Shell Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for oil and gas company Shell, led a $6m series A round for US-based energy analytics software developer Innowatts yesterday.
Iberdrola Ventures-Perseo, the strategic investment arm of Spain-headquartered energy utility Iberdrola, also took part in the round, as did Japan-based venture capital fund Energy and Environment Investment.
Innowatts has built a software platform that uses data generated from more than 12 million smart meters to measure and analyse energy consumption , helping users optimise costs, forecast energy use patterns and create specialised energy products or services.
The funding will support the ongoing commercialisation of Innowatts’ analytics platform as well as the further development of e-Utility, a platform that adapts thee company’s technology for use by energy retailers.
Carl Stjernfeldt, Shell Technology Ventures’ North American venture manager, said: “The Innowatts vision is something that we believe could change the retail energy business.
“Using analytics to disrupt conventional industry practices is something we have seen in other industries, and Innowatts is at the centre of this in the retail energy space.”
Diego Díaz, head of Iberdrola Ventures-Perseo, added: “During the last few years, we have invested heavily in technology and innovation as pillars of our digitisation strategy and Iberdrola’s digital plan for 2020 is aimed at boosting the turnover thanks to an investment of €3.1bn ($3.65bn).
“The investment in Innowatts, through our corporate VC arm, will help us leverage data analytics and machine learning to transform the way energy is bought, sold, managed and consumed.”