Aurora Solar Gets $4 Billion Valuation on Backing Led by Coatue

(Bloomberg) -- Aurora Solar, a firm that provides software services for the solar industry, said it reached a $4 billion valuation after closing a funding round co-led by Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management and Energize Ventures.

Other backers of a $200 million investment included Fifth Wall and Iconiq, joining new investors Lux Capital and Emerson Collective, the San Francisco-based company said Monday in a statement. The investment has led to a doubling of Aurora Solar's valuation since a previous funding round in May, and brings total outside investment to $523.5 million since the firm was founded in 2013.

Aurora is focused on providing a digital platform that streamlines sales and design processes for the solar industry to help speed up adoption. About 4% of U.S. homes use solar panels, with growth constrained by often lengthy processes needed to design, sell, permit and connect projects. Less than half the cost of residential systems is for actual equipment, according to Aurora's co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Hopper.

“There's a lot of inefficiencies that sit on top,” Hopper said in an interview. “A lot that could and should be reduced.”

Aurora, which works with solar contractors, plans to use the proceeds from the latest funding to add employees and accelerate product development. More than 7.5 million solar projects have been designed on the company's software platform, according to the statement.

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