Optimitive, a Spanish startup and alum of Houston’s Surge Accelerator, announced Tuesday it has raised €1.4 million, or about $1.9 million, from a Luxembourg venture capital fund.
GGM Venture Capital, which invests in early-stage European tech startups, led the Series A investment into Optimitive. Cleantech accelerator Surge co-invested $50,000, which is the typical amount it invests in its graduates.
The cleantech startup, founded in 2008 and based near the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain, sells artificial intelligence software that monitors inefficient processes at refineries, hydropower plants, wind farms, and other energy-generating facilities. The software helps large industrial companies reduce their energy or raw-material input costs as well as lower carbon dioxide emissions. Essentially, Optimitive’s software continuously searches for inefficiencies and suggests real-time adjustments to address energy loss.
“What also makes them interesting is that it usually takes a company about a year to get [the software] installed and up and running, and producing measurable results,” says Kirk Coburn, founder and executive director of Surge, which hosted Optimitive in its latest class. “These guys can do it in three months. It’s just so much faster than everybody else. That’s very compelling to an industry whose major cost is energy consumption.”
About 75 percent of Surge’s 20 startups have received outside funding since the accelerator was founded two years ago, says Coburn. “We’re averaging about $1 million each company in fundraising,” he says. “That’s a huge stat, same par as what Techstars does and they’re the best in the world.”
Optimitive will use the funds to hires sales and marketing staff. GGM made the investment from its GGM High Growth IT Fund, which was founded in February 2012 with an initial investment of €30 million, or $46.4 million.
“We are delighted to have found a like-minded partner that is committed to helping us financially and strategically grow our business,” says Javier A. Garcia Sedano, founder and CEO of Optimitive, in a statement.
