Germany-based industrial conglomerate Siemens’ corporate venturing unit has backed US smart grid company Tendril, which has allowed the company to raise $25.3m of a planned $30m series D round, according to its latest regulatory filing.
Tendril is backed by US-listed industrial conglomerate General Electric, US venture firms VantagePoint Venture Partners, RRE Ventures, Vista Ventures and Appian Ventures, US pension fund TIAA-CREF and quasi-corporate venturing group Good Energies.
Newswire Reuters said the portfolio company had raised at least $73m from these investors, including $23m in October for its initial close of the D round that allowed Tendril to buy peer GroundedPower for an undisclosed amount. Tendril’s C round closed at $30m in June 2009 and its second round in March 2008 at $12m.
Ralf Schnell, chief executive of Siemens Venture Capital, said: "What makes Tendril’s solution so powerful is that as a cloud-based platform, it enables a new generation of products, applications and devices that address the needs from the meter to the home. Together, Siemens and Tendril provide a better return on energy for all electricity stakeholders."
It is the eighth investment by Siemens Venture Capital in the smart grid sector, and the corporate has invested more than €30m ($43m) into the sector since 2000.
Alongside the undisclosed investment by Siemens Venture Capital, Siemens Energy has partnered with Tendril to deliver one of its smart grid technologies to companies.