Brisbane-based start-up FloodMapp has just announced the completion of an $8.49 million seed fundraising round, fresh off the back of its integration with Google-owned Waze.
The round was led by New York-based venture capitalist Union Square Ventures (USV) with participation from Mundi Ventures, Climate X and Jelix Ventures.
FloodMapp provides real-time, property-specific flood forecasts, inundation maps and analytics to improve all phases of emergency management.
“I think for us, it really means we have the resources to scale our technology and really scale our impact,” co-founder and CEO Juliette Murphy tells Business News Australia.
“So for us, this means that we're helping more emergency managers, more communities to improve safety and prevent damage from flooding that is getting more severe every day.
“We'll be scaling up our technical engineering team, as well as our go-to-market team here in Australia, but also in the US to expand that capability.”
Co-founded by Juliette Murphy and Ryan Prosser, the technology has the potential to change the lives of millions of people living in flood-prone areas. It is already available across large parts of Australia and continental USA.
“It’s quite a big seed round for us, and we are absolutely honoured to have USV leading this round and have their support and backing,” Murphy says.
“I think, to have one of the most successful venture firms in New York, deciding to invest in Brisbane-based Floodmapp is really a validation of the need for the technology that was built and the market opportunity here for that technology.”
USV is a ‘thesis-driven venture capital firm’ aiming to invest in companies worldwide that are working in the climate mitigation and adaption space.
“The world is facing a climate crisis, and we need the best and brightest thinkers, innovators and inventors from around the world to turn their collective talent to finding solutions,” USV partner Nick Grossman said.
“We’re thrilled to partner with FloodMapp, our very first adaptation-focused investment. FloodMapp has developed a world-first flood modelling technology to predict flooding at a granular, street-level in real-time.
“What excites us most about FloodMapp is the data network effect. By working with emergency managers and communities through partnerships like Waze, FloodMapp is collecting real-time ground observation data to continually validate and improve models.”
The relationship between USV and FloodMapp first dates back to April 2021, when FloodMapp connected with the VC following the launch of USV’s climate fund to explore a potential partnership.
“We felt that their investment thesis and the way that they worked really aligned with what we were trying to achieve,” Murphy says.
Jelix Ventures is an existing investor. The two other participants, Mundi Ventures and Climate X recognise the critical need for real-time flood technology and flood forecasting technology in the space.