LightSail Energy

A method of spraying the air with water droplets was proposed by LightSail to increase the efficiency of compressed air tanks.

The company initially aimed to power an urban scooter. It later shifted its aim to fitting a compressed air-powered generator inside a standard shipping container.{{cite news|last1=Fehrenbacher|first1=Katie|title=In the post-Solyndra era, still some (rare) big bets left for cleantech|url=https://gigaom.com/2012/11/07/in-the-post-solyndra-era-still-some-rare-big-bets-left-for-cleantech/|publisher=GigaOm|date=November 7, 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Holt|first1=David|title=Reaching for the moon|url=http://www.progressmedia.ca/article/2014/10/reaching-moon|publisher=Progress Media|date=October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416184859/http://www.progressmedia.ca/article/2014/10/reaching-moon|archive-date=16 April 2016}}

In 2014, the company received funding from Nova Scotia for a wind turbine project. This project did not come to fruition, costing the province $2M Canadian dollars.{{Cite news|last=Woodbury|first=Richard|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/province-likely-to-lose-2m-in-failed-energy-storage-project-1.4584189|title=Province likely to lose $2M in failed energy-storage project|date=2018-03-20|publisher=CBC News}}{{Cite web|url=http://entrevestor.com/ac/blog/innovacorp-loses-2m-on-lightsail|title=Innovacorp's $2M LightSail Bet Fails|last=Moriera|first=Peter|date=2018-03-16|website=Entrevestor.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-25}}

Starting in 2016, its remaining tanks were repurposed and sold off to the natural gas industry.{{cite news|last1=Bergstein|first1=Brian|title=The Energy Startup Conundrum|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/544611/the-energy-startup-conundrum/|publisher=MIT Technology Review|date=December 22, 2015}}

Investors in LightSail include Khosla Ventures, Peter Thiel, Microsoft founder Bill Gates,{{cite news|last1=Metz|first1=Rachel|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/506926/lightsail-energy-snags-37m-in-funding/|title=LightSail Energy Snags $37M in Funding|date=November 5, 2012|publisher=MIT Technology Review}} Innovacorp, and oil supermajor Total S.A.{{cite news|last1=Wesoff|first1=Eric|url=http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/LightSail-Gets-5.5M-from-Total-Thiel-Khosla-Gates-for-Compressed-Air-En|title=LightSail Gets $5.5M From Total, Thiel, Khosla, Gates for Compressed Air Energy Storage|date=February 18, 2013|publisher=Greentech Media|last2=Trabish|first2=Herman}} In 2012, LightSail D-round founding rose 37.5 millions US$. It reached 55 employees in late 2014.{{cite news|last1=Okyle|first1=Carly|url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/237370#18|title=Top 30 Startups to Watch|date=September 15, 2014|publisher=Entrepreneur}} By February 2016, LightSail had raised about $70 million in venture capital investment.{{cite news|last1=Haislip|first1=Barbara|title=Energy-Storage Startup LightSail Plots Long-Term Game Plan|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/energy-storage-startup-lightsail-plots-long-term-game-plan-1456110323|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|date=February 21, 2016}}

In December 2017, the company ran out of money. It cut the workforce down to 15 as it entered "hibernation".{{Cite web|url=https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lightsail-energy-cheap-compressed-air-storage-hibernation|title=LightSail Energy Enters 'Hibernation' as Quest for Game-Changing Energy Storage Runs Out of Cash|last=Spector|first=Julian|date=2017-12-19|website=www.greentechmedia.com|access-date=2020-02-25}} In March 2018, the company shut down. An investor cited the emergence of more efficient and cost effective Lithium-ion batteries as the reason for LightSail's commercial failure. Media specializing in startups and renewable energy have described the company as mismanaged. {{cite news|last1=Wesoff|first1=Eric|url=https://www.greentechmedia.com/squared/read/lightsail-energy-storage-and-the-failure-of-the-founder-narrative#gs.5dnlLbM|title=LightSail Energy Storage and the Failure of the Founder Narrative|date=May 26, 2016|work=Greentech Media}}{{Cite web |last=Luce |first=Ivan De |date=2020-11-10 |title=These fraudulent founders were once hailed as 'the next Steve Jobs' of their now-disgraced startups |url=https://www.businessofbusiness.com/articles/startup-founders-fraud-theranos-wework-nikola/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=www.businessofbusiness.com |language=en}}

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• [http://www.lightsail.com LightSail website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401232345/http://lightsail.com/ |date=2019-04-01 }}

Category:Privately held companies of the United States

Category:2008 establishments in California