Belfast software firm StormHarvester receives £8.4m investment to expand

The market-leading company, which developed an automated water management software platform that helps wastewater utilities to tackle flooding and pollution, has experienced significant growth following the launch of its first-of-a-kind Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform in 2019.

The revolutionary solution uses machine learning and rainfall forecasting to help wastewater utilities prevent avoidable flooding and pollution using a prediction and anomaly detection approach, which is now being used by 75% of wastewater utilities in the UK.

The funding will facilitate the expansion of the company’s product range, as well as its sales and marketing capabilities, and will accelerate growth into new markets including Australasia and North America, whilst also strengthening its presence in the UK.

Speaking about the investment, StormHarvester CEO, Brian Moloney, said, “This significant investment represents a transformative step in our company’s journey, fuelling our expansion and creating exciting opportunities for Northern Ireland's job market.

“We’re thrilled to announce new positions spanning sales and marketing roles to drive our global reach, alongside cutting-edge technical roles that will shape the future of our smart technology as we advance our innovative product roadmap.”

The investment comprises funding from both YFM Equity Partners and Emerald Technology Ventures.

Leeds based YFM Equity Partners (YFM), which has offices across Great Britain, are specialist, independently owned, private equity investors and help UK small businesses scale up and grow faster.

Emerald is a globally recognised venture capital firm, founded in 2000, investing in start-ups that tackle challenges in climate change and sustainability.

YFM Partner, Mike Clarke, said, “Having been the first to market in the UK, the StormHarvester team has carved out a market-leading position, expanding to meet ever-growing demand from the utilities sector. The company is now focused on international expansion, and we are excited to be supporting its scale-up journey.

“More importantly, we are immensely proud to be associated with a company that is making a tangible difference in reducing pollution and flooding. By enabling utilities to proactively manage their networks, StormHarvester’s technology is setting a new standard in environmental stewardship and sustainability.”

StormHarvester was initially founded in 2017 by Brian Moloney, an experienced civil engineer, who had a strong desire to improve wastewater network performance, and who was frustrated with the lack of innovation in both the design and operation of networks.

He could see a significant opportunity to improve performance using a more data-centric approach, and the company’s initial work centred on understanding the relationship between rainfall and draining networks. Once this was understood, the focus then turned to predicting future network performance using rainfall datasets.

Following the launch of the innovative platform, StormHarvester won its first formal project with Wessex Water in 2019, and since then has seen continuous growth, which places the company in a strong position to expand internationally.

For more information on StormHarvester, visit stormharvester.com