C
Centinel
On a mission to stop climate change by making it easy and profitable for building owners to cut carbon emissions caused by wasted energy
About Centinel
Centinel (formerly Carbon Lighthouse), established in 2010 by Brenden Millstein and Raphael Rosen, operates as a property technology company focused on decarbonizing commercial real estate (CRE). The company was founded with the mission to use market forces to combat climate change. The founders, Millstein and Rosen, have guided the company from its initial projects in California and Oregon, securing support from various social innovation fellowships to grow the business. Based in San Francisco, Centinel targets owners and operators of commercial and industrial buildings across sectors including hospitality, life sciences, and medical facilities.
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The firm's business model is centered on an "Energy-Efficiency-as-a-Service" philosophy. It identifies and implements energy efficiency measures by optimizing existing equipment, thereby avoiding large capital expenditures for its clients. Revenue is generated through a performance-based contract where Centinel shares in the energy cost savings realized by its clients, directly tying its income to the effectiveness of its solutions. The company guarantees energy savings valued between $0.40 and $0.60 per square foot, which enhances the net operating income for building owners. An additional revenue stream comes from the sale of Carbon Offset Credits earned from the emission reductions achieved.
At the core of Centinel's service is its proprietary, patented software platform, CLUES®. This platform is a sophisticated analytics and data acquisition tool that analyzes thousands of data points within a building. By deploying hundreds of sensors and integrating with existing Building Management Systems (BMS), CLUES® creates a detailed operational profile of a building's energy consumption, tracking metrics like electrical flow, temperatures, and equipment schedules. This data allows engineers to develop and implement customized plans that optimize systems such as HVAC, heating, and cooling loops for significant energy and cost reductions. The platform provides ongoing monitoring and optimization to ensure sustained performance, making the process of decarbonization profitable and straightforward for property owners.
At a glance
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2010
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, United States
- Employees
- 28
- Open positions
- None listed
- Dealroom signal
- 85.0/100
- Industry
- Energy
- Sub-industry
- Clean Energy, Waste Solution
- Sector
- Energy, Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate, Asset Management, Solar Energy, Accommodation, Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Tech, Renewable Energy, Hard Tech
- Client focus
- b2b
Latest news
Press, funding announcements and product moves mentioning Centinel.
Funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEED✓Equity / VC | Oct 2021 | — | — | Sand Hill Angels · Ulu Ventures · 4G Capital · Unpopular Ventures | — |
| OtherOther financing | Aug 2020 | $0 | — | Undisclosed | — |
Growth signals
Latest recorded traffic for Centinel is 1.1K monthly website visits, down 21.4% over the last three months. Centinel's team grew 7.7% over the past year.
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Investors
From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.
Seed6 investors entered at this stage
- TFThe Social Entrepreneurs Fund
Elemental Excelerator
Sand Hill AngelsUlu Ventures
4G Capital
Unpopular Ventures
Series B and later5 investors entered at this stage
GRC SinoGreen Fund
JB Straubel
SV Tech Ventures
Ulupono Initiative
CEAS Investments
Other known investors10 additional known investors
Dodge Street Ventures
Enjoy The Work
For Good Ventures
JCI Ventures
Johnson Controls
Radicle Impact
Radicle Impact
StartX
University Growth Fund
Unreasonable Group
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
team presence
Market sentiment
An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about Centinel on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
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