Climate tech startup AiDash Inc., which uses a combination of artificial intelligence models and satellites to identify fire and weather risks that may affect power lines, said Tuesday it has closed on a $50 million funding round.

The company said the funding reflects a strong desire in Silicon Valley to create new products that can help energy firms adapt to climate change. The oversubscribed Series C round indicates a growing interest in proven, scalable and effective climate technologies, the startup said.

Today’s round was led by Lightrock, whose partner Ashish Puri joins AiDash’s board of directors. SE Ventures, an early investor backed by Schneider Electric SE, also participated in the round, alongside previous investors G2 Venture Partners, Benhamou Global Ventures, National Grid Partners, Edison International and Shell Ventures.

The company explained that power utility providers are under increased pressure to eliminate the risk of forest fire and storm-based outages, following a series of massive wildfires and other weather events that have brought down vital power lines. In addition, power companies are also concerned about the increased load on electrical grids, as electricity displaces fossil fuels in powering electric vehicles and other applications.

AiDash has created AI models that scan satellite images, searching for any problems or changes that might impact power utility electric transmission lines. For instance, it can identify where vegetation has grown to encroach upon power lines.

In addition, its technology is being used to create surveys for companies facing new biodiversity reporting regulations, such as the U.K. To cater to this demand, AiDash will use some of the funds from today’s round to open a new European headquarters.

One of AiDash’s most prominent customers is National Grid USA Service Company Inc. It claims to have seen “measurable improvements” in its effort to cut the number and duration of outages since using the startup’s tools to identify maintenance priorities on its Massachusetts grid.

Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said the new data sources employed by AiDash can enable new best practices for energy providers. “AiDash is using space data to rethink disaster management and vegetation management,” the analyst said. “It’s a great application of space data, and we’ll likely see it being applied many more real-world use cases in future.”

The startup said its technology has shown an ability to reduce the number of vegetation-caused power outages during storms by 15%, while boosting grid reliability by 5% to 15%, and improving operations and maintenance cost efficiencies by 10% to 20%. Its tech can also help to safeguard the environment and protect human lives by preventing wildfires that are caused by vegetation overgrowth.

AiDash co-founder and Chief Executive Abhishek Singh said the aging power infrastructure in the U.S. is breaking under the strain of environmental change and putting lives at risk. “Our combination of satellite technology and AI is capable of managing this risk and safeguarding at-risk systems, like those managed by utility companies which often span huge geographical areas,” Singh said in a statement. “With this funding, we look forward to expanding our reach and bringing the benefits of AiDash to more markets.”

Photo: AiDash