Spark

What do they actually do

Spark builds an AI platform that centralizes local permitting, zoning, and public records for energy infrastructure and data center projects. It returns cited, auditable answers about feasibility, restrictions, and required approvals so teams can screen sites and reduce development risk faster (website).

Today, Spark offers workflows such as document diligence across ordinances and filings, bulk parcel screening, extraction of moratoria and community sentiment, and competitive intelligence. It focuses on utility‑scale solar, battery storage, and data‑center permitting, and says it has indexed millions of permitting and zoning documents to power these use cases (website, YC profile).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Utility‑scale solar developers: Rules, zoning codes, and permit records are scattered across thousands of local documents; teams spend weeks checking parcels and still risk missing fatal‑flaw restrictions that kill projects early.
• Battery storage (BESS) developers and operators: Local permitting and interconnection requirements vary widely and change often, creating late‑stage redesigns, pauses, or denials that derail timelines and budgets.
• Data‑center site‑selection teams and hyperscalers: Permitting uncertainty directly reduces time‑to‑power and project value; teams need fast, defensible answers on approvals and community risk to avoid losing deals.
• M&A / acquisition and project finance teams: Deal timelines stretch due to manual document diligence across large project pipelines, increasing the chance of missed regulatory or community risks that affect valuation.
• Permitting / development managers at renewables firms: They are buried in long ordinances, meeting minutes, and local filings and must track moratoria, agendas, and opposition signals continuously to keep schedules on track.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Run tightly scoped, paid pilots with regional solar and BESS developers via warm intros (YC network/EPCs), delivering a one‑project, 4–8 week engagement that surfaces fatal‑flaw risks with a cited report usable immediately (website, YC profile).
• First 50: Add channel partners (permitting consultants, land brokers, mid‑sized EPCs) to resell or white‑label a fixed‑price “site‑screen + moratoria check” package with a one‑page deliverable, using early pilot case studies to prove ROI (website).
• First 100: Blend direct outbound to data‑center real‑estate teams and M&A/finance groups (portfolio diligence bundles) with referral channels and integrations into common developer tools; support with 2–3 public case studies and aggregated metrics to shorten enterprise sales (YC profile).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Permitting delays are a major drag on large energy and data‑center projects; Spark’s YC materials highlight the scale of delays and lost value, underscoring willingness to pay for faster, more reliable diligence (YC profile).

Bottom-up calculation:

Initial US/Canada beachhead: ~350 likely buyer organizations (utility‑scale developers/EPCs, BESS developers/operators, data‑center developers, consultants/financiers) with an average $75k annual contract yields roughly $26M TAM (350 × $75k ≈ $26.3M).

Assumptions:

• Focus on US/Canada for the first phase; excludes Europe/APAC.
• 350 qualified buyers: ~200 renewables developers/EPCs, ~50 storage developers/operators, ~30 data‑center developers/hyperscalers, ~70 consultants/financiers.
• Average ACV ~$75k for multi‑seat workflow access and portfolio screening; does not include per‑project add‑ons.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Pivvot: Site selection and permitting‑risk mapping for energy infrastructure; compiles hundreds of datasets to speed suitability analysis and permitting prep (Pivvot).
• Transect: Environmental due‑diligence and renewable siting platform that surfaces required environmental permits, local regulations, and community sentiment; also targets data‑center siting (Transect, Data center).
• LandGate: Land and energy analytics platform for site selection (including data centers), offering parcel data, power access insights, and siting tools used by developers (LandGate, article).
• Kevala: Grid intelligence and hosting‑capacity analytics used by developers to identify high‑value solar and storage sites with distribution‑grid detail—adjacent to permitting but overlaps in early feasibility (Kevala).
• PermitFlow: Construction permitting workflow software focused on streamlining permit applications with municipalities; relevant for large facilities like data centers as an adjacent alternative to automate permitting steps (site intelligence not primary focus).