Neara, an Australia-based infrastructure modeling platform, has closed $24 million Series B funding from Prosus Ventures and other investors.
In a statement on Wednesday, Neara announced a $10 million capital raise extension and a novel case study to double existing line capacity for renewable energy.
The round featured participation by Prosus Ventures and was supported by Neara’s existing investors, Skip Capital and Square Peg Capital.
This increases Neara’s total Series B funding to $24 million.
According to the statement, Neara will use the new investment to accelerate its global expansion, in addition to further developing the company’s new system of enablement functionality.
“Neara’s artificial intelligence (AI) simulation and analytics platform sits at the center of the energy transition to ensure utilities are empowered to make holistic, system-wide decisions,
“Our system of enablement delivers one unified model to resolve critical macro issues, from designing stronger grids to mitigating damage caused by catastrophic weather events, as well as bringing renewable energy online faster using existing network infrastructure,” said Neara Chief Commercial Officer Jack Curtis.
According to him, Prosus Ventures’ investment accelerates Neara’s system of enablement development to provide a central decision-making platform for critical stakeholders in the energy transition ecosystem.
It is noted that Neara will expand its focus in the United States and Europe, offering enterprise-grade, 3D network modeling technology that uses AI/ML to seamlessly aggregate utilities’ broad spectrum of data sources into one hyper-realistic digital simulation environment.
“At Prosus Ventures, we focus on driving a positive impact on society and the planet through our investments,
“We are thrilled to partner with Neara in fast-tracking the world to a cleaner, safer, and electrified future,” said Sachin Bhanot, Head of Southeast Asia (SEA) and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Investments, Prosus Ventures.
“We believe in the power of technology to solve the greatest challenges facing us — including action on climate change, affordable access to digital services, and delivery of sustainable products and services,” he said.
It is noted that the company also completed a proprietary line rating case study, with EMPACT Engineering, in a fast-growing Central Texas region.
Their platform discovered that 94.5 percent of the lines could safely run at double the current capacity — enabling the integration of significantly more clean energy using existing infrastructure.
This precise modeling is more accurate and cost-effective for discovering latent capacity than other legacy line-rating techniques.
Similarly, in New South Wales, Australia, Neara partnered with Essential Energy to double their existing network availability through software analytics, increasing the potential for renewable asset connectivity.
Headquartered in Sydney, Neara is a 3D simulation and analytics platform for electricity network infrastructure.
The firm’s AI functionality enables sophisticated analysis to understand how networks behave in real-world environments during any scenario — empowering grid operators to make highly accurate decisions.
Its predictive capabilities help mitigate high-risk exposure areas, combat the effects from climate change and extreme weather events, as well as accelerate renewable energy integrations by leveraging existing infrastructure.
Neara’s AI platform currently enables utility operators spanning 1M+ square miles and 8M+ assets in operations to design efficient networks, enhance wildfire and vegetation management programs, as well as bring renewable projects online faster using their existing infrastructure.
Prosus Ventures is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world.
Operating and investing globally in markets with long-term growth potential, the firm builds leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities.
The group is focused on building meaningful businesses in the online classifieds, food delivery, payments and fintech, and education technology sectors.
Through the Prosus Ventures team, the group invests in new technology growth opportunities within logistics, fintech, health, blockchain, social and ecommerce platforms, agriculture and more.
The team actively backs exceptional entrepreneurs who are using technology to improve people’s everyday lives.
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