Kiwigrid, the Germany-based developer of an internet-of-things (IoT) platform for the energy market, has secured a double-digit million euro sum (€10m = $11m) from investors including corporates LG Electronics and Innogy.
Energy utility Innogy and consumer electronics manufacturer LG Electronics were joined by family office Aqton, which led the round.
Innogy purchased the shares from its corporate venturing subsidiary, Innogy Venture Capital, while public-private venture capital partnership High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF) also exited in the round. Kiwigrid is seeking up to two additional strategic backers.
Kiwigrid has built an energy IoT industrial platform that enables users to manage decentralised energy producers and remote storage, charging and measuring systems. The company’s clients operate in the energy, automotive, telecommunications, electronics and real estate sectors.
The series C funding will support the development and internationalisation of the platform. Kiwigrid will also collaborate with its strategic investors on the development of a smart grid operating system dubbed KiwiOS.
Innogy Venture Capital previously led an equity round of undisclosed size for Kiwigrid in 2013, investing alongside HTGF and Aqton. Kiwigrid has not released additional funding details.
Peter Terium, Innogy’s CEO, said: “Kiwigrid’s intelligent solution is the perfect fit for our customers’ needs. It enables them to control their energy consumption efficiently and save money by selling self-generated electricity from their rooftop photovoltaic systems or by using it to charge their electric vehicles in their own garage.”
Carsten Bether, founder and CEO of Kiwigrid, added: “Innogy and our other partners are leading international companies in their respective segments. Over 123 million customers rely on their products and solutions.
“With these strategic partners, Kiwigrid will be able to establish itself as an industrial company and to contribute to shaping the global transformation of the energy system.”