OnSight Technology, a manufacturer of autonomous robots for the solar industry, raised a seed round of funding from two local investors and Stäubli, a Swiss manufacturer of industrial products.
OnSight is based in Folsom and it has manufacturing in El Dorado Hills, where it assembles robots that can perform ground inspections of large-scale solar photovoltaic arrays.
“We are happy to have Stäubli onboard with its support and know-how to booster the development of our unmanned ground robots with computer-vision capabilities and AI-based analysis,” said OnSight CEO Derek Chase, in a news release from Stäubli. “This partnership will broaden the functionality and services of our ground-breaking solutions.”
OnSight spokesman Jeff Struhm declined to disclose the amount raised in the seed round.
The local investors are Folsom-based venture capital firm Moneta Ventures and GF Ventures, a fund associated with Rocklin-based Growth Factory. The Growth Factory was a previous investor in OnSight.
Stäubli is a Swiss manufacturer of robotics equipment and electrical connections, textile weaving equipment and fluid connectors. It employs 6,000 people in 28 countries.
OnSight’s product is an autonomous robot with computer vision capabilities and built-in artificial intelligence analysis. It can visually inspect connections and junction boxes on the underside of panels in the field, and it can detect bad cells and panels, offering operators an exact coordinate of where problems need to be addressed, Struhm said. The robots can also detect micro-cracks and even the presence of protected plants and wildlife on the ground.
This is the third investment into OnSight by GF Partners.
"At Growth Factory, we are proud to identify world-class founders in the Sacramento region and support them with the funding, connections and programming it takes to build their business. As the first check in to Onsight, we are excited to double down and continue supporting their journey to build a world-class company," said Rick Spencer, managing partner of GF Ventures, in a news release.
OnSight is a 2022 startup with fewer than 20 employees. Struhm declined to disclose the company's revenue. He said OnSight has deployed a dozen of its machines in the field, and that it's working on a dozen more.
The company will use the investment for research and development and to attract talent, Struhm said.
"This round will propel us forward as we continue to innovate and revolutionize the robotics and computer vision landscape for the solar industry," said Chase, in a news release from OnSight.
"OnSight's platform will enable the rapidly growing utility solar market to dramatically reduce commissioning and maintenance costs while improving accuracy and asset performance," said Lokesh Sikaria, managing partner of Moneta Ventures, in a news release. "OnSight's solution is truly differentiated, as their robots enable data capture beneath the panels, where many equipment failures occur.”
