SunRoof, a Swedish-Polish startup developing solar two-in-one roofs along with software to support smart energy management, has raised almost €2 million to expand into new European markets. The startup’s first time receiving VC money, the late seed round was led by SMOK Ventures with participation from LT Capital, EIT InnoEnergy, FD Growth Capital and KnowledgeHub, as well as local business angels. The funding comes just a couple months after the company’s first acquisition. In August Sunroof acquired Redlogger, a Swedish company that developed hardware and software to support renewable energy producers. The plan is to launch an ecommerce platform that sells surplus energy generated by SunRoof solar panels, starting with the Polish market. “Our ambition is to become a European counterpart of Tesla,” says Lech Kaniuk, SunRoof CEO. Investors think it could happen. “I believe that in a few years the company will become one of the most recognized brands from Central and Eastern Europe and I’m very proud to be the first supporter on the VC side,” said Borys Musielak of SMOK Ventures. Established in Sweden in 2013, SunRoof’s goal is to develop a solar roof with a modern design that would completely replace the traditional roof and produce eco-friendly electricity, without installing photovoltaic panels. While the first years of the startup were spent mostly on building and testing its proprietary technology, the team says it gained momentum in late 2018 with the addition of seasoned entrepreneurs: Kaniuk, who then brought on board Marek Zmyslowski, founder of Jumia Travel, and Rafal Plutecki, an ex-Google senior executive who founded one of Poland’s first ISPs.
Photo provided by SunRoof
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