# Nikhil Vadhavkar

> Nikhil Vadhavkar is the co-founder, President, and CEO of Raptor Maps, the leading solar lifecycle management software platform. A Johns Hopkins and MIT-trained engineer, he pivoted from researching spacesuit thermal control systems and drone-based medical supply delivery in Africa to building the operating system for the global solar industry. Under his leadership, Raptor Maps has scaled to managing over 50 GW of solar PV assets across 40+ countries, raised $63.9M in total funding including a $35M Series C in December 2024, and established itself as the system of record for utility-scale solar asset management.

- **Role:** President and CEO at Raptor Maps
- **Organizations:** Raptor Maps, Y Combinator, MIT, Johns Hopkins University, Accenture Federal Services
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, M.S. Engineering Management, Johns Hopkins University, PhD Candidate, Aeronautics and Astronautics (did not complete - left to found Raptor Maps), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- **Known for:** Won MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition in 2015, Y Combinator Summer 2016 graduate, Built Raptor Maps into the leading solar lifecycle management platform with 50+ GW managed across 40+ countries

## Career timeline

- **2007-2011** — Studied biomedical engineering and engineering management at Johns Hopkins University
- **~2011** — Worked at Accenture Federal Services before returning to academia
- **2011-2016** — PhD candidate at MIT's Human Systems Laboratory, Aeronautics and Astronautics department; researched thermal control systems for next-generation spacesuits; worked on Gates Foundation project using drones for emergency medical supply delivery in Gambia and Zambia; worked at NASA Johnson Space Center
- **2015** — Co-founded Raptor Maps; won MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition (originally focused on agricultural drones)
- **2016** — Graduated Y Combinator Summer 2016; left MIT PhD program to pursue Raptor Maps full time
- **2017-2018** — Pivoted Raptor Maps from agriculture to solar after discovering most users were applying the thermal imaging software to solar farms; committed fully to solar in early 2018
- **2018** — Processed data from 1% of world's solar energy; 4 GW of solar data across six continents
- **2019** — Raptor Maps featured in MIT News for solar drone optimization work
- **2024-05** — Participated in SolarPlaza Summit Asset Management North America, speaking on 'O&M Automation: The Rise of Robots' panel
- **2024-12** — Closed $35M Series C led by Maverix Private Equity; total funding reaches $63.9M

## Achievements

- Won MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition in 2015
- Y Combinator Summer 2016 graduate
- Built Raptor Maps into the leading solar lifecycle management platform with 50+ GW managed across 40+ countries
- Deployed software across 200+ million solar panels
- Raised $63.9M in total funding including $35M Series C in December 2024
- Led Gates Foundation grant project on drone-based emergency medical supply delivery in Zambia and Gambia
- Helped customers achieve double-digit gains on solar financial returns
- Developed Raptor Solar Sentry - industry-first software orchestrating solar O&M using people and robotics
- Scaled company to $16.2M annual revenue with 86 employees

## Latest updates

- **2024-12** — Closed $35M Series C led by Maverix Private Equity, with participation from MKB, Blue Bear Capital, Congruent Ventures, Buoyant Ventures, and Y Combinator
- **2024-12** — Launched Raptor Solar Sentry - industry-first software that orchestrates solar O&M work using both humans and robotics
- **2024-05** — Participated as panelist at SolarPlaza Summit Asset Management North America on O&M automation and the rise of robots in solar

## Links

- Website: https://raptormaps.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nvadhavkar/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/raptormaps
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/raptormaps

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/nikhil-vadhavkar
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-11