Pylon, infrastructure management platform transforming electricity and water companies in emerging markets, raised $19m in a Seed funding round.  

The seed round began with initial funding from Y Combinator and was led by Endure Capital, with participation from Cathexis Ventures, Khawarizmi Ventures, Loftyinc Ventures, and various high profile angel investors. 

The startup will use the fund to accelerate their growth via expansion into other emerging markets such as: South-East Asia, Africa, Latin America and advance engineering and product development.

The startup is already working with multiple companies across two continents who have deployed more than one million end points of Pylon’s smart grid technology, across 15 distribution companies. Pylon’s goal is to increase its smart metering points to three million by 2023, which would represent 4x year-on-year growth.

“Our plug-and-play solution and flexible pricing models give utilities the full benefit of smart grids just by signing with us – increasing their aggregate revenue by up to 40%. With a $22 billion market opportunity, we provide a compelling model for investors who seek a fast-growing, profitable company, which, most importantly, has a significant impact on preserving our planet. Pylon’s ultimate goal is to benefit humanity, our clients, and our stakeholders,” Ahmed Ashour, Co-founder, and CEO of Pylon, said.  

Pylon’s platform uses data and artificial intelligence to improve revenue collection, reduce losses and achieve a more efficient environmental footprint. 

“We are excited to support the strong team at Pylon, who are building a unique software-centric solution to support more sustainable and smart infrastructure for utilities companies in emerging markets. As one of the highest-ever valuations for a seed-stage company in the Middle East & Africa, and we are delighted to be at the forefront of positive change in the region,” Tarek Fahim, GP and founder of Endure Capital, stated.