Sensatek Propulsion Technology Inc. was accepted into Florida Power & Light Co.’s in-house innovation hub at a critical time for the company, just before it opens a Series A investment round that will grow its staff “exponentially.”
That’s according to Sensatek CEO Reamonn Soto, who told Orlando Inno the Daytona Beach-based firm’s acceptance in Florida Power & Light’s 35 Mules program is a major win.
That’s because it allows Sensatek to work with the state's biggest utility, which also operates dozens of power plants and maintains a venture capital arm, Soto said.
The 7-year-old firm provides autonomous monitoring of industrial systems using artificial intelligence-enabled technology for harsh environments. Sensatek provides these monitoring services through its wireless, high-temperature, gas turbine sensors that measure heat transfer data for customers.
Sensatek’s customers span several industries, including energy, oil and gas, petrochemical, glassmaking, aviation and aerospace. Among them are General Electric, Rolls-Royce and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
For 12-18 months, Sensatek employees will work out of Florida Power & Light’s Juno Beach headquarters three days each week. Sensatek also will receive direct mentorship from Florida Power & Light executives.
The Daytona Beach firm will join six other startups in the incubator, where they will work on their ventures. The program offers entrepreneurs Fortune 200 executive coaching; a tailored business curriculum; $100,000 cash grant; dedicated, rent-free workspace and access to subject-matter experts at FPL's parent, Juno Beach-based clean energy company NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE).
“We selected these startups because of their remarkable technologies, strong leadership qualities and capacity to grow significantly – all of which allows them to greatly benefit from 35 Mules,” said FPL Chairman and CEO Eric Silagy in a prepared statement.
Learn more about the other startups in the 35 Mules program's second class of innovators here.
Sensatek licenses technology developed at the University of Central Florida and spent most of its existence focused on research and development. Now it's manufacturing sensors, finding customers and providing monitoring services to those customers.
That last component of the business has emerged as vital for Sensatek’s customers, which often don't have the time or resources to collect and analyze industrial system performance, Soto said. “Some people are telling me they’re running 300 pieces of equipment at power plants, and they’re running it from an Excel spreadsheet.”
While Sensatek has made some headway, the big customers it targets means slower sales cycles. However, Soto expects the firm’s sales efforts to begin to snowball into results in April and May.
Meanwhile, Sensatek is preparing to launch a Series A investment round for an undisclosed sum. Crunchbase reports Sensatek has raised $3.7 million since its launch, and raising additional capital will enable the company to grow its staff of 10 employees exponentially, Soto said.
“We have an opportunity to build onto that momentum. We are in talks with some of the largest insurers in the world that have venture arms. This utility we’re working with has a venture arm… We’re right at the threshold of revenue growth.”
During a record year for startup investment in 2021, energy sector companies saw a big boost. Investors pumped $36 billion into companies in the industry, up a whopping 260% from 2020, according to business analytics firm CB Insights.
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