75F Raises $18 Mn Series A Funding, To Strengthen R&D Team and Operations

Bengaluru-based smart building solution provider 75F on Wednesday announced $18 Mn Series A funding. The company said that the round was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Climate Initiative with participation from Building Ventures, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, and Clean Energy Trust.

The company plans to use the funds to scale support and operations, invest in R&D, upgrade office locations and open additional satellite office locations. With this round, the total funding raised by 75F is $25 Mn.

75F was launched in 2012 by Deepinder Singh and Pankaj Chawla, with focus exclusively on the commercial real estate market. The company entered India in 2015 and it set up a development centre, which coincided with it starting its full range of HVAC solutions.

By mid-2016, 75F had commercially entered the Indian market and today counts the likes of Flipkart, Times of India and Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) as end customers, by managing the facilities at their offices.

‘We Are Targeting Success In Various Directions’

Deepinder Singh, CEO for 75F said, “This strategic funding will allow 75F to invest in key positions, continue to innovate our product and customer solution, and strengthen our partner network across North America, Middle East, and APAC including India, Singapore, China, and Australia.”

75F says its intuitive, self-optimizing system saves up to 50% on HVAC and lighting energy, improves occupant comfort and enhances operational efficiency.

Gaurav Burman, VP and APAC President, 75F told Inc42 that the company is growing at triple-digits year on year, and see promise for continued growth in an addressable market of $10 Bn. He said that the Asia-Pacific region is a key part of 75F’s global road map.

“We are targeting success in various directions such as expanding to new countries, addressing new customer segments, developing new products and a new platform, and we look forward to delivering better services to our existing clients. APAC is also home to our R&D hub, the center for our supply chain operations,” he added.

75F partners with facility management companies, systems integrators and energy service companies to bring in more properties under its umbrella. Since it uses IoT devices to monitor workplace conditions, 75F is a hardware-centric company and outsources manufacturing of sensors to units in India, US and China.

Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures said, “We know we can combat greenhouse gas emissions by designing the next generation of buildings, but we can also make significant gains by upgrading existing real estate with smart technology. 75F has created a unique software and hardware solution powered by machine learning that reduces energy costs and emissions at the same time.”

75F offers a vertically-integrated smart building solution that includes wireless sensors, equipment controllers and cloud-based software, delivering predictive, proactive building automation right out-of-the-box.

Pratima Rangarajan, CEO of OGCI Climate Investments, said, “Reducing emissions across all sectors is crucial to meeting our climate goals. 75F’s innovative smart building solution is easy to install, provides savings for building operators and cuts energy loss from buildings. These types of scalable technologies are needed if we want global  adoption that can make a significant impact on carbon.”

According to a report, India’s HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) market is expected to reach $5.9 Bn by 2024, growing at 7% CAGR; while the market for automation and control systems is projected to grow at a CAGR of more than 12% by 2023.

The rising spending on HVAC automation is expected to be on the back of an increasing number of high-rise buildings, increasing awareness about energy conservation coupled with a growing need for reducing operating costs among smaller businesses or startups.