What Folsom Labs does

Folsom Labs, operating commercially as HelioScope, builds cloud-based design, simulation, and sales software for commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects. The core product, HelioScope, is a web-based SaaS platform that lets solar designers and sales teams generate system layouts within minutes, modify designs in real time to maximize ROI, and produce professional customer-facing reports. The platform is structured around the core HelioScope application plus three coordinated modules: Design Solutions (real-time design optimization), Simulation Solutions (workflow accuracy and speed), and Sales Solutions (sales team enablement for C&I deals).

The company serves a single vertical — commercial and industrial solar installers and developers — with a hybrid go-to-market combining self-serve free-trial onboarding (product-led growth) and enterprise field sales (Talk to Sales / Book a Demo) for larger accounts. Revenue is generated via tiered SaaS subscriptions, with specific pricing tiers not publicly disclosed. The customer base disclosed on the product site includes Ameresco, E-on, New Leaf Energy, Nexamp, REC, Standard Solar, Solect, Sigora Solar, Creative Energies Solar, and Aegis Renewable Energy, all in the solar energy industry.

Folsom Labs was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco with 11–50 employees. The company raised approximately $1.65M across three 2014–2015 funding rounds, with co-founder Paul Grana serving as CRO. HelioScope now operates as a subsidiary or operating unit of Aurora Inc., as indicated by the "©2026 HelioScope, an Aurora Inc. Company" footer across the product site, implying strategic integration with the larger Aurora Solar platform for cross-sell and distribution into the broader C&I solar ecosystem.

Name

Folsom Labs

Legal name

HelioScope, an Aurora Inc. Company

Website

https://folsomlabs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Folsom Labs (doing business as HelioScope) builds cloud-based design, simulation, and sales software for commercial and industrial solar installers, and now operates as an Aurora Inc. company serving C&I solar developers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription: Cloud-based software subscription model for commercial solar design and sales, with tiered pricing plans based on usage or team size.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Folsom Labs operates HelioScope, a cloud-based SaaS platform that enables commercial and industrial solar companies to design, simulate, and sell PV projects faster. The software supports real-time design modification, rapid layout generation within minutes, and professional customer-facing reports, with workflows spanning system design, simulation, and sales proposal generation.

Product overview

HelioScope is a unified commercial solar software platform designed for Commercial & Industrial solar projects, comprising four integrated components: the core HelioScope software, plus three specialized modules — Design Solutions (for real-time design optimization), Simulation Solutions (for workflow and accuracy optimization), and Sales Solutions (for sales team enablement). The platform enables users to design, simulate, and sell solar projects faster with professional reporting capabilities. HelioScope is an Aurora Inc. Company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HelioScope Cloud-based commercial solar design and sales software that enables C&I solar companies to design, simulate, and sell PV projects. Provides real-time design modification to maximize ROI, rapid layout generation within minutes, and professional reports for customer-facing presentations. Delivered as a web-based SaaS platform with a self-serve free trial at v2.helioscope.com.

Quantifiable outcome

• Design time reduced several fold
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Enphase Energy: Dominant microinverter and solar energy technology company expanding into software (Enphase Installer Toolkit, energy management). Its software efforts increasingly intersect with commercial-solar design and monitoring workflows, making it a broad incumbent comparable.
• SolarEdge: Power optimizer and inverter manufacturer offering the Designer platform for solar system layout. Like Enphase, a hardware-led incumbent whose design-software offering places it in adjacent competition with HelioScope in the C&I design workflow.
• Aurora Solar: Parent company of Folsom Labs/HelioScope and a leading end-to-end solar design and sales platform. While Aurora serves a broader audience (residential + commercial), its commercial-solar functionality directly overlaps with HelioScope, making it the most consequential comparator.

Direct peers

• OpenSolar: Cloud-based solar design and sales platform with a free tier and paid plans, serving commercial and residential installers. Directly competes with HelioScope on C&I design workflows, layout generation, and sales proposal output.
• GreenLancer: Solar design and engineering services marketplace plus project management tooling for installers. Competes with HelioScope for C&I installer design spend, especially where outsourced permit and interconnection design are bundled.
• Scanifly: Solar design, sales, and project management platform with a focus on aerial-imagery-driven layouts for installers. Targets the same C&I designer persona as HelioScope and competes on speed-to-design and proposal quality.
• PVsyst: Long-established solar simulation and yield-analysis software used by engineers and designers worldwide. Competes with HelioScope's Simulation Solutions on irradiance modeling and energy-yield estimation, particularly for C&I project validation.

Others

• EnergySage: Solar marketplace and lead-generation platform connecting installers with project opportunities. Adjacent rather than direct — competing for the installer's customer-acquisition budget rather than the design seat — but often bundled with or against solar design platforms.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FolsomLabs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Folsom Labs