Neara

Neara operates as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, providing a physics-based platform that creates 3D, interactive models of critical infrastructure networks. The company was founded in Australia in 2016 by former Google software engineer Daniel Danilatos, who was later joined by co-founders Jack Curtis and Karamvir Singh. The initial concept, known as Power Lines Pro, originated from Danilatos's observation of inefficiencies in power line design software, leading to the development of a web-based CAD tool that evolved into the current Neara platform.

The company's core offering is a "digital twin" technology that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to build virtual replicas of physical infrastructure networks. This allows clients, primarily electric utilities, telecommunications companies, and engineering firms, to run complex simulations and analyses. These simulations can model various scenarios, such as the impact of severe weather events like wildfires, floods, and hurricanes, or test the integration of renewable energy sources. By inputting data like LiDAR and GIS, Neara's platform can automate processing and vectorization to create engineering-grade models that help in identifying risks, optimizing maintenance, and managing vegetation. This enables network operators to make faster, more informed decisions, reducing months or years of analysis down to hours or days. For instance, the platform has helped users identify outage risks 9 times faster, restore power 3 times faster, and in some cases, double existing network capacity without new infrastructure.

Neara's business model is based on subscriptions to its cloud-based platform, which has demonstrated rapid year-over-year revenue growth and high net dollar retention with zero enterprise customer churn reported as of mid-2022. The company has secured significant funding to fuel its global expansion, with a total of $62.2M raised over four rounds. Notable funding includes a Series B round in May 2022 and a $45 million Series C round in October 2024, led by investors such as EQT, Skip Capital, Square Peg Capital, and Prosus Ventures. This capital is being used to accelerate operations in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. The company's impact has been recognized with its inclusion in TIME's 100 Most Influential Companies and Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies for 2024.

Keywords: digital twin technology, infrastructure modeling, utility software, grid resilience, predictive analytics, network simulation, asset management, energy transition, climate tech, vegetation management, wildfire mitigation, power grid analysis, SaaS, LiDAR data, geospatial analytics, network optimization, renewable energy integration, infrastructure risk management, engineering software, proactive network governance