More strategic investors have joined Applied Ventures, the venture capital fund of Nasdaq-listed electronics company Applied Materials, in backing Enphase Energy, a US-based developer of renewable energy equipment.
The undisclosed strategic investors were part of a second close of a $63m investment round in Enphase led by US-based venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
The second stage closed at $23m, with Applied Ventures part of the first $40m raised in March alongside VCs Bay Partners, Horizon Technology Finance, Bridge Bank, Third Point Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners and Madrone Capital Partners.
Enphase previously said it had raised $22.5m in May last year, $15m in September 2008 and $6.5m in January that year.
Ben Kortlang, partner at Kleiner Perkins, said: "[Through its microinverter product,] Enphase gives every solar [energy] system better performance and reliability, comprehensive intelligence and advanced communications. These elements allow solar to be a cornerstone of the distributed energy economy."
Since its launch in 2008, Enphase has sold more than 300,000 microinverters, which news provider GreenTechMedia.com estimates to be worth $45m at its wholesale price of $150 per unit.
Applied Ventures invests $50m per year and more than half its investments are in clean-tech having been set up to invest $25m per year in 2005.
Last month, New York-listed MEMC Electronic Materials agreed to buy Solaicx from its venture consortium, including Applied Ventures.