Trondheim-based Versiro, a startup using artificial intelligence to help power producers make better market decisions from minute to minute, has raised €2.3 million in a funding round that values the company at €10.5 million.
Alliance VC led the round with participation from other investors like Sondo Capital, Johannes Teyssen (former CEO of E.ON), Hans Geelmuyden, Superside founder Fredrik Thomassen and Enode founders Henrik Langeland and Nikolai Heum. After the issue, Versiro’s largest owners are Simon Risanger, Markus Löschenbrand, Alliance VC, Startuplab, Fortress Fund, NTNU Technology Transfer, Johannes Teyssen, Jørgen Kildahl, and Sondo Capital.
The company already has a foothold in Norway and will now roll out the solutions in the rest of Europe. Versiro was founded by Simon Risanger (31) and Markus Löschenbrand (34) in 2022. Both obtained doctorates at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In their research, they focused on the challenges power producers face when fossil energy sources with great flexibility are to be phased out in favour of renewable intermittent energy from the sun and wind. The latter cannot deliver power with the same predictability. The answer was the development of solutions based on artificial intelligence that can handle this uncertainty, and by processing large amounts of data deliver continuously updated analysis for use as decision support for actors in the power market.
“Through this round, we have both secured financing for Versiro and established a resource base of competent and committed shareholders. We thank the investors for their trust, and look forward to working with them,” said Simon Risanger, co-founder and CEO of Versiro.
Power producers today must mainly use forecasts, trade manually, or use algotraders. These systems are neither able to handle the dynamics and the enormous access to information in the power system, nor to change physical and financial positions quickly enough. Versiro has developed a fundamental model for the needs of the power system in different power markets and combines this with the power producers’ own production and desired risk profile. Versiro’s system makes this analysis continuous and close to real time. The power producer can at any time receive an updated risk-adjusted strategy that is tailored to their exposure. This is a win-win for producer and power system: The producer earns more by positioning itself better in the power market, which leads to less imbalances in the power system. Thus, one can include more variable renewable energy into the power system.
“I have worked for and with large power producers for over three decades and am not surprised by the response from investors. Versiro’s solutions demonstrate that they can both reduce risk and increase the income of power producers by as much as ten percent,” commented Jørgen Kildahl, chairman of Versiro. For 11 years, Kildahl was responsible for the development and operation of Statkraft’s commercial operations in Europe. He served five years in the group management of E.ON where he for several years i.a. was responsible for the commercial operations as Head of Global Units.
“We are deeply impressed by the Versiro founders’ domain-expertise and the solution they have built to secure a well-functioning electricity market. We are excited about the opportunity to invest in the company and contribute to its success,” added Arne Tonning, partner at Alliance VC.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/07/norwegian-startup-versiro-gets-e2-3-million-to-help-power-producers-make-better-market-decisions/
