Lausanne, Switzerland, 19 December 2022 – Zaphiro Technologies, a leading Swiss cleantech company in the Smart Grid sector, completed a CHF 6.4m Series A financing round. The investors are ABB Technology Ventures, CDP Venture Capital SGR (Corporate Partners I fund – Energy Tech sub-fund), Club degli Investitori, Excellis, and a private investor introduced by UBS Growth Advisory. In addition, Zaphiro obtained the financial support of the Technology Fund.

With SynchroGuard, its smart grid IoT software platform, Zaphiro helps grid operators to tackle the energy transition by mitigating the impact of renewables and electric vehicles on the stability of power distribution grids. This Series A funding allows Zaphiro to commercialize and grow its solution in new geographies and markets as well as continue to innovate.

Paolo Romano, co-founder and CEO of Zaphiro, says: “Modernization of distribution grids is a core aspect of energy transition. The integration of clean energy sources is massively changing the energy flows and dynamics of distribution grids, generating a strong need for accurate grid monitoring, real-time management of blackouts, and failure prediction.”

Lorenzo Zanni, co-founder and COO of Zaphiro, adds: “This is a great recognition for our team and the value our innovative technology provides to our customers. This fundraise will accelerate the deployment of SynchroGuard, enabling the digitalization and decarbonization of power grids worldwide.”

zaphiro founders SeriesA office

Zaphiro’s SynchroGuard is the first distribution grid monitoring and automation system leveraging high-speed and time-synchronized measurements from Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) devices, specifically adapted to distribution grids. SynchroGuard uses advanced data analytics to provide full visibility of energy flows and asset status using a minimal number of measurement points, significantly reducing grid operation costs. Using SynchroGuard, faults in the distribution grid can be precisely located in a matter of seconds, helping grid operators to reduce or even prevent blackouts, thus guaranteeing a reliable energy supply to electricity customers.

Marino Giocondi, responsible of Corporate Partners I fund of CDP Venture Capital, comments: “For the whole team of the Corporate Partners I fund it is a great satisfaction to be part of such an important investment round of an international company. The technological solution developed by Zaphiro has raised a lot of interest from our Corporate investors who have validated its technical and market viability, which is essential for all our investments.”

François Marti, Chairman of Zaphiro, comments: “Zaphiro has reached key milestones both in terms of product maturity and market traction. The solution offered by SynchroGuard is the result of years of work of a very talented team who, early on, understood the challenges of the smart grid market. The high caliber of financial and strategic partners demonstrates a growing awareness across the globe of the need to modernize and digitalize distribution grids.”

About Zaphiro Technologies:

Zaphiro Technologies is a leading Swiss cleantech startup that develops an innovative smart grid technology helping electrical utilities integrate more clean energy technologies in the electricity grids, while maintaining high quality of service for their customers and optimizing system costs. Zaphiro was founded in 2017 as a spin-off of EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and counts several well-known power utility customers in Europe, North America, Middle East, and Asia.

About ABB Technology Ventures:

ABB Technology Ventures (ATV) is the venture capital unit of ABB Group. ATV looks for breakthrough technology companies aligned with ABB’s goal to write the future of industrial digitalization and has invested more than $300 million into start-ups spanning a range of sectors including robotics, industrial IoT, AI/machine learning, cybersecurity, electric mobility, smart buildings, and distributed energy.

About CDP Venture Capital:

CDP Venture Capital is an asset management company (70% owned by CDP Equity and 30% owned by Invitalia) with 2 billion euro of assets under management. It aims to make Venture Capital a strategic pillar to Italy’s economic development and innovation, creating the conditions for a comprehensive and sustainable growth of the Venture Capital ecosystem. It operates through a series of funds that aim to support startups in all their life cycle stages, making both direct and indirect investments.

About Club degli Investitori:

Club degli Investitori is a community of entrepreneurs, managers and professionals that invest in startups, scaleups and innovative SMEs. An investment by the Club is much more than a financial commitment: it implies the involvement of a group of people whose network of contacts and experience is worth much more than the capital itself. The Club is based in Turin (Italy) and has 300+ business angels who have invested 44 million in 60 companies.

About Excellis:

Excellis is a private holding company investing in companies created by young Italian born researchers and scientist from the most prestigious laboratories and research centers of leading European and North American tech universities. Founded in late 2021, Excellis proactively seeks investment opportunities in the industrial, cleantech, medical devices and frontier technology sectors, and is committed to the value of people who carry out projects that will make the world a better place.

About UBS Growth Advisory:

UBS Growth Advisory supports fast growing companies based in Switzerland in their fundraising rounds by actively introducing them to interested investors, most of whom are members of the UBS Private Investor Circle (PIC). The PIC gives professional UBS clients domiciled in Switzerland access to exclusive direct investment opportunities in innovative and fast-growing Swiss companies.

About the Technology Fund:

The Technology Fund offers loan guarantees to Swiss companies offering innovative products that contribute to a sustainable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The Technology Fund is a political instrument of the Swiss government’s climate strategy. The Climate Division of the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN is responsible for its strategical implementation.