Heating and cooling represents over half of building energy consumption. Therefore, the optimization of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems has long been a key component of the smart building vision.

While there have been significant efficiency gains from smart technology in recent decades, it has become clear that increased optimization of complex and dynamic facilities can come about with continuously self-learning artificial intelligence (AI).

Investors in the smart buildings space have provided significant funding to numerous startups in the HVAC optimization space in recent years.

HVAC Optimization Startups in 2024: Myrspoven Funding Boost

Just last week, on February 7th, Stockholm-based HVAC optimization startup, Myrspoven, announced a €5.4m ($5.8m) funding round from a range of investors including 4impact capital, Vantaa Energy, and AMAVI Capital. The Swedish startup’s solution utilizes AI to optimize HVAC systems in real-time, thereby lowering energy use without reducing occupant comfort, as discussed in great detail in our September 2021 podcast with Myrspoven CTO Johan Brunius.

The firm’s core product, myCoreAI, reads data from buildings as well as external sources like weather and social data, and creates an algorithm to optimize each building according to that building’s specific conditions.

The performance of myCoreAI is constantly monitored to show the technical performance of the algorithm, as well as the building’s energy and comfort levels. The user can also interact with the system and override it if circumstances change.

The solution also enables forecasting of both energy costs and climate, which enables control adjustments that takes into account energy tariffs, flow and return penalties, price cuts and daily variations. Myrspoven also offers myLoadShift, an add-on to myCoreAI that optimizes buildings to consume electricity when the price is favorable, using spot prices determined the day before.

Since 1 January 2023, Myrspoven’s solution has optimized more than 2,500,000m2 in over 1,000 buildings, and this new capital infusion strategically propels Myrspoven to expand its solutions across Europe and beyond, in line with their ongoing channel partner strategy.

Numerous other startups in the HVAC optimization space have also benefited from significant funding in recent years, as shown in this graphic from our 2023 StartUp Landscape report.

HVAC Optimization Startups in 2023

After the publishing of our startup reports last year, Optimum Energy was acquired by Bernhard Capital Partners, aedifion raised €12 million, and BrainboxAI raised $20 and acquired ABB’s multi-site retail business —as discussed, in more detail, in our summer 2023 HVAC optimization research note.

In the past eight months since that research note, BrainboxAI has continued to be active, announcing a strategic collaboration with Trane Technologies in September 2023 to combine the startup’s AI with Trane’s cloud-based Tracer SC+ building automation system. The ambitious startup also issued a new patent on October 25th 2023 (No. 11,796,205) for the company’s core AI-led HVAC system management solution.

On September 15th 2023, commercial building focused HVAC optimization startup DeltaQ, raised €8 million from investors including SFPI-FPIM, Impact Capital, Aconterra, 3E, Quanteus Group, and private individuals. The firm then changed its name to Dnergy in November 2023, to be “better positioned to help customers comply with the latest carbon reduction legislation and achieve the highest ratings for building certifications,” Dnergy CEO, Khadija Nadi, explained.

“Smart building startups have benefited from the tremendous interest in climate-related real estate technology applied to building energy management, which is the most heavily funded area,” explained our 2023 StartUps in Smart Buildings report. “Innovations to address energy efficiency services, HVAC optimization software in commercial and industrial buildings, the reduction of carbon emissions and the implementation of on-site distributed energy sources have attracted both financial and strategic investors.”