Belfast-based software company StormHarvester has developed a solution that uses machine learning and rainfall forecasting to help prevent avoidable flooding and pollution using a prediction and anomaly detection approach, which is now being used by 75 per cent of wastewater utilities in the UK.
The funding will facilitate the expansion of the company’s product range, as well as its sales and marketing capabilities, and will accelerate growth into new markets including Australasia and North America, whilst also strengthening its presence in the UK.
In a statement, StormHarvester founder and CEO, Brian Moloney, said, “This significant investment represents a transformative step in our company’s journey, fuelling our expansion and creating exciting opportunities for Northern Ireland's job market.
“We’re thrilled to announce new positions spanning sales and marketing roles to drive our global reach, alongside cutting-edge technical roles that will shape the future of our smart technology as we advance our innovative product roadmap.”
The investment comprises funding from YFM Equity Partners and Emerald Technology Ventures.
Mike Clarke, YFM partner, said: “Having been the first to market in the UK, the StormHarvester team has carved out a market-leading position, expanding to meet ever-growing demand from the utilities sector. The company is now focused on international expansion, and we are excited to be supporting its scale-up journey.
“More importantly, we are immensely proud to be associated with a company that is making a tangible difference in reducing pollution and flooding. By enabling utilities to proactively manage their networks, StormHarvester’s technology is setting a new standard in environmental stewardship and sustainability.”
Moloney was driven to establish StormHarvester in 2017 by a ‘strong desire’ to improve wastewater network performance.
Noting a lack of innovation in the design and operation of networks, Moloney saw an opportunity to improve performance using a more data-centric approach.
The company’s initial work centred on understanding the relationship between rainfall and draining networks. Once this was understood, the focus then turned to predicting future network performance using rainfall datasets.
Following the launch of its platform, StormHarvester won its first formal project with Wessex Water in 2019.
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