Overview

Product Description

QBotix producted a solar panel that tracked the sun throughout the day to produce up to 30% more electricity than one that does not. Solar project developers would install single-axis tracking for most utility-scale sites, balancing upfront costs versus electricity revenues to maximize rates of return.

Quick Stats

2009

Started in

Sep, 2015

Closed in

11-50

Employee (s)

$23,500,000

Total Raised

Why did Qbotix fail?

Follow This Question - 0

Evan Lee

Updated on 15 Aug, 2017

Scaling Problems

Engineering

Customer Acquisition

QBotix was among the first company implement robots in a solar-tracking solution that would maximize output from solar panels. The company's <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/09/22/robot-solar-startup-shut-down/ target=" _blank"=""></a><a href="http://fortune.com/2015/09/22/robot-solar-startup-shut-down/">robots</a> would slide around a thin metal track and tilt a group of solar panels every 40 minutes to track the sun as it moved across the sky.However, QBotix faced scaling and engineering problems, which were both rooted in its customer acquisition/market acceptance issues.QBotix's solution was novel, but these new, riskier technologies were just not being adopted by solar project developers, who were conservative players in a very conservative utility power market. As Greentechmedia <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/QBotix-Robotic-Solar-Tracking-Fails-to-Reach-the-Market target=" _blank"=""></a><a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/QBotix-Robotic-Solar-Tracking-Fails-to-Reach-the-Market">commented</a>, "Market acceptance and adoption did not happen anywhere fast enough to allow this startup to scale." Without an ability to scale, QBotix also was not able to drive down engineering costs to remain competitive.QBotix attempted to pivot away from the low-margin solar tracker hardware to a licensing and software sales model. However, the company had to layoff employees as its cash dwindled during the pivot and never ended up recovering. The company was liquidated in 2015.&nbsp;After QBotix's closure, Greentechmedia identified two main questions that QBotix never found answers for:<ul><li>How does QBotix get this new product deployed in commercial solar fields at scale with conservative engineering, procurement and construction firms as customers -- and even more conservative banks backing the solar projects?</li></ul><ul><li>How does a tiny VC-funded firm back up its product in a fashion that quells the doubts of its staid channel partners?</li></ul>

1 Upvote

Investors - 7

Funding Rounds - 3

Series A - $6,500,000

Series A - $5,000,000

Series B - $12,000,000

Founders

Wasiq Bokhari

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Top Contributors

Evan Lee

QBotix

2009

Started in

Sep, 2015

Closed in

11-50

Employee (s)

$23,500,000

Total Raised

Why did Qbotix fail?

Evan Lee

Updated on 15 Aug, 2017

Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Draper Nexus Ventures

E.ON

Firelake Capital Management

Iberdrola

New Enterprise Associates

next47

Series A - $6,500,000

Draper Nexus Ventures

Firelake Capital Management

New Enterprise Associates

next47

Series A - $5,000,000

Draper Fisher Jurvetson

New Enterprise Associates

Series B - $12,000,000

E.ON

Iberdrola

next47