BuildingIQ completes funding round, now eyes exchange listing

Australian-founded energy management software company BuildingIQ is reportedly eyeing a stock exchange listing, just as it completes a second round of private funding in the US.

The CSIRO spin-off, which is now based in California, recently completed $US2.7 million in fund-raising, part of a planned $US10.6 million fund-raising. This follows a previous $US9 million fund-raising in 2013 which was backed by Siemens, investors Aster Capital, in turn backed by Schneider Electric and Alstom, and Paladin Capital Group.

But the Australian Financial Review says KPM Capital has been hired to test the waters for an initial public offering, a move it says could value the company at around $100 million.

BuildingIQ specialises in reducing energy demand for commercial and corporate users, particularly in HVAC – heating, ventilating, and air conditioning.

In a recent press release, the company cited its achievements at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital, where energy consumption had been cut by 1.7 million kWh, or 12 per cent, within 14 months.

The company achieved this by using its software to manage the HVAC needs. Total savings in the peak month of December reached as much as 20 per cent.

BuildingIQ said the hospital had a long-time practice of over-cooling the building in order to ensure optimal comfort for patients and staff.

But by taking into account variables, such as weather forecasts, occupancy comfort, energy prices and demand response events, as well as the building structure and thermal dynamics, the hospital can now meet its peak load using two chillers instead of three.

In its recent fund-raising, BuildingIQ said it grew recurring revenue by 96 per cent in 2014 and is now serving close to 20 million square feet of buildings with its analytics software, according to Greentech Media.