Reliance to acquire US-based solar energy software maker for $32 mn

Reliance Industries on Tuesday said it will acquire a majority stake in California-based solar energy software developer SenseHawk for $32 million (around Rs 256 crore).

The acquisition of a 79.4 per cent stake in SenseHawk is part of the conglomerate's aggressive push into renewable energy to decarbonise its oil and chemical-dominated business.

SenseHawk, founded in 2018, develops tools for the solar industry to help companies streamline processes and use automation. It had a turnover of $2.3 million in last financial year.

In a statement, Reliance said it has "signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in SenseHawk Inc for a total transaction value of $32 million, including funding for future growth, commercial rollout of products, and R&D."

SenseHawk helps accelerate solar projects from planning to production by helping companies streamline processes and use automation.

It has helped 140+ customers in 15 countries adopt new technology for their 600+ sites and assets totalling 100+ GW.

Reliance said it expects to complete the acquisition by end of the year.

Over the past two years, Reliance has invested $1.6 billion in building capabilities in new energy across EPC, technology and the supply chain.

SenseHawk, along with Reliance's other investments in new energy, will be synergistic and create unique solutions with higher value to customers, the statement said.

Speaking about the acquisition, Mukesh D Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance, said, his company is committed to revolutionizing the green energy sector and has the vision to enable 100 GW of solar energy by 2030.

"In collaboration with SenseHawk, we will drive down costs, enhance productivity and improve on-time performance to deliver the lowest LCoE for solar projects globally and make solar energy the go-to source of power in lockstep with our vision for solar energy," he said.

LCoE refers to Levelized Cost of Energy.

Commenting on the partnership, Swarup Mavanoor, CEO and co-founder, SenseHawk, said, "Rahul Sankhe, Karthik Mekala, Saideep Talari, Viral Patel and I collaborated with a vision to impact all of the processes in the solar lifecycle.

"We are delighted with the confidence that Reliance has demonstrated in us with this investment."

Adding to that, Rahul Sankhe, president and co-founder, SenseHawk, said this partnership will open new use cases, help nascent markets, and offer higher value to customers across the solar lifecycle.

"We are on a mission to improve the solar energy ecosystem, acquiring 50 per cent of the market by 2025 and with Reliance as our partner, we will accelerate on our execution toward that goal."

SenseHawk is an early-stage California-based developer of software-based management tools for the solar energy generation industry with operations in the US, UAE and India.