QBotix seemed like a very promising cleantech startup, so much so that it was able to raise a collective $23.5M in funding. QBotix offered solar panels that were attached and regulated by robots which could track solar light and rotate the panels automatically. The aim was that of reducing systems cost and maximize efficiency and productivity.
QBotix had a useful and innovative product. The two-axis tracker system they came up with was the first of its kind and it was supposed to be an upgrade from the one-axis solar trackers present in the market. What happened, though, was that the technology and the efficiency of their competitors in the single-axis sector improved so rapidly that it made the traditional product more cost-effective and optimized than what QBotix came up with.
Adding to that, investors realized that the market acceptance and adoption of QBotix weren't as fast as they were expecting it to be so funding started to dwindle. QBotix then tried to license the product and provide its software for other companies to use, but the move wasn't successful and they had to lay off their staff and announce the shutdown of their operations.
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