StormSensor continues to raise cash for its technology system that helps track stormwater data.
The Seattle startup just reeled in $585,000 and plans to raise more investment later this year. Social impact firm American Family Institute and women-focused Sofia Fund were the largest investors in the round, which included participation from other individuals. Total funding to date is $2.6 million.
Founded in 2015, StormSensor sells wireless sensors and accompanying software to municipalities, government agencies, and industrial facilities that want to track and prevent stormwater pollution or flooding. It’s meant to replace manual stormwater quality reporting with a fully digital solution that uses predictive algorithms.
Jersey City, for example, uses StormSensor to identify high-risk locations for flooding and sewer overflows.
“As additional cities adopt this technology and datasets begin to formulate, Jersey City will be eager to understand national trends, best practices and interventions that are working well in other coastal cities,” Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a statement.
StormSensor’s competitors include Teledyne/ISCO, Campbell Scientific, YSI, and ADS. The 9-person company graduated from 9MileLabs, a Seattle startup accelerator that closed in 2016. The startup also appeared on GeekWire’s Elevator Pitch show.
StormSensor is led by CEO Erin Rothman, who co-founded the startup after spending 12 years as an environmental consultant. Anya Stettler, the company’s other co-founder, left in late 2018.
“StormSensor is a case study on how women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) can realize their dreams of starting and scaling businesses that address real-world problems while realizing great profit potential,” Cathey Connett, CEO and partner at Sofia Fund, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to do our part in funding them on the journey and we encourage other investors — particularly venture capitalists, who only give 2.2 percent of their support to women-owned companies — to recognize the impact of these businesses, including the return they can provide to their investors.”
