A clean technology startup based in Waterloo has raised a pre-seed round of capital.
Swish Solar, operating since earlier this year out of the University of Waterloo’s Velocity incubator, says the oversubscribed US$1.5M round will target market adoption of the early stage company’s flagship product: self-cleaning solar technology.
“Solar panels can lose up to 60% of their efficiency due to sand and snow buildup,” explains Swish chief executive officer Miswar Syed.
This problem is “costing the cleantech energy industry billions in lost revenue each year,” according to the entrepreneur.
“We’re solving that problem with a sustainable, water-free cleaning solution powered by nanotechnology and AI,” Syed says.
Swish Solar’s innovation combines two complementary products: one nanotech product and one AI product.
First there is the Canadian company’s self-cleaning nanotech film coating, the SwishScreen, which claims to remove sand and snow without water or moving parts, restoring lost efficiency and promising up to 20 times return on investment.
And second there is SwishOS, the Ontario cleantech’s AI-driven analytics platform, which monitors soiling and predicts optimal cleaning schedules with an aim to maximize energy yield and reduce operating costs.
The pre-seed round was led by Friday Ventures and included participation from the Velocity Fund as well as Front Row Ventures, Alif Fund, and Suno Growth.
“Swish is tackling one of the biggest operational challenges in solar energy with an elegant mix of nanotechnology and AI,” posits Shastri Mahadeo, managing partner at Friday Ventures.
The fresh influx of funding will support Swish’s manufacturing as well as AI model development and team growth across engineering and business development department, according to a statement, with intentions of scaling toward full commercialization.
Swish has already signed customers across multiple countries in North America and the Middle East.
“Cleaning solar panels takes significant time and cost,” commented Haluk Örs, who heads Renko Energy, one of Swish’s customers. “We’re working with Swish Solar to deploy their self-cleaning technology and data-driven soiling solution across our 12 sites.”
John Dick, a senior director of founder management at Velocity, believes that Swish’s tech represents “bold, scalable innovation.”
“Their team is combining deep technical expertise with a strong sense of purpose by addressing one of the world’s biggest renewable energy challenges with solutions that can have real global impact,” he stated. “It’s exciting to see founders like this turn ambitious ideas into commercially viable products that move us toward a more sustainable future.”
“Our goal,” Syed said, “is to make solar truly self-sustaining: cleaner panels, higher energy yield, and smarter operations that maximize every ray of sunlight.”