AI-based home energy assistant Verv raises £1.23m on Crowdcube

Verv, an AI-based home energy assistant, has raised £1,234,500 in exchange for 4.72% equity on Crowdcube.

With an aim of “handing control over energy bills back to the consumer”, the start-up had an initial target of £500,000 with the campaign eventually over-funding by 246%.

A brand under machine learning business Green Running Ltd, Verv was launched in 2015 by Peter Davies – who wants to disrupt the energy industry by helping inform households of the deterioration of their electrical products as well as energy usage.

Via its mobile app, Verv supplies users with real-time updates on energy usage, broken down by individual appliance, so consumers can understand how they are billed as well as providing detail about where the fault lies in broken machinery.

In addition, the smart product can also analyse the energy efficiency of each appliance and suggest more eco-friendly options, allowing consumers to make informed decisions about their energy use.

The start-up use the fresh investment to scale up manufacturing of its smart home product and further develop its blockchain-based peer-to-peer energy trading solution Verv 2.0 – which will allow consumers who have renewable energy supplies to sell surplus power directly to their neighbours who may not have renewable tech.

Peter Davies, CEO and founder at Verv said:

“We entered into crowdfunding as we wanted a percentage of the company to be genuinely owned by the consumer. To receive this level of investment from the public is an incredible endorsement for all of the hard work the Verv team has done so far and we’re excited to have brought on board an incredible 1217 crowd investors join us on our journey.

“We’re on a mission to make homes smarter and more efficient by tackling energy at its core and it’s great to see that so many people share our vision. With this investment, we look forward to launching Verv and to moving forward with Verv 2.0.”