A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ENERGY EFFICIENCY
- Gooee, the enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) platform designed for the LED lighting sector, announced $8M funding deal with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Link
- Verdigris, a cloud based analytics software for enterprise facilities managers and large commercial buildings, raised $6.66M as per SEC Filing. Link
- Minima Processor, an ultra low power processor technology for IoT, raised $1.79M funding from CFT Capital, VTT Ventures and other private investors. Link
- Boss Controls, a IoT energy management and controls company, received $1.2M debt funding as per SEC filing. Link
- Opinum, a cloud-based energy monitoring software, raised $1.1M funding from Sambrinvest, SRIW Environment and Inventures MyMicroInvest. Link
- Ario, a smart lamp that adjusts light intensity and color to support body rhythm, raised $1.03M as per SEC filing. Link
- Switchee, a smart thermostat for homes, raised $785k Seed funding from Mustard Seed Ventures and investment bank ClearlySo. Link
- Vutiliti, a Fitbit to track utility usage in real-time, secured $600k Pre-Seed funding from Varkain and other investors. Link
- LRI Energy Solutions, an energy servicing contracting firm, received an undisclosed investment from DFW Capital Partners. Link
- SkyCool Systems, a radiative cooling technique to cool buildings using the coldness of outer space, received Seed funding from US DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E). Link
- Leanheat, a building heating monitoring solution, has announced an Undisclosed investment from Danfoss. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
SpinControl Gearing (2016, Helmond, null) – Patented technology that improves efficiency, acceleration, power density and reduces energy costs of worm gears
Hello Energy (2015, Rotterdam, null) – Online building energy management tool for offices and hotels to monitor and manage their energy consumption.
LEADER BOARD – ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Products – Lighting – LED – Material & Component Manufacturers
Bridgelux (2002, Sunnyvale, $219M, Acq.) – LED chip manufacturing company. Backed by El Dorado Ventures, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Craton Equity Partners and Passport Capital. Acquired by China Electronics Corporation in 2015.
Products – Lighting – LED – Finished Products
Lighting Science Group (2004, Melbourne, IPO) – Manufactures different shapes of LED bulbs and invented biologically corrected lighting. Backed by Riverwood Capital and Pegasus Capital. Went public in 2008.
Cree (1987, Durham, IPO) – Manufactures LED components, and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications. Went Public in 1993.
Products – Lighting – OLED – Finished Products
Novaled (2003, Dresden, $35M, Acq.) – Provides organic materials and complementary technologies for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) in display and lighting. Acquired by Samsung in 2013.
Products – Thermal Energy – Insulation
Aerogel (2001, Northborough, IPO) – Provides thermal management and energy conservation insulation solutions. Backed by Mount Royal Ventures, Arcapita Ventures, Lehman Brothers, RockPort Capital Partners, Reservoir Capital Group, Tenaya Capital.
Products – Thermal Energy – HVACR – Heating
Thermondo (2012, Berlin, $32M) – Energy efficient residential heating system provider. Backed by Holtzbrinck Ventures, E.on, IBB, Global Founders Capital, Rocket Internet.
Products – Thermal Energy – HVACR – Cooling
TAS Energy (1999, Houston, $60M) – TAS Energy manufactures energy efficient chilling and cooling systems. Backed by KPCB and Element Partners.
Products – Construction – Pre-Fabricated
View Dynamic Glass (2007, Milpitas, $436M) – Smartglass on which tint level can be modified by the user using smartphone to admit only light and reject glare. Backed by Khosla Ventures, DBL Investors, Sigma Partners, Navitas Capital, The Westly Group.
Energy Management Systems – BEMS
GridPoint (2003, Arlington, $294M, Acq.) – Energy management systems using big data analytics to monitor and manage energy-consuming assets, such as HVAC and lighting systems. Backed by Goldman Sachs, Skypoint Capital, Advantage Capital Partners, Craton Equity Partners. Acquired by TFC Utilities in 2015.
Distech Controls (1995, Brossard, $37M, Acq.) – Building energy management system that provides integration of HVAC, lighting, access control, CCTV, energy management, and other building systems. Backed by Export Development Canada, Enertech Capital. Acquired by Acuity Brands in 2015.
Energy Management Systems – IEMS
Energy and power solutions (2001, Costa Mesa, $50M, Acq.) – Energy Management System with real-time information collected at the equipment level, across a customer’s entire enterprise. Backed by NGEN, Robeco, Altira Group. Acquired by Ameresco in 2011.
Energy Management Systems – HEMS – AC Management
Nest Labs (2010, Palo Alto, $80M, Acq.) – Provides thermostats for monitoring home energy consumption. Backed by KPCB, Google Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Shasta Ventures. Acquired by Google in 2014.
Tado (2011, Munich, $57M) – Smart AC management devices for homes. Backed by Target Partners, Shortcut Ventures, BayBG,
Siemens.
Energy Management Systems – HVAC Management
Optimum Energy (2005, Seattle, $33M) – Provides data-driven cooling and heating optimization solutions for enterprise facilities.Backed by Columbia Pacific Advisors.
Energy Management Systems – Lighting Control Systems – BLCS
Enlighted (2009, Sunnyvale, $83M) – Provides network platform with wireless sensor to collect and analyze data to intelligently adapt the lighting level. Backed by Intel Capital, KPCB, RockPort Capital Partners.
Sensity Systems (2010, Sunnyvale, $74M, Acq.) – Offers a high-speed, sensor-based, open networking platform to connect lighting systems for improving the experience. Backed by Mohr Davidow Ventures, Cisco Investments, Acuity Brands and Simon Venture Group. Acquired by Verizon in Sep, 2016.
Energy Management Systems – Lighting Control Systems – SLCS
Petra Systems (2006, South Plainfield, $40M) – Advanced street lighting solutions based on solar power and wireless networking capabilities. Backed by ES Ventures, Element Partners, OnPoint Technologies, Arsenal Venture Partners and Craton Equity Partners.
Energy Management Systems – Power Management Systems
SynapSense (2006, Folsom, $46M, Acq.) – Wireless cooling and data center asset monitoring solution. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Crosslink Capital, Frontier Venture Capital, Aeris Capital, Nth Power, Robert Bosch Venture Capital and American River Ventures. Acquired by Panduit in 2014.
Data Analytics – Energy Data Management
Opower (2007, Arlington, $65.5M, Acq.) – Cloud-based software comprising energy reports and demand response programs. Backed by New Cycle Capital, Accel Partners and KPCB. Acquired by Oracle Corporation in May 2015.
FirstFuel (2011, Lexington, $44M) – Offers building wide energy analytics that helps in managing energy consumption. Backed by Battery Ventures, Nth Power and RockPort Capital Partners.
Data Analytics – Meter Monitoring
Bidgely (2010, Sunnyvale, $25M) – Home energy management up to appliance level without using any plug-level monitors. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Plug and Play Tech Center, E.on, RWE Global and Constellation Technology Ventures.
Sense (2013, Cambridge, $18M) – Device to monitor appliances and track energy usages using electronic signatures. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Capricorn, Bolt, Shell Global, Prelude Ventures and Energy Impact Partners.
Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
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