Sefaira

Sefaira

Sefaira

American software company

Sefaira is a software company specializing in energy efficient building design.[1] In 2011, Sefaira won the Green Building Innovation of the Year award at London’s Ecobuild.[2][3][4] The company was founded in 2009.[5]

Quick Facts Company type, Industry ...

On February 8, 2016, Trimble Inc. announced the acquisition of Sefaira Ltd. Sefaira will join SketchUp in the Trimble Architecture & Design division, part of Trimble Buildings.[6][7][8][9]

History

Sefaira was founded in 2009 by Peter Krebs and Mads Jensen to provide the building industry with software to design and create buildings.[5]

The founders derived the name Sefaira from the Greek word Sfera or sphere, symbolizing the earth and the company’s holistic approach to building-energy conservation.[buzzword][10]

In 2009, Sefaira won the INSEAD Business Venture Competition, and shortly after Sefaira was incorporated in London, UK, with offices opening in New York, US, shortly thereafter.[5][11]

In 2011, the cloud-based analysis platform was voted the most promising new technology at the London Ecobuild.[12]

In April 2012, the company announced that it had received $10.8 million in Series A funding from Braemar Energy Ventures in partnership with Amsterdam-based Chrysalix SET and UK-based Hermes GPE.,[2][13][14] and in July 2012, the company announced the public launch of the Sefaira web application.[15]

In 2013 and 2014, Sefaira won several awards and accolades, including being listed as part of the Global Cleantech 100 - the top 100 cleantech companies judged.[16]

Products

The company’s primary product is Sefaira, a web-based performance analysis platform specifically built for conceptual design.[17] Sefaira is targeted towards architects, engineers, consultants and building designers. It performs whole-building physics-based analysis of water, carbon and renewable energy potential allowing designers and architects to explore design options.[1][17][18] The software includes support for SketchUp. In 2013, Sefaira released a new plugin for SketchUp that connects energy analysis and daylight to building design.[19] In 2014, Sefaira released a new plugin for Autodesk Revit that connects energy analysis and daylight to building design.[20] In 2015, Sefaira released Sefaira Systems, a product designed for HVAC designers to do system sizing and energy analysis using SketchUp and Revit models.[21] In 2020, Trimble released SketchUp Studio 2020, whose file format can be used by Sefaira.[22]

Awards

  • 2009 – INSEAD Business Venture Competition – Winner[11]
  • 2011 – Green Building Innovation of the Year – Winner[2]
  • 2012 – Going Green - Global Top 200 Private Companies[23]
  • 2013 – Red Herring 2013 Top 100 Global[24]
  • 2013 – Sustainability Leaders Award – 2013 Winner for best Software Innovation[25]
  • 2013 & 2014 – Global Cleantech 100 award[16][26]
  • 2014 – Architizer A+ Awards – Best App – Jury's Winner[27]
  • 2015 – Edison Awards – Bronze – for Energy Management/Conservation Category[28]
  • 2015 – Dutch Green Building Council – Duurzaame Innovation (Sustainability Innovation) Winner[29]
  • 2015 – Sefaira is named in the 2015 Global Cleantech 100 for a third year in a row[30]
  • 2019 – The PBD Performance Based Design approach using Sefaira and SketchUp featured in Design Process chapter of MEEB 13th Edition (Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings)[31]
  • 2020 – Sefaira+SketchUp design wins ICF Magazine Small Residence project of the year award[32]
  • 2022 – Project Stasio: Winter 2022 Challenge-Simple Box Modeling Overall Winner[33]

References

  1. [1]
    Jeff St John (April 11, 2012). "Sefaira Raises $10.8M for Fast Handling of Big Green Building Data". Greentech Enterprise. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  2. [2]
    Clara Byrne (April 10, 2012). "Data-driven, green building design nets Sefaira $10.8 million". vbnews. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  3. [3]
    "Early-stage design tool voted top innovation". The BRE Trust. March 3, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  4. [4]
    Dan Primack (April 10, 2012). "Venture capital deals". CNN Money. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  5. [5]
    Diana Middleton (September 16, 2012). "Using a Fast-Track M.B.A. to Test a New Venture". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  6. [6]
    "Trimble Navigation acquires Sefaira". PR Newswire. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  7. [7]
    "Sefaira is Joining SketchUp and Trimble Buildings". Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  8. [8]
    "Welcome to the family, Sefaira!". Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  9. [9]
    Wanda Lau. "Trimble Acquires Building Performance–Analysis Software Provider Sefaira". ArchitectMagazine.com. THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  10. [10]
    "Energy Efficient Design Software | Green Design | Sefaira". SketchUp. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  11. [11]
    "INSEAD Business Venture Competition - Past Winners". INSEAD. May 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  12. [12]
    "Mads Jensen and Oliver Schneider". The BRE Trust. March 8, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  13. [13]
    "Sefaira Launches Web Application for Early Stage Sustainable and Energy Efficient Building Design". BusinessWire. July 18, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  14. [14]
    Jessica Shankleman (April 11, 2012). "Green design software firm Sefaira celebrates £7m funding round". BusinessGreen. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  15. [15]
    Gareth Platt (April 11, 2012). "Sefaira completes $10.8m Series A funding round". Growing Business. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  16. [16]
    Paddison, Laura (October 10, 2013). "Welcome to the Global Cleantech 100". the Guardian. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  17. [17]
    Jan Michael Hess (May 2012). "Mads Jensen pitches Smart Green Building Software Startup Sefaira". Ecosummit. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  18. [18]
    "Sefaira Concept - collaborative software for sustainable design". Architect News. July 17, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  19. [19]
    Candace Pearson. "Sefaira Plug-In Integrates Energy Analysis Directly into SketchUp". Environmental Building News. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  20. [20]
    "Energy Efficient Design Software | Green Design | Sefaira".
  21. [21]
    "Energy Efficient Design Software | Green Design | Sefaira".
  22. [22]
    "Product Review: Trimble SketchUp Studio 2020". August 25, 2020.
  23. [23]
    AlwaysOn (November 30, 2012), "Announcing the 2012 GoingGreen Global 200 Top Private Companies | AlwaysOn Network". Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  24. [24]
    "2013 Red Herring Global: Top 100 Winners". Red Herring. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  25. [25]
    "Sustainability Leaders Awards 2013". edie newsroom. November 22, 2013.
  26. [26]
    "The 2014 Global Cleantech 100 Companies". Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  27. [27]
    "Architizer A+ Awards - 2014 Winners". Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  28. [28]
    "Edison Awards™ - Honoring the Best in Innovation and Innovators".
  29. [29]
    "Hoe softwarebedrijf Sefaira bijdraagt aan duurzame bouw | Change Inc".
  30. [30]
    "Sefaira is named in the 2015 Global Cleantech 100". Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  31. [31]
    "Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings, 13th Edition | Wiley".
  32. [32]
    "Iowa Nest Residence | ICF Builder Magazine".
  33. [33]
    "2022 Winter Competition Winners – Project Stasio". Retrieved March 6, 2022.
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