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Rayton Solar, a Santa Monica-based startup specializing in solar industry manufacturing technology, announced $1 million in funding today as part of an ongoing $2.2 million seed round.
The startup is homegrown in LA, utilizing laser technology from UCLA to create solar panels that require 1/50 to 1/100 less silicon, which can make the products cheaper and more efficient.
Their UCLA connections also bolstered the funding round as Dr. James Rosenzweig and Dr. Mark Goorsky led the round along with Jeffrey Scheinrock of Originate.
The company was founded by CEO Andrew Yakub who previously entered the solar energy industry in 2009 when he founded ReGen America Inc., a solar financing company valued at $15 million.
ReGen was using federal grant money and tax credit to help finance solar installations, but with the grants ending in 2012, and the tax credit ending in 2016, he had to find a new way to keep the business going.
“I found this way of producing solar panels much cheaper," Yakub said. "I decided to use it as a way to keep progressing the industry because if the margins can increase, then the 30% tax credit doesn’t matter."
Rayton Solar will end its seed round this month and use the funds to finance the production of its first certified product. Yakub said they will begin a series A next month in hopes of collecting $5 million for a large scale production facility.
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