Simuwatt wins clean-tech competition, plans for N.Y. office

BOULDER — Simuwatt Inc., a Boulder-based clean-tech company that does energy analysis for buildings, won $50,000 and space in the ACRE clean-tech incubator program in the NYU Tandon School of Engineering 2017 Urban Future Competition.

The competition had more than 120 applicants from 22 countries. Winners were selected based on criteria such as impact on carbon footprint, sustainability, viability of business and the business model impact on buildings. The competition was sponsored by BP Ventures, the New York Community Trust (NYCT) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

Three winners were selected, each for one track: BP Smart Mobility, NYCT Smart City and NYCT Smart Grid.

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Simuwatt won for the Smart Grid category. It has a tablet-based application that connects to the cloud and collects data about a building and then analyzed that data. By gathering information on how a building’s HVAC, lighting, water and other features are operating, it can analyze that and report on their efficiencies.

“The end goal is to increase a building’s value and ultimately improve the environment,” said Oliver Davis, CEO and co-founder.

Now, Simuwatt will use part of its $50,000 to open an office in New York, something it wanted to do prior to winning the competition and joining the ACRE incubator.

“New York City has been a leader in building energy, efficiency regulations and mandates in the country for many years,” Davis said. “It makes sense for us to have a presence there.”

Davis said Simuwatt will continue to have offices in Boulder and Denver, and now will have software developers in New York. There are plans to eventually open an office in Los Angeles.

Joining the ACRE incubator will expose Simuwatt to resources that will help it grow and expand.

“It’s arguably the top incubator in clean tech in New York, and I would argue in the country,” Davis said. “It’s going to be a great resource in terms of the community. It will give us access to a lot of smart people who will open our eyes to approaching challenges as we go to market. Leadership within the lab is very motivated to support the community in their growth.”

Davis said he expects to be part of the incubator for at least six months, but more likely they’ll be there for a year or two.

It won’t be the first incubator Simuwatt has been part of: It’s been working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Wells Fargo in their Innovation Incubator, which helps co-develop technology around renewables and sustainability.

“Being part of that provided us our intro to New York and advanced our tech quite a bit,” Davis said.

In addition to winning the competition and $50,000, Simuwatt has raised $1 million and is looking to raise another $500,000. There are plans to open a Series A round in the spring.

“We’re focusing on what is to come,” Davis said. “We’re taking a little time to celebrate this, but we’re focusing on building our company.”