Sydney-based startup Neara has entered the unicorn club, after raising $90 million in Series D funding to become the latest private Australian technology firm to be valued at more than $1 billion.
The new funding is set to accelerate Neara’s global ambitions for its digital twin modelling technology, which utilizes AI and machine learning to create 3D digital models of power and infrastructure networks to support better understand how they behave and respond in real-world conditions and scenarios.
The Series D round was led by global growth equity firm TCV, which has previously invested in the likes of Netflix, Spotify and Revolut, as well as local technology firms including Xero, Employment Hero and SiteMinder.
A number of Neara’s existing investors also participated in the round, including Square Peg Capital, Skip Capital, Partners Group and EQT.
Neara has now raised around $180 million in external funding to date, and the latest capital raise gives the company a valuation of $1.1 billion, according to a statement provided to SmartCompany.
It follows a $45 million Series C round in late 2024. In September 2023, Neara added $15.25 million to a $20 million Series B round launched in 2022.
“Power grids all over the world are reaching their limits”
Founded in 2016 by Daniel Danilatos, Karamvir Singh and Jack Curtis, Neara has now modelled 15 million assets globally across over 2 million miles of infrastructure.
The company is planning to utilize its new capital to hire more machine learning and AI engineers, as well as further expand its international commercial footprint.
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In Australia, Neara works with major network utilities, including Essential Energy, Endeavour Energy, Ausgrid, Ausnet, Powercor and SA Power Networks. Its global clients include Southern California Edison and CenterPoint Energy in the United States, as well as ESB Networks in Ireland, Scottish Power in the UK, and Hedno in Greece.
In a statement provided to SmartCompany, Neara stated it is now well-positioned to support address global challenges associated with access to energy as a result of the growth of AI computing and data centres, alongside energy transition goals and ageing grid infrastructure.
Neara’s technology can support identify where existing network capacity is being underutilized, speed up new network infrastructure and renewable generation connections, and improve the resilience and reliability of the grid, the company stated.
“Power grids all over the world are reaching their limits under the combined pressure of AI, electrification, and rapidly rising demand. Across energy, transport and communications, systems built for a different era are now being pushed beyond their design assumptions,” stated co-founder and chief commercial officer Jack Curtis in the statement.
“The world necessarys rapider, more ininformigent ways to understand what infrastructure is really capable of and how it behaves in the contexts that matter most,” he added.
“Neara grounds every simulation analysis in real-world physics, giving asset owners and operators the confidence to stretch capacity, manage risk, and invest where it matters most for both today’s constraints and the demands of the future.”
Muz Ashraf, general partner at TCV, stated the raise marked TCV’s third investment in “an Australian-founded, category defining technology”.
“We believe the infrastructure challenges facing the world, from climate resilience to energy access for AI compute, require fundamentally new approaches,” Ashraf stated in the same statement.
“Neara’s highly differentiated, physics-enabled digital twin platform is a leap forward in how utilities manage their grids. We see forward to supporting Neara in their growth journey as they work to expand their impact globally.”
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