The Awareness Company (TACo), a South African SaaS startup that transforms business data into actionable insights for operations and sustainability, has secured $1.6 million in seed funding. The round included participation from NEXT176, Holocene, Catalyst Fund, E Squared, Aions, and Jozi Angels.
“This funding marks a significant milestone for us as we continue to innovate in the operational sustainability space. With our new investors, our support has grown and there is belief in our vision by people who want to push boundaries. This is just the start,” said Priaash Ramadeen, Co-founder and CEO of The Awareness Company.
The investment will be directed toward strengthening marketing and sales efforts and enhancing the AI capabilities of TACo’s flagship product, HYDRA. The company aims to revolutionize how sustainability challenges are addressed by deriving profound insights from even a single data point, driving measurable impact across people, planet, and profit.
HYDRA, TACo’s AI-powered platform, aggregates data from diverse sources, systems, and sensors, reducing technical costs by 95% while significantly improving decision-making efficiency.
The platform supports businesses in optimizing operations and addressing critical challenges related to energy, water, security, assets, finance, climate, and compliance.
“We are thrilled to be backing the amazing team behind The Awareness Company. As an investor, we are committed to funding innovative solutions that allow businesses and people to make more data-driven decisions that drive scalable impact. HYDRA epitomises this ethos, and we cannot wait to see how this and future products scale across Africa,” said Tramayne Monaghan, Chief Ventures Officer at NEXT176.
Founded in 2018 by engineers turned entrepreneurs, TACo is dedicated to making data accessible and meaningful for businesses.
“We are so excited to support The Awareness Company and their visionary team, whose innovative HYDRA platform is revolutionising how organisations leverage data for meaningful sustainability outcomes,” said Maëlis Carraro, Managing Partner at Catalyst Fund.
Since its inception, the startup has onboarded over 50 B2B customers, established partnerships with the United Nations and Microsoft, and represented South African startups at global events in Paris and Dublin.
Josh Romisher, CEO of Holocene, added: “As the initial investor, we backed a mission-driven, climate-conscious team building software that empowers customers to save money and resources by tracking and reacting to real-time data. This alignment of people, profit, and planet is at the heart of both organisations.”
With this new funding, TACo is poised to scale its solutions and continue driving impactful change across Africa and beyond.
