RIL acquires California-based solar software developer SenseHawk for $32 million

• RIL signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in SenseHawk, a California based software developer.
• SenseHawk is an early stage startup founded in 2018 and develops software-based management tools for the solar energy generation industry.
• RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said that, in collaboration with SenseHawk, they can drive down costs, enhance productivity and improve on-time performance.

Reliance Industries signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in SenseHawk, a California based software developer that specializes in solar power. The total transaction value is $32 million which also includes funding for future growth, commercial rollout of products and R&D.

SenseHawk is an early stage startup founded in 2018; and develops software-based management tools for the solar energy generation industry. It helps accelerate solar projects from planning to production by helping companies streamline processes and use automation, RIL said in a press release.

RIL has recently reiterated its commitments to the green energy sector and has plans 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 (levelized cost of energy) for solar projects globally and make solar energy the go-to source of power in lockstep with our vision for solar energy. It is a very exciting technology platform and I am confident that, with RIL’s support, SenseHawk will grow multifold,” said Mukesh D Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries.

SenseHawk’s Solar Digital Platform offers end-to-end management of solar asset life cycles. It claims to have helped over 140 customers in 15 countries adopt new technology for over 600 sites and assets totalling over 100 GW.

“I believe this partnership will open new use cases, help our 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% of the market by 2025 and with RIL as our partner, we will accelerate our execution toward that goal,” said Rahul Sankhe, president and co-founder of SenseHawk.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to complete before the end of 2022.

Covington & Burling LLP and Khaitan & Co acted as the legal advisors and Deloitte as the accounting and tax advisor to RIL on this transaction.

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