solar after brainstorming some ideas.
In 2015, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory validated the company's performance simulation engine and remote shading accuracy. In November 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Incubator Program awarded Aurora with $400,000. Aurora was the first assessment tool to be approved for demonstrating compliance with CA Title 24 solar mandate by the California Energy Commission in 2020.
Aurora Solar – Mission and Vision
Aurora's mission is to create a future of solar energy for all people. The company envisions having every solar installation worldwide pass through its software.
Aurora Solar – Business Model
Aurora surveys installation sites using LiDAR, satellites, and data analytics. Its cloud-based software offers rooftop measurements, eligibility assessment, and solar design automation. The company uses data from satellite images and LiDAR to measure rooftops remotely. It can design proposals for rooftop solar installation within 15 minutes.
Furthermore, clients can virtually see how installed solar panels will look on their house and estimate electricity production and cost savings. Aurora also helps solar developers avoid cancellations and reduce the required resources and costs.
Aurora Solar – Revenue Model
Aurora generates revenue by offering a standard SaaS model, charging monthly or annual fees. Furthermore, its two pricing plans are Business Plans and Individual Plans. The business plan includes each offering in the individual plan. It further offers an option to choose from three plans- Build, Grow, and Scale.
Rishita Jain
Aurora Solar – Products and Services
Aurora provides products and services for Residential and Commercial customers, including:
- Lead Capture AI
- Aurora AI
- Sales Mode
- Contract Manager
- Plan Sets
- Design Mode
- Expert Design Services
- HelioScope
Aurora Solar – Challenges Faced
Aurora found the idea of using aerial scans and imagery of the entire region difficult to pull off since the data about topography, where and how the sun hits a specific location, information on aerial lidar scans, and satellite imagery was readily available. Another upcoming major threat for the company is the stringent regulation around commercial and residential PV pricing.
Aurora Solar – Funding and Investors
Over 5 funding rounds, Aurora has succeeded in raising a total of $523.5 million. On February 28, 2022, the company conducted its latest funding round - Series D Round and raised $200 million. Energize Ventures, Pear, Fifth Wall, Coatue, Lux, and ICONIQ are some leading investors that fund Aurora.
| Date | Round | Number of Investors | Money Raised | Lead Investor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 28, 2022 | Series D | 6 | $200 million | Coatue, Energize Ventures |
| May 24, 2021 | Series C | 4 | $250 million | Coatue |
| November 30, 2020 | Series B | 4 | $50 million | ICONIQ Capital |
| February 4, 2019 | Series A | 4 | $23.5 million | Energize Ventures, Fifth Wall, S28 Capital |
| January 1, 2014 | Seed Round | 1 | - | Pear VC |
Aurora Solar – Mergers and Acquisitions
On August 9, 2021, Aurora acquired Folsom Labs.
Aurora Solar – Patents and Trademarks
The company has 6 registered patents with 'Computing; Calculating' as the primary category.
Aurora Solar – Growth
Aurora's installed projects grew from 1.5 million annually in 2019 to 10 million in September 2022. Its annual revenue is growing at over 50% yearly and was estimated at $93 million in 2022 ($165,757 revenue per employee). In February 2022, the company's post-money valuation was $4 billion. Furthermore, its employee count growth rate is 47%.
Aurora Solar – Partners
The leading partners of the company are as follows:
- Solar Amicus Cooperative
- Qcells
- Nearmap
- Cloud Construction
- IQVIS
- Mosaic
Aurora Solar – Awards and Achievements
Aurora is honored with the following:
- Has been the only climate tech business to be named to the 2022 Forbes AI 50
- In 2021, voted the Best Solar Software by Solar Power World
Aurora Solar – Competitors
Some main competitors of the company are:
- Solargraf
- OpenSolaris
- SolarCity
- Sighten
- PVComplete
- Demand I.Q.
- Terabase Energy
- Angaza Design
Aurora Solar – Future Plan
Aurora plans to deliver more learning experiences via webinars and other accessible content while continuing to update its offerings with new features. In addition, the company plans to expand internationally in Canada and Europe.
FAQs
What does Aurora Solar do?
Aurora Solar develops cloud-based software to help solar companies transform solar design, sales, and delivery. The company just needs an address and electricity bill to empower its clients to generate a full, accurate, and customizable design for their customers.
Who founded Aurora Solar?
Christopher Hopper and Samuel Adeyemo are the co-founders of Aurora Solar.
Who are the main competitors of Aurora Solar?
Some main competitors of the company are:
- Solargraf
- OpenSolaris
- SolarCity
- Sighten
- PVComplete
- Demand I.Q.
- Terabase Energy
- Angaza Design
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