Sunhero wants to put a solar energy system on your roof, raises $4 million in seed round

Berlin-based, Spain-operated Sunhero has raised $4 million in a seed funding round. The company joins a growing list of providers that help customers facilitate the installation of photovoltaic solar systems on their residential properties. The funding will be used to drive further growth for the company mainly in the areas of sales, operations, and leadership positions, all as it eyes international expansion plans.

Sunhero now joins Enpal and Zolar in offering consumers a hassle-free method of installing customised photovoltaic solar systems on their homes, be that either purchasing outright or renting for a 20 year period. 

With Berlin-based Enpal and Zolar providing nearly identical offers, what was it that convinced Speedinvest and All Iron Ventures to choose Sunhero? An answer we’ve seen time and time again: it’s not necessarily the product, but the team providing the product.

Sunhero’s lineage stems from co-founders Christopher Cederskog and Stefan Braun. Serial entrepreneur Christopher Cederskog’s background includes being an early employee at one of Berlin’s darlings, Zalando, and he was a chief architect of Airbnb’s international expansion plans and oversaw operations in Germany and central and southeastern Europe. Most recently, he founded Expansion Partner, a boutique firm that helps startups to successfully expand in Europe.

Braun brings both European market experience to the table via his roll as head of business operations for Rover.com and director of international expansion at Course Hero, and Asian market experience via shop.com.mm where he founded Myanmar’s largest online shopping platform.

Combined, the duo is capable of producing 1.21 gigawatts. At the very least.

The Berlin-based company is operational, for the time, in Spain, having targeted a market that has both extremely high electricity prices and abundant amounts of sunlight. A win/win situation for solar panels.

“The opportunity in Spain is even greater than we thought. But it is also a strategically valuable market for further expansion to other markets,” commented Braun.

Vienna’s Speedinvest leads the $4 million seed round, with Spain’s All Iron Ventures participating.

“From every point of view - be it cost per kWh, regulation, or feasibility and rollout potential - solar showcases an unprecedented potential for a global energy revolution,” commented Speedinvest’s Julian Blessin. “With Christopher and Stefan we have now found a ‘champions-league’ team to execute and scale tech-enabled renewable energy solutions in this fast-growing industry.”