Tigo Energy® Raises Additional Capital Resources to Accelerate the Growth of Their Solar SmartModules

LOS GATOS, Calif., Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tigo Energy®, the market leader in SmartModule™ technology for photovoltaic (PV) solar installations, today announced that it has raised $18 million in additional financing, bringing the total company funding in excess of $50 million.

Led by Bessemer Venture Partners, the investment will enable Tigo Energy to accelerate growth, expand manufacturing and focus on international sales to take advantage of the strong market demand for Tigo Energy-enabled SmartModules from the industries' leading PV module brands. Bessemer Venture Partners was joined by all existing investors to complete the capital infusion. As a result of the investment, Umesh Padval, a partner in Bessemer's Menlo Park, Calif., office, will join the Tigo Energy Board of Directors.

"I am excited about our investment in Tigo Energy," said Padval. "Tigo's strong execution-oriented team, large market acceptances, robust channel partners and differentiated products are very impressive and I look forward to partnering with them as they continue building a successful company."

"Tigo Energy has a winning solution that has attracted many of the world's largest PV suppliers," said Lucinda Stewart, Managing Director at OVP. "Tigo Energy's technology helps customers of solar installations earn the most out of their investment, and we're pleased to continue to support the company's strong growth."

The Tigo Energy Maximizer solution enables owners of PV projects of any size (residential, commercial or utility scale) to increase financial returns by improving power production, ensuring peak system up-time and drastically reducing the cost of operations and maintenance. The technology is now being integrated by leading module OEMs such as Hanwha SolarOne, UpSolar, and Trina Solar to streamline installation and reduce system costs.

The Tigo Energy system provides all the benefits of micro-inverters without placing expensive electronics underneath PV modules—delivering a more cost effective, efficient and reliable system. The Tigo Energy Maximizer is also certified to be compatible by top inverter manufacturers such as Kaco New Energy, SMA, Fronius and PowerOne.

PV installers worldwide have rapidly adopted the Tigo Energy solution in both their residential and large-scale commercial offerings. Tigo Energy's global market adoption can be attributed to a unique system architecture that delivers all the value of distributed electronics with unmatched efficiency, cost and reliability.

About Tigo Energy

Based in Los Gatos, California, Tigo Energy was founded in 2007 and focuses on applying innovative technologies to the solar PV space. Tigo Energy has offices in the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, China and Israel and is commercially shipping volume systems in cooperation with most prominent worldwide solar distributors, EPCs and PV module OEMs. Additional information on Tigo Energy is available at www.tigoenergy.com.

SOURCE Tigo Energy