WattBuy raised $3.25 million to expand its database tool that collects and shares energy rates in unregulated states where residents and businesses can shop around for their electricity providers.
Founded in 2017, the company lets users upload their electricity usage and compare available plans to save money or buy electricity from a solar or wind energy provider.
WattBuy is led by co-founder and CEO Naman Trivedi, who previously worked at Google and Box, and was a science and technology advisor at the White House during the Obama administration. Trivedi helped launch WattBuy out of Seattle but is now based in New York City. WattBuy co-founder and CTO Ben Hood is based in Washington D.C. and was most recently CEO of Polish mobile developer GogoApps.
Evergy Ventures led the Series A round, which included participation from Updater, Avesta Fund, Fort Ventures, Techstars Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures, Yoav Lurie, John Sherman, and Bill Gatreaux.
“We are thrilled to have leading energy technology investors recognize WattBuy’s contributions to energy innovation,” Trivedi said in a statement. “These funds enable us to expand our turnkey API offering within market leading real estate platforms like Updater as well as personal finance companies and energy services businesses. We’re enabling enterprises to launch their own renewable electricity marketplaces that can increase value to their existing customers.”
Earlier this year WattBuy launched a calculator that estimates the electricity cost and carbon footprint for nearly every U.S. home. It also landed $500,000 in funding from Schmidt Futures — a charitable organization founded by Wendy and Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO — to expand and improve a free, publicly available U.S. database tracking the price of power.
WattBuy graduated from the Techstars Kansas City accelerator in 2018. Total funding to date for the 11-person company is $5 million.
