Renewable energy is one of the fastest-growing sources of energy in the world; with most major markets at least doubling over the last 15 years. As this shift happens, more and more companies are committing to moving over to completely using renewable electricity for their operations. Zeigo is the AI-powered renewable marketplace that allows corporations and suppliers to transact in the renewable energy market with full transparency and automation. For those that are new to renewables, Zeigo offers a recommendation engine that matches companies to available projects based on their needs and profile.
London TechWatch sat down with CEO and Founder Juan Pablo Cerda to learn more about the inspiration for Zeigo, the opportunity at hand, and the company’s recent seed funding round.
London TechWatch: Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Juan Pablo Cerda, Zeigo: Zeigo raised £800,000 Seed Funding Round led by Naruhisa Nakagawa, founder of Caygan Capital. As well as Caygan Capital, Zeigo attracted a second round of investment from new and existing angel investors. These included Green Angel Syndicate, a London syndicate investing in the Green Economy, ClearlySo – Europe’s leading impact investment bank, the Syndicate Room – a UK online equity investment platform and Earlymarket – a family office with an investment arm dedicated to early-stage technology startups.
Peter Gutman, an active individual investor in the energy sector and an advisor to Blue Bear Capital, a leading digital energy venture firm, has also become a shareholder, as is Paul Massara, ex-CEO of N Power, who recently joined Zeigo’s Board.
Tell us about your product or service.
Zeigo is a renewable energy platform powered by data & smart technology. It provides companies across the world with a one-stop-shop for all their renewable energy needs from PPAs to short term contracts.
The platform integrates machine learning algorithms to advance the corporate process of contracting clean energy and includes a PPA marketplace, digital energy portfolio manager, automated tender process, access to forward curves including comprehensive data reports, and a suite of bespoke tools including an online legal resource that will generate an automatically populated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
What inspired the start of Zeigo?
I started Zeigo because I recognised the need to create a technology-driven company to disrupt the market, and the important role that artificial intelligence, machine learning, and technology will play in the future of the renewable energy market.
How is it different?
Zeigo won Best Renewable Technology of the Year, in the Business Green Technology Awards 2019. The innovative smart platform is poised to simplify, democratise and bring transparency to the market. Our unique, data-driven approach has secured key partnerships with leading renewables consultancy Cornwall Insight, market intelligence company Aurora Energy Research, and global tech-sector law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP (BCLP).
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We target Corporations worldwide within the Infrastructure, Consumer Goods, Technology and Data, Manufacturing and Transport sectors with revenues over $100M & targets to reduce carbon emissions. The market size is $600M/annum.
203 of the world’s most influential companies have joined RE100, publicly committing to using 100% renewable electricity for their global operations. This gives us confidence as we believe more and more companies will follow this path.
What’s your business model?
Zeigo has a comprehensive and straightforward business model mixed between a corporate annual subscription model and a success fee from the developer or supplier. With big plans for the future, Zeigo looking to integrate blockchain technology to allow direct purchase of excess energy on the platform.
Who do you consider to be your main competitors?
We compete against traditional business consultancies as well as other renewable energy platforms, mainly in the US.
What was the funding process like?
The process is never-ending; you’re always working on the next round.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
The biggest challenge for our seed round was the ticket size as it tends to be either too big for angels or too small for VCs.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
There are a few things I’d like to highlight; 1) the potentially huge market for clean power procurement, 2) that the real market opportunity is to become a scalable tech platform which can deliver a scalable solution to its clients and 3) the strength of my team, which I have built over the past 18 months.
There are a few things I’d like to highlight; 1) the potentially huge market for clean power procurement, 2) that the real market opportunity is to become a scalable tech platform which can deliver a scalable solution to its clients and 3) the strength of my team, which I have built over the past 18 months.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We are very excited to be working on a free trial for corporate clients launching next month. This will allow corporates to start formulating a strategy to transition to 100% renewable energy with the help of Zeigo’s bespoke recommendations of various renewable energy projects listed in the marketplace that match their energy consumption profile. Furthermore, corporates can quickly come to grips with the market by accessing our data reports and country insights. To run a tender or connect with a developer, they’ll need to upgrade to our yearly subscription.
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Research the available government support. There are various funds that you can apply, and there are also new funding initiatives that are being announced by the government to help businesses get through these tough times like the UK’s COVID-19 Future Fund for growth companies.
What is your favorite restaurant in London?
Corazon Mexican restaurant in Soho. It’s the best!
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