Gadi.ai

INSEAD

Industry: Solar, Energy, AI Software

MBA Founding Student Name(s): Amit Zaidenberg De Castro

Brief Description of Solution: Gadi is a rooftop solar-dedicated AI agent that turns post-installation customer service into a growth engine for solar providers. It automates data consolidation, analysis, and performance forecasting to proactively monitor production, predict issues, and engage users through natural-language automation.

Funding Dollars: $350K non-dilutive funding raised to build the MVP and run early commercial pilots

What led you to launch this venture? Solar is the fastest-growing energy source. Rooftop systems alone will make up nearly half of all new renewable capacity by 2030. But the industry isn’t prepared for the operational burden that comes with that scale: service costs are rising, half of systems end up abandoned, leaving homeowners with zero support. Lost upgrades and referrals push acquisition costs higher while 95% of rooftops remain untapped. This “post-installation crisis” slows growth, frustrates customers, and puts the entire renewable transition at risk.

Our founding team knows this problem firsthand. After building a leading ML-based solar installation marketplace, we saw the same truth everywhere: solar won’t fulfill its promise unless someone fixes everything that happens after the rooftop panels go up. Gadi was created to do exactly that.

My own experience turning support and success functions into my previous startup’s biggest revenue driver helped scale it to unicorn status and made the shift from “support as a cost center” to “support as growth” an opportunity I know intimately.

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? Over the past year, we partnered with six U.S. installers to connect more than 1,000 rooftop systems and build our MVP. Within our first month as an incorporated company, we processed our first online payment and signed eight commercial contracts. That early momentum validated both the depth of the pain point and the willingness to pay for a real solution.

Most importantly, we’re solving real problems for real people, with the potential for global impact – I can look at my son each morning, knowing that I am pushing for a better future.

What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced in creating your company and how did you solve it? Letting go.

AI evolves fast, and building with it feels less like coding a deterministic product and more like leading a team you can influence but never fully control. A startup at this stage is similar – there are too many variables to manage at once. As a lifelong control freak, the hardest challenge is accepting that.

The solution was learning to prioritize speed over perfection and trusting the process, the team, and the technology.

How has your MBA program helped you further this startup venture? INSEAD has helped in almost every way. The academic tools — from finance, accounting, and valuation to the full entrepreneurship track — gave me the foundation to build the company with confidence. The time and space to focus on Gadi, the global network, and the support from faculty and classmates created real momentum. Winning the Patrick Turner Prize was a defining moment. I entered the MBA knowing I wanted to build this company, and INSEAD has been the best launchpad I could have hoped for.

Which MBA class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it?

Customer Insights – Prof. Ziv Carmon: Showed how emotions shape decisions and fuel real impact.

New Business Ventures – Prof. Erdem Dogukan Yilmaz: Provided comprehensive theory and priceless, actionable, personal feedback.

Hands-on Deep Learning – Prof. Florin Ciocan: Helped me bridge AI and business and appreciate the genius of my engineers.

Energy Transition & Climate Finance – Prof. Pierre Hillion: the financial frameworks needed to drive the energy transition — directly supporting Gadi’s mission.

Sustainable Finance – Prof. Lucie Tepla: Opened financing opportunities for mission-driven projects and climate-tech startups.

Startups & the Law – Doug Collom: Provided the legal foundations essential for early-stage company building.

Strategic Communication & Leadership: Reinforced that being an entrepreneur is, first and foremost, being a leader.

What professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Professor Ziv Carmon — “Being an entrepreneur is irrational, but society needs them to move forward.”

His guidance on customer insights and behavioral framing taught me to see the fuel and friction in every decision, and how thoughtful nudges can meaningfully shift behavior. It’s a lens I apply every day at Gadi.

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? Tel Aviv’s startup ecosystem has been a major advantage. The density of AI talent, the pace of iteration, and the cultural instinct to move fast meant we weren’t starting from zero.

I arrived at INSEAD already shaped by an environment that pushes you to build, test, and learn quickly. That foundation made it easier to accelerate Gadi once connected to a more global network.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? I want to make rooftop solar simple and profitable for anyone to adopt.

From there, we aim to connect those rooftops into a unified, intelligent layer that ensures every system performs, pays back, and ultimately contributes to the renewable transition.

Looking back, what is the biggest lesson you wished you’d known before launching and scaling your venture? You’re never ready. Go fast anyway. Momentum is everything.

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