HData, an AI-based platform that is looking to streamline the way the energy industry uses data, has closed on a $10 million Series A funding round.
The round was led by Chicago's Buoyant Ventures, the early-stage venture fund focused on climate tech, with participation from Victorum Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners and Firebrand Ventures, among others.
Of the 13 companies in Buoyant's portfolio, more than half are using artificial intelligence in some core way, according to Amy Francetic, managing general partner and co-founder of Buoyant Ventures.
Francetic told Chicago Inno what makes HData stand out is that it can pull information and search regulatory filings for both structured and unstructured data, or data that is not well organized.
"We're excited about how they're using AI to unlock actionable insights in all of this regulatory data," she said. "There's a lot of companies since ChatGPT was announced who are looking to create these kinds of solutions."
The new funding, announced Tuesday, will be used to expand HData's platform to help make strategic decision-making easier when it comes to energy initiatives.
HData hopes to create the largest library of regulated energy data available, giving companies the tools they need to analyze data effectively.
"The problem with regulatory information is that when regulated companies file their forms, there is a lot of valuable information in there, but it's all trapped in PDF documents," Hudson Hollister, co-founder and CEO of HData, told Chicago Inno.
Hollister said he wants to "liberate" that data through HData, which will help uncover information that could be used to solve some of the biggest regulatory and climate-related issues that we face.
HData is currently used by more than 30 regulated energy companies and other organizations to help file, explore, analyze and leverage regulatory data.
"We can take the data out of the regulatory forms that show the performance of every energy company, every power plant and every pipeline," Hollister said.
Staying connected to Chicago
Hollister launched HData in Joliet in 2020 after participating in the business incubator at the University of St. Francis. The next year, HData entered the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator in Birmingham, Alabama, but it's maintained its connection to Illinois.
"We have a really important network in Chicago," Hollister said.
He added that with team members spread across the country, HData operates as a remote-first company.
"It is always better to have people in-person than remote, but I think our economy, especially for software development: We're never going to go back to fully on-site," Hollister said. "However, what we can do is bring people together regularly at things like our bi-annual team-building exercise that we do in Alabama."
