SolarSquare Bags INR 100 Cr To Build Consumer-Centric Solar Solutions

Solar-focused cleantech startup SolarSquare has raised INR 100 Cr ($12.08 Mn) as part of its Series A funding round led by Elevation Capital and US-based climate-focused fund, Lowercarbon Capital. 

The round also saw participation from existing investors Good Capital and Rainmatter as well angels including Meesho’s Vidit Atrey and Sanjeev Barnwal. 

The startup was founded in 2015 by Neeraj Subhash Jain and Nikhil Satejlal Nahar, and was subsequently joined by Shreya Mishra as the third cofounder in 2020. SolarSquare provides solar installation to homeowners, residential societies and commercial buildings. It also designs and finances the installation of rooftop home solar systems.

Beginning as a commercial rooftop solar solutions provider, the startup pivoted to the residential segment in 2020

The cleantech startup will use the funding to shore up its presence across the country in the next 18-24 months. SolarSquare will also deploy the investment to ramp up its tech stack and build a seamless experience for its users. 

It will also invest in scaling up research and development (R&D), add more products to its inventory and launch its in-house NBFC to disburse loans to residential solar buyers. The funds will also go towards developing consumer and merchant-side apps and to build robust back-end technology dashboards across the customer journey.

“We deeply understand the pain points that a consumer currently faces while switching to solar and we are building highly consumer-centric solar solutions for them. Our mantra is to “Simplify Solar” and enable more homes to switch to cheaper, reliable and greener solar power,” said SolarSquare chief executive officer (CEO) and cofounder Shreya Mishra.

Echoing the sentiment, Lowercarbon founder and serial investor Chris Sacca said, “Solar is now much cheaper and cleaner than digging up and burning old dinosaur bones, so putting it on your roof just makes sense, especially in a part of the world with as much sun as India. But getting panels installed wasn’t always easy. We backed Shreya, Neeraj, and Nikhil because they’ve cracked the code on hassle-free rooftop solar.”

The fundraise comes barely four months after it raised $4 Mn in a seed funding round led by Good Capital.

In the past two years, the startup has installed rooftop solar systems at close to 5,000 homes. It claims to have offset 4 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per home per year by switching to solar power. 

SolarSquare currently has a presence in cities namely Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad as well as states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Describing its future plans, SolarSquare said that it aims to standardise installation quality, offer professional services and create easy EMI financing for consumers.

According to financial data sourced from business intelligence platform Tofler, the cleantech startup reported a revenue of INR 87 Cr in FY21 against a loss after tax of INR 1.7 Cr.

While previous global attempts at cleantech ventures failed likely on account of expensive technology, recent times have seen renewed interest in the field. Days ago, renewable energy semiconductor startup Hygenco raised $25.4 Mn from private equity (PE) fund Neev II. 

Last month itself, EV startup EMotorad raised INR 24 Cr in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Green Frontier Capital and other investors. In August, venture capital (VC) fund Climate Angels launched special syndicates to help investors invest in climate tech startups easily. 

Meanwhile, India continues to grow as an emerging market for climate tech solutions. While investments continue to flow in, the space still lags behind in terms of adoption and affordability. Despite this, Indian startups continue to push the envelope. 

Despite this, a report estimates that India’s climate finance requires nearly $1 Tn over the next decade to successfully work against climate change and achieve the goal of net zero by 2070.