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§ Private Profile · 981 Bing St, San Carlos, California 94070, US
Swift Solar is a technology company.
Swift Solar develops high-performance perovskite tandem solar products. The company focuses on next-generation photovoltaic technology, utilizing advanced material science to create solar cells that offer higher efficiencies than conventional silicon-based panels. Their technical approach centers on perovskite compounds, which enable the creation of multi-junction cells capable of converting more of the solar spectrum into electricity.
The company was co-founded by Joel Jean, its CEO, and Tomas Leijtens, its CTO. Dr. Jean is an MIT-trained electrical engineer and an expert in emerging photovoltaic technologies, having led the MIT GridEdge Solar research program. Dr. Leijtens, a leading perovskite scientist, contributed significantly to early perovskite solar cell development and pioneered research into their long-term stability. Their combined expertise underpins the company's foundation.
Swift Solar's solutions are aimed at market segments requiring enhanced solar energy capture. The company's overarching vision is to unlock the full potential of solar energy, expanding its applications and increasing its global impact by delivering more powerful and versatile solar conversion technologies to market.
Swift Solar has raised $35.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Swift Solar has raised $35.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Swift Solar has raised $35.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $27.0M Series A in June 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2024 | $27M Series A | — | Conviction Partners, Founders Fund, Paradigm, Pear VC, Starbloom Ventures, Stellar Capital, Bill Weathersby, Elad GIL, John Collison, Karim Atiyeh, Tony XU | Announced |
| Dec 1, 2020 | $8M Seed | — | Starbloom Ventures | Announced |
Swift Solar has raised $35.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Swift Solar's investors include Conviction Partners, Founders Fund, Paradigm, Pear VC, Starbloom Ventures, Stellar Capital, bill weathersby, Elad Gil, John Collison, Karim Atiyeh, Tony Xu.
Swift Solar is a U.S.-based startup developing perovskite tandem solar cells that combine perovskite and silicon materials to achieve higher efficiency, lower cost, and greater scalability than traditional silicon panels.[1][2][4] The company builds lightweight, flexible, and ultra-efficient solar panels for applications including space exploration, large-scale energy projects, telecommunications infrastructure, defense, and commercial & industrial uses, addressing limitations in current solar technology like efficiency caps and space constraints.[1][3][6] Serving utilities, data centers, critical infrastructure operators, and off-grid sectors, Swift Solar solves key problems in solar adoption: insufficient power density, high costs, and instability of perovskites, with products made in the USA backed by over $60 million in funding and plans for a U.S. factory.[2][6]
Growth momentum is strong, highlighted by a $27 million Series A round in June 2024 (bringing total funding to $44 million at that time), partnerships like the June 2025 collaboration with American Tower for tower deployments, and pilots across multiple sectors as the company scales toward commercial manufacturing.[2][6]
Swift Solar was founded in 2017 as a spinout from Stanford, MIT, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) by leading perovskite scientists, including CEO and co-founder Joel Jean, with expertise from Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, Oxford, and the University of Washington.[2][4][5] The idea emerged from over a decade of research into perovskite photovoltaics, focusing on tandem architectures that stack perovskites or pair them with silicon to capture more of the solar spectrum—top layers for blue/high-energy light and bottom for red/near-infrared—overcoming silicon's efficiency limits.[1][4]
Early traction included joining the U.S. Department of Energy-funded TEAMUP consortium in 2023 for tandem module development and raising initial funds to refine patent-protected materials and manufacturing.[2] Pivotal moments feature technology leadership in all-perovskite tandems, exclusive IP from founding labs, and recent funding to break ground on a U.S. factory within 2-3 years.[1][2]
Swift Solar rides the perovskite solar wave, a next-gen technology poised to surpass silicon's 25-30% efficiency ceiling amid surging global demand for clean energy from AI data centers, electrification, and grid constraints.[4][6] Timing is ideal: post-IRA incentives boost U.S. manufacturing, while DOE/DoD funding and partnerships like TEAMUP accelerate viability.[2][6] Market forces favoring Swift include perovskite's tunable crystal structure for spectrum optimization, falling solar costs, and needs for high-density power in telecom (e.g., American Tower's 42,000 U.S. sites) and off-grid apps.[4][6]
The company influences the ecosystem by pioneering U.S.-based perovskite production, reducing China dependency, and enabling applications like thermochromic windows or space tech, potentially cutting building emissions and expanding solar's 1-2% global energy share.[2][3]
Swift Solar is primed for breakout with factory construction underway, expanding pilots into production-scale deployments by 2026-2027, targeting $60M+ funding milestones and revenue from telecom/defense contracts.[2][6] Trends like AI-driven power demand, policy support for domestic solar, and tandem efficiency gains will propel growth, potentially capturing share in a $200B+ market. Influence may evolve from innovator to scale leader, powering distributed grids and exports, ultimately unlocking solar's "full potential" as stated in their mission—transforming energy access and climate impact.[1][7]