Oslo-based solar and battery storage marketplace Otovo bags €40M to expedite its path to profitability

Oslo-based Otovo, a marketplace for solar and battery storage, announced on Friday, November 10, that it has secured €40M (approximately NOK 450M) in a fresh funding round.

The round was led by the existing investors Å Energy, Axel Johnson Group, and Nysnø (The Norwegian Government Climate Investment Fund). 

Otovo’s top investors, who previously owned 44 percent of the company’s shares, were allocated shares as part of the latest funding round. 

Axel Johnson Group, through its AxSol subsidy, was allocated shares for NOK 104M. In comparison, the state climate fund Nysnø and Obos were allocated shares for NOK 29.4M (approximately €247K) and NOK 5M (approximately €420K), respectively. 

Å Energi, the large Nordic utility created by a merger in 2022, provided more than half of the funding and was allocated shares for NOK 268M (approximately €22M).

The announcement comes eleven months after raising €120M in debt and equity shares placement from DNB Bank ASA and SpareBank 1 SR-Bank.

The company also raised €30M in a funding round led by solar investor Axel Johnson in February 2022. 

The top investors, who previously owned 44 percent of Otovo’s shares, Axel Johnson Group (through its AxSol subsidy) was allocated shares for NOK 104M, the state climate fund Nysnø for NOK 29.4M, and Obos for NOK 5 M. 

Å Energi (the large Nordic utility created by a merger in 2022) provided more than half of the issue and was allocated shares for NOK 268M.

Fund utilisation

The capital infusion will allow the Norwegian startup to ensure its path to profitability and cement its position in the European residential solar market.

The company plans to reach profitability through sales volume growth, operational cost improvements, and monetization of its subscription assets.

“The equity raise allows Otovo to aggressively pursue the opportunities given by an energy market in which the cost of building new solar energy is at an all-time low, traditional energy prices are rising, and consumers are looking for ways to cut their expenses,” says Otovo CEO, Andreas Thorsheim.

At the same time, Otovo has decided to carry out a repair issue of up to 17.4M shares at the same price and announced that it would restructure its options program to key employees.

“Thanks to the support and continued trust from our large shareholders, Otovo has a strong financial foundation allowing us to work on sales volume increases, prudent cost reduction measures and subscription portfolio monetization to bring the company to profitability,” says Thorsheim.

Otovo: What you need to know

Founded in 2016 by Andreas Bentzen, Andreas Thorsheim, Lars Syse Christiansen, and Simen Fure Jorgensen, Otovo is an online marketplace for solar installations.

The marketplace organises a network of more than 500 local, high-quality energy installers that have been vetted thoroughly. 

Through its proprietary technology, Otovo analyses the potential of any home and finds the best price and installer for customers based on an automatic bidding process between available installers.

“Once again, major investors have recognised Otovo’s track record and our remarkable potential to continue scaling and convert European households to solar. Having entered the UK market earlier this year, we’re passionate about driving the UK switch to solar, as we’ve done across Europe since 2016, “adds Otovo UK and Ireland GM Jina Kwon.