GroundMetrics nets $2.73M from investors

GroundMetrics, a San Diego start up that uses electromagnetic technology to help pinpoint oil, gas and mineral deposits, has raised $2.73 million in a second round financing led by new investor Cowboy Technology Angels, an oil industry angel group based in Oklahoma.

Other investors in the round include Tech Coast Angles of Southern California, Crescent Ridge Partners, ACE Fund, Harvard Business School Alumni Association and Peter Landin, a former U.S. executive with Barclays Global Investors.

Spun out of San Diego’s Quasar Federal Systems in 2010, GroundMetrics uses electromagnetic sensor technology first developed for the military to find buried explosives and underground facilities. The sensors provide full-field electromagnetic images of the subsurface, as well as capturing high quality geophysical data.

Last year, GroundMetrics worked on projects with industry leaders such as Saudi Aramco, Statoil, the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission and the CO2 Capture Project, whose members include BP, Chevron, Suncor Energy and Shell.

“Having the Cowboy Technology Angels lead this round was a great endorsement of GroundMetrics,” George Eiskamp, chief executive of the company, in a statement. “Their members are active in the oil industry and some even own and operate oil fields themselves.”

The money will be used for infrastructure, sales and field deployments. In addition, Silicon Valley Bank offered the company loan in conjunction with the equity funding round.

“We’ve been investors for two years now and it’s been truly exciting watching them make game-changing inventions in such a hot growth industry,” said Jonathan Moss of Tech Coast Angels. “It couldn’t be better timing.”