Buddy Platform raises $23m
By Simon Evans
Oct. 30 (Financial Review) -- The chief executive of internet-of-things device company, Buddy Platform, says some corporate customers and building owners are cutting their energy bills by between 10 to 20 per cent using their system, as the firm raised $23 million to accelerate a global roll-out.
David McLauchlan said on Monday the company was gratified by the institutional support from Australia and Asia as Buddy Platform issued 115 million new shares at 20?? per share in an oversubscribed placement managed by Bell Potter Securities. The company had been in a trading halt on the ASX and the shares were 1?? lower at 23?? when they resumed trading on Monday.
Buddy Platform's main product is Buddy Ohm, a real-time energy usage monitoring system which the company labels as a "Fitbit for buildings", which tracks energy usage and enables companies to make savings on electricity, gas and water bills.
He said the new funds would be used to drive a much faster global roll-out than planned, with negotiations well advanced with an un-named global distribution company which would enable Buddy Ohm to expand into more than 100 new markets.
"It's a game changer," he said. It would enable the company to undertake an accelerated global roll-out once the deal was finalised.
"It's not just into telcos, it's into utilities," Mr McLauchlan said.
Buddy Platform last week separately signed a three-year re-seller and distribution agreement with the Canadian arm of technology firm Ingram Micro Inc to distribute Buddy Ohm in Canada. It also has an agreement with Caribbean telco Digicel, which is a re-seller in the Caribbean.
But the new global distribution agreement would step up a roll-out much faster, in readiness for 2018. "I would expect to have this done this year," he said on the likely finalisation date of the deal.
He said corporate customers and building owners installing Buddy Ohm electronic dashboards in foyers and lifts were generally reducing energy bills by between 6 to 8 per cent without doing anything else, because people in the building were becoming more aware of turning off lights and being more energy-conscious.
"That's just people being mindful," he said.
But then other companies who were taking it a step further and becoming more "active" in energy-saving programs and trying to change behaviour were cutting bills by between 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
"It's very, very meaningful savings," he said.
Buddy Platform, which has offices in Seattle in the United States and Adelaide, listed on the ASX in late 2015. The company had some high-profile backers in its early days including Microsoft and venture capital fund AF Square, which was set up by singer Lady Gaga and her former manager Troy Carter.
It also has a product called Parse on Buddy which collects meta data across a wide variety of industries which are increasingly sought after by hedge funds and other financial market traders seeking to gain an edge by analysing foot traffic into retail outlets and other information.
Mr McLauchlan said funds from the placement would also be applied to advancing research and development programs at Buddy Platform.
Companies in Australia were increasingly focused on cutting energy bills as electricity prices rose and the issue was in the public spotlight as bickering continued between political parties, and policy-making changed regularly.
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has been critical of the flip-flopping and inconsistency, as Elon Musk's Tesla heads toward completion of a large storage battery in South Australia. Mr McLauchlan said building owners and companies wanted to take matters into their own hands. While cost-cutting was the main driver of demand, companies were also increasingly wanting to use the system for auditing purposes.
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