The move in the power industry from electricity being produced primarily in big power plants to increasingly being generated by multiple solar arrays, wind farms and the like has created a kind of networking challenge.
Power companies need a way to easily and securely communicate with all of those devices and facilities. But traditional methods are either complex or inherently insecure, the people behind Operant Networks Inc. say. So they've crafted a system of networking hardware and software designed specifically for power companies that's intended to be both simple to set up and secure.
Santa Rosa based Operant is "trying to further advance the industry with innovative technology, but we also feel a strong sense of duty to align stakeholders in protecting the grid from the growing threat of cyber-attacks," CEO Keith Rose said a news release unveiling the company.
The company has some new capital to expand its service. It announced Monday it's raised $3.8 million in seed funding in a round led by Constellation Energy Ventures, the VC arm of Constellation Energy Corp.
Although it's currently focusing on the energy sector, Operant sees plenty of other opportunities in other industries for its service, Rose said in the news release.
"We hear similar pain-points from customers connecting to industrial field equipment, regardless of asset type or industry," he said.
Read on for more on Operant's new round and other seed funding news from this past week.
Goldsky, San Francisco, $20 million: Felicis and Dragonfly Capital led the round for this provider of data analysis software for blockchain projects. Elad Gil, Plaid Inc. founders Zach Perret and William Hockey, Magic Eden co-founder Zhuoxun Yin and Uniswap Labs also invested.
Theom Inc., San Francisco, $16.4 million. Ridge Ventures and M12 co-led the round for this provider of a cloud security service.
BlueSky Data Inc., Menlo Park, $8.8 million: Greylock Partners led the round for this provider of a service used to manage and optimize enterprises' access to their cloud-based data. Qubole co-founder Ashish Thusoo, Cloudera co-founder Jeff Hammerbacher and Microsoft research director Johannes Gehrke also invested.
Tract Learning Inc., San Francisco, $7 million: New Enterprise Associates led the round for this provider of an online learning service for kids. Bill Tai of Sangha Capital, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Zynga founder Marc Pincus and Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig also participated.
Satschel LLC, San Francisco, $5.2 million: Brand Foundry Ventures led the round for this provider of software that helps Web3 companies maintain privacy and regulatory compliance when signing up new customers.
Arpeggi Inc. (dba Arpeggi Labs), San Francisco, $5.1 million: Andreessen Horowitz's a16z crypto led the round for this provider of blockchain-based music publishing software. 1confirmation, Palm Tree Crew, WndrCo Ventures, Steve Aoki, 3LAU, Wyclef Jean, Disco Fries and Electric Feel Ventures also invested.
Operant Networks Inc., Santa Rosa, $3.8 million: Constellation Technology Ventures led the round for this provider of secure networking and management hardware and software for solar and clean energy devices connected to the electrical grid. Thin Line Capital and Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures also invested.
Together Project Inc. (dba Bloom Community), Oakland, $2.5 million: Tuesday Capital led the round for this developer of a dating and events app targeted at LGBTQ and polyamorous people. Y Combinator, Precursor Ventures, Behind Genius Ventures, Claire Hughes Johnson and Nate Mitchell also invested.
