There has been a general shift in focus of oil and gas corporate venturers since GCV began tracking them in 2014. That shift continued through 2020 as well. Most of the disclosed investments by oil and gas corporate investors over the past decade have been going into non-core areas, such as cleantech, IT, mobility and transport technologies.
It would be an understatement to say that 2020 was an eventful year for the oil and gas industry. The outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders around the globe put pressure on demand and supply, causing oil prices to fluctuate between $20 and $30 a barrel in Q1. While the US Federal Reserve and other central banks largely managed to ease liquidity pains in public equity and debt markets but the recovery for oil prices was slower and more painful throughout the year.
The prices of futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate made headlines by entering negative territory in April 2020, admittedly due to a technicality related to the physical delivery settlement of those contracts. Normally traders can offload and roll the contracts for the following month, but with oil demand drastically falling and supply far exceeding demand, they were forced to pay to unwind their positions when storage capacity was scarce.
The other major type of oil future contracts (Brent crude) did not suffer from these vagaries, as they are physically rather than cash-settled, and finished at $25.57 per barrel at the time.
By early 2021, oil prices have already broken above the $50 mark and some investment banks like Goldman Sachs expect it to reach $65 by the end of the year. This suggests a positive forward outlook, considering that breakeven prices for most oil companies stand between $40 and
$50 a barrel or higher.
In the venturing space, however, oil and gas majors and their peers did not stand still despite the headwinds.
Investments in core oil and gas tech will continue to form part of their investment theses, as the oil and gas business is capital intensive, riddled with uncertainties and sensitive to commodity prices. Reducing capital expenditures in times when oil prices go down and margins get tighter remains crucial. The corporate venturing subsidiaries of oil and gas companies generally look to bring strategic rather than financial value through their investments – whether this is finding new suppliers, building an ecosystem, helping specific existing business units or even establishing new ones.
Today, oil and gas corporate venturers tend to make more investments in low-carbon energy technologies, mobility and transport as well as in digitisation of industrial activities. At the same time, they are somewhat ring-fencing bets in core upstream and downstream innovations. Considering technological breakthroughs and the favourable political climate for renewables, this trend is likely to persist in the future, as such technologies (along with electric mobility and transport) have the potential to shake and disrupt the industry for good.
The average size of deals in which oil and gas corporate venturers participated throughout 2020 was $40.52m, roughly similar to estimated figures for the past four years. This does not suggest any substantial surges in the valuations of companies in which this group invests.
Throughout 2020, we tracked a total of 90 deals by the broader peer group of oil and gas corporates and industrials that were worth an estimated $2.39bn. This is similar to the levels registered in 2019 – $2.48bn of total estimated capital over 87 deals, noteworthy, bearing in mind 2020’s headwinds.
The total number of corporate-backed deals in emerging energy businesses as a whole (117) also increased 5% from 111 in 2019. Considering the economic impact of the pandemic-induced downturn, the overall situation is not as bad as one may have expected it to be.
Nearly every oil and gas major is involved in low carbon and the advanced mobility opportunities. Norway-based Equinor has two different active venturing units – one for low carbon and cleantech investments, Equinor Energy Ventures (previously Statoil Ventures) and one in oil and gas Equinor Technology Ventures (formerly Statoil Technology Invest). Recently, Saudi Aramco has followed in its footsteps with the launch of Prosperity 7 Ventures.
The sector in charts
UK-based BP has invested in a significant number of rounds in cleantech and transport companies since 2014, along with investments in core operation technologies. France-based Total has bet heavily on cleantech, transport and IT, while Anglo-Dutch company Shell has been focused on both cleantech and core oil and gas technologies.
US-based Chevron has publicly disclosed commitments revolving around core energy operations, the digital dimension of its operation and recently cleantech as well. Saudi Arabia-based Saudi Aramco has historically focused its minority stake investment on core technologies, IT, automation and increasingly cleantech.
Oil and gas companies among the top corporate venture investors in the industrial and energy sectors for 2020 were Chevron, Shell and Saudi Aramco.
Deals
First quarter
Diversified holding company Exor paid $200m for an 8.87% stake in Via Transportation, a US-based mobility services and software provider backed by carmaker Daimler and media group Hearst.
The investment came as part of a larger series E round of undisclosed size also featuring Shell, property manager Mori Building and Hearst Ventures, Hearst’s corporate venturing arm. New investor Macquarie Capital and existing backers Pitango, 83North, Ervington Investments, Planven Ventures, Broadscale Group and RiverPark Ventures filled out the round.
Via provides a range of on-demand or pre-scheduled urban mobility services covering ordinary urban and rural transport to specialised services across more than 20 countries. Its algorithm optimises transport for maximum efficiency and can be incorporated into existing transport management systems.
Germany-based contractor services procurement marketplace Scoutbee closed a $60m series B round featuring Next47, a corporate venturing vehicle for industrial equipment and appliance producer Siemens. The round was led by VC firm Atomico, with participation from its peers Lakestar, Toba Capital, 42Cap and Holtzbrinck Ventures. Founded in 2015, Scoutbee runs an artificial intelligence (AI)-equipped software platform for enterprise clients to source pricing quotes for procurement services offered by a range of third-party suppliers. The company’s clients include automotive brand Audi, aerospace technology producer Airbus and industrial technology and appliance producer Robert Bosch.
Inpria, a US-based semiconductor manufacturing technology spinout of Oregon State University received $31m in a series C round led by petrochemical materials provider JSR Corporation. Memory semiconductor provider SK Hynix also took part. TSMC Partners, Intel Capital, Aliad, Applied Ventures and Samsung Venture Investment, vehicles for chipmakers TSMC and Intel, industrial gases supplier Air Liquide, semiconductor manufacturing technology provider Applied Materials and electronics producer Samsung, contributed as well.
Founded in 2007, Inpria produces a range of metal oxide photoresists – light-sensitive materials – for extreme ultraviolet lithography, a semiconductor manufacturing process that relies on a narrow wavelength of ultraviolet light to form patterns on photoresists at a high resolution.
US-based internet-of-things (IoT) software developer FogHorn completed a $25m series C round led by industrial conglomerate LS Corp. Dell Technologies Capital, Intel Capital, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, GE Ventures and Robert Bosch Venture Capital also invested, on behalf of computer producer Dell, Intel, Saudi Aramco, industrial appliance maker Honeywell and industrial technology manufacturers General Electric (GE) and Bosch.
The round was filled out by technology investment firm March Capital Partners and venture capital firm Forte Ventures and Darling Ventures, increasing FogHorn’s funding to $72.5m since it was founded in 2014.
Foghorn has created an edge computing software platform designed for use in AI and machine learning (ML) applications in the industrial and commercial sphere. It said it increased its annual licences tenfold year-on-year in 2019 and is prioritising growth in East Asia.
Finland-based in-mould structural electronics producer TactoTek completed a €23m ($25.3m) series C round featuring diversified conglomerate Cornes, materials product maker 3M and oil and gas supplier Repsol. VC fund Nordic Option and investment firm Valeado co-led the round while 3M and Repsol invested through subsidiaries 3M Ventures and Repsol Energy Ventures.
TactoTek develops, produces and licenses injection moulded structural electronics: thin, lightweight 3D technology that allows electronics to be placed in areas where it would not otherwise be feasible. The funding will support the company’s expansion into specific applications for the industrial, automotive and IoT sectors.
Carbon Clean Solutions (CCSL), a UK-based low-cost CO2 capture and separation technology, raised $16m in from three global investors – corporate venturing unit Chevron Technology Ventures, Japan-based trading conglomerate Marubeni Corporation and private equity firm Wave Equity Partners.
Barbara Burger, president of oil major Chevron’s corporate venturing (CVC) unit, said: “We invest in breakthrough technologies that both lower emissions in oil and gas and are integral to low carbon value chains. Our investment in Carbon Clean Solutions aims to help commercialise and scale carbon capture utilisation and storage technologies, a key part of delivering on our commitment.”
IN Venture, the Israel-focused investment arm of conglomerate Sumitomo, co-led a $10m first close of Israel-based mobile analytics technology developer Anagog’s series C round. The tranche was co-led by VC firm MizMaa and included tyre producer Continental. Anagog raised $1.5m from Skoda in July 2018 and an undisclosed sum from fellow carmaker Porsche earlier, having secured $10m in series B financing from investors including MizMaa and automotive manufacturer Daimler in March the same year. Launched in 2010, Anagog has developed JedAI which it claims can help companies provide highly personalised, contextual services and experiences to their customers by interpreting smartphone sensor data into insights.
Pando, an India-based developer of supply-chain management software, raised $9m in funding from investors including Siemens’ Next47 unit.
Chiratae Ventures led the round, which also featured fellow VC firm Blume Ventures and angel investors Ramkumar Narayan, Alok Mittal and Saikiran Krishnamurthy. It followed a $2m seed round led by Nexus Venture Partners and backed by angel investors in 2018.
Founded in 2015, Pando has developed an open-market digital delivery management platform, which allows large, distributed businesses to take control of their supply-chain and transforms logistics system into an opportunity for customer acquisition, retention and value.
Japan-based nucleic acid drug developer Luxana secured ¥650m ($5.9m) in a series A round led by Osaka University Venture Capital that included Summit Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical services subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, as well as chemicals producer Nissan Chemical Industries, Mizuho Capital and Senshu Ikeda Capital, subsidiaries of financial services firms Mizuho Bank and Senshu Ikeda Bank. Luxana had received approximately $1.2m in debt financing from Japan Finance Corporation over September and November 2019.
BP Ventures, the venturing unit of oil major BP, invested $3.6m in China-based energy management specialist R&B Technologies. The round was the oil company’s first venture into AI technology in China. R&B Technologies has developed energy management systems designed to predict, control and improve a building’s energy use, supporting BP Alternative Energy’s focus on low-carbon power, storage, digital energy value chain and Energy as a Service offers.
US-based on-demand car care service provider Get Spiffy closed a strategic investment of undisclosed size by Shell Ventures, the venturing unit of Shell. Founded in 2014, Spiffy offers on-demand automotive services for fleets, office parks, and residential customers in 20 cities in the US. The company’s technicians operate out of fully-equipped vans to provide on-site services, such as car detailing, oil changes and tyre installations. Used water, oil and tyres are captured and recycled as a part of the company’s eco-conscious approach to vehicle maintenance.
Energy utility Engie provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Spain-based hydrogen production system developer H2Site through its Engie New Ventures subsidiary. H2Site has also entered into a research cooperation partnership with the corporate’s Engie Lab Crigen subsidiary. Founded in 2019, H2Site has developed a platform which aims to address the issue of decentralised production, transport and storage of hydrogen with a compact and cost effective on-site solution. The platform is based on a one-step industrial process combining membranes in a reactor.
Canada-based pipeline inspection technology developer Ingu Solutions raised growth capital from Energy Innovation Capital and Chevron Technology Ventures. The funding round will enable Ingu to enlarge its team, scale its data collection platform and analysis and expand its global presence. Founded in 2018, Ingu has developed a pipeline screening tool, dubbed Pipers technology, which detects leaks, geometric defects, magnetic anomalies and deposits. The company’s self-service business model reduces inspection costs while strengthening preventive maintenance. It enables integrity assessment in unpiggable pipelines, while disrupting alternatives costing an order of magnitude more in other pipelines.
Shell invested an undisclosed amount in Germany-based on-demand freight transport service InstaFreight through Shell Ventures. InstaFreight had received $9.5m in series A funding from an undisclosed investment firm in 2017 and will use the latest funding to improve its technology and expand its services to more customers across Europe. Founded in 2016, InstaFreight is a B2B digital forwarding company which operates as a one-stop shop for road freight. It targets commercial customers and offers them a click-and-buy experience with instant pricing and allow for a fast and convenient booking experience online.
Shell added an undisclosed amount to the $20m UK-based transport ticketing platform developer Masabi raised from Smedvig Capital, MMC Ventures and unnamed existing investors in April 2019. Founded in 2001, Masabi has developed a mobile ticketing and fare collection platform called JustRide which enables passengers to pay for travel by tapping a contactless bank card, smartphone or smartcard instead of a physical ticket. The cloud-based platform also includes tools that allow transport providers to audit ticket sales, access usage reports and manage customer service requests.
Samsung Ventures Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of consumer electronics producer Samsung, led a series B round of undisclosed size for Switzerland-based neural network developer Nnaisense. The round also included glass ceramics manufacturer Schott and Repsol Energy Ventures. It came after an undisclosed amount of series A funding from VC firm Alma Mundi Ventures in 2017. Launched in 2014, Nnaisense develops AI technology aiming to build large-scale neural network solutions for superhuman perception and intelligent automation, with the ultimate goal of marketing general-purpose AIs. The company has partnered major players in diverse industries including steel production, finance, mobile devices, and autonomous vehicles in an effort to validate its proprietary technology.
Qarnot, the France-based developer of a computer storage system that also works as a room heater, raised $6.5m from investors including retail group Groupe Casino and Engie Rassembleur d’Énergies, the social impact fund owned by energy utility Engie. The corporates joined Banque des Territoires, Caisse des Dépôts and A/O PropTech, and the round followed $2.7m in seed capital from Colony Data4 and Avolta Partners in 2016. Qarnot claims to heat buildings for free with computers, as it has designed its Q.rad, the first computing heater embedding microprocessors as a heat source.
Financial services firm Citi topped up its investment in Komgo, a Switzerland-based operator of a blockchain-powered trade finance platform. Komgo launched in September 2018 with an undisclosed amount of capital from founding investors including Citi and fellow banks Société Générale, ING, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Macquarie, MUFG Bank, Natixis and Rabobank in addition to Shell, product tester SGS and commodity traders Mercuria, Koch Supply & Trading and Gunvor. Komgo has built an Open Commodity Trade Finance platform, which uses blockchain to provide ways for traders to optimise their working capital via financing instruments and insurance.
Siemens’ Next47 unit contributed to an $80m series C round for US-based video security technology provider Verkada that valued the company at $1.6bn. The corporate was joined by VC firms Sequoia Capital, Meritech Capital and Felicis Ventures, and the round increased Verkada’s overall funding to $139m. Verkada provides security systems for business customers that consist of on-site cameras and cloud software that allows users to access detailed video of their buildings in real time. They include analytics capabilities and tools that warn users when the hardware is being affected by tampering.
US-based spatial-analysis software developer Worlds spun off from spatial modelling technology startup Hypergiant Sensory Sciences with $10m in series A funding from investors including Hypergiant Sensory’s parent company, Hypergiant Industries, and Chevron Technology Ventures. The round was led by private equity firm Align Capital Partners, which contributed to Hypergiant Sensory’s $5m series A in late 2018, and included venture capital firm Piva. Worlds is developing a technology for extended reality in a physical space. The company claims its technology would be the first of its kind and would use deep learning combined with IoT to create a 4D environment.
Canada-based biofuel developer Forge Hydrocarbons raised an undisclosed amount from Shell Ventures and a follow-on contribution from Valent Low-Carbon Technologies, which will help build a commercial-scale, biofuel production plant in Ontario. Forge has patented Lipid-to-Hydrocarbon technology creates renewable jet fuel, diesel and naphtha from waste fats and oils. Forge’s renewable diesel and jet fuels are supposed to be 90% less carbon-intensive than fossil-based diesel. The company claims they are cheaper to produce than conventional renewable diesel and require no specialised blending infrastructure.
SAEV invested $5m in UK-based commodity trading technology developer Vakt, a company which has reimagined commodity post-trade processing underpinned by blockchain technology. The investment will help the company with further development of the platform and expansion into new markets – particularly into Asia. The Vakt platform manages physical energy transactions from trade entry to final settlement, eliminating reconciliation and paper-based processes. Built using blockchain technology, the platform provides a single source of truth for buyers
and sellers.
We also tracked deals in which corporates from other sectors backed relevant startups plus one exit.
VC fund Drone Fund supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for SkyX, a Canada-based aerial data provider backed by technology conglomerate Kuang-Chi. Founded in 2015, SkyX has developed its Unmanned Aircraft System, a platform for capturing data –from infrastructure inspection to detecting hydrocarbon leaks – with great accuracy and at a reduced cost relative to manned aircraft. According to the company, it is a purpose-built drone for inspecting and monitoring assets like pipelines or hydroelectric transmission lines over long distances.
RigUp, a US-based energy workforce tool provider backed by GE, raised $28.7m in funding from undisclosed investors.
Founded in 2014, RigUp operates a marketplace that enables operators and service providers in the energy sector to source, manage and pay contractors. It has also built a digital marketplace allowing users to onboard and pay vendors. The company also provides an app for managed field services that enables clients to post tasks and receive confirmation from a qualified provider in minutes, compared to the weeks traditionally required by a manual process.
Ambyint, a US-based oil production technology developer backed by General Electric and Norway-based oil and gas producer Equinor, received $15m in series B funding. The round was led by investment firm Cottonwood Venture Partners and included VCfirm Mercury Fund in addition to Ambyint’s management team.
Founded in 2004, Ambyint provides AI-equipped software that automates processes bolstering production from oil and gas wells, specifically through artificial lift, where oil is coaxed to surface by applying additional pressure to underground reservoirs.
Test and measurement technology group Eddyfi/NDT announced its acquisition of undisclosed size of Halfwave, Norway-based developer of ultrasound measurement technology. The acquisition gave exit to existing investors, including Shell Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures. Halfwave has developed a proprietary Acoustic Resonance Technology (ART), an ultrasound-based technique which allows high-precision measurements in imperfect conditions and without the need for liquid couplant. The company is active worldwide in subsea inspection and Pipeline inline inspection . The company has 70 employees and has offices in Oslo and Houston.
Second quarter
Industrial technology and appliance producer Siemens’ Next47 unit led a $100m series C round for flash storage technology provider Vast Data at a $1.2bn valuation. The round included Dell Technologies Capital and Mellanox Capital, which invested on behalf of computing technology provider Dell and networking technology supplier Mellanox Technologies, as well as Goldman Sachs, 83North, Commonfund Capital, Greenfield Partners and Norwest Venture Partners. Founded in 2016, Vast Data has created a scalable all-flash data storage system that is intended to eliminate the traditionally high costs of the technology when compared with the hard drive technology currently in place.
Germany-based robotics training technology producer Wandelbots has raised $30m from investors including Siemens and software provider Microsoft. The round was led by VC firm 83North and, according to reports, included Atlantic Labs, EQT Ventures, Haniel, Paua Ventures and private investor Alexander Rinke, while Siemens and Microsoft participated through their Next47 and M12 subsidiaries. Founded in 2017, Wandelbots has developed a machine learning tool called TracePen, which uses automated programming to enable regular users to teach industrial robots to carry out industry-specific tasks.
UK-based crop provider Tropic Biosciences closed a $28.5m series B round, featuring conglomerates Sumitomo and Tekfen, which invested through Sumitomo Corporation Europe and Tekfen Ventures respectively. Temasek led the round, which included Genoa Ventures, Agronomics, Skyviews Life Science, Pontifax AgTech, Five Seasons Ventures, Emerald Technology Ventures, Bits x Bites and the UK Science & Innovation Seed Fund. Founded in 2016, Tropic Biosciences uses gene editing to provide versions of tropical crops such as bananas or coffee it claims can be grown more efficiently and sustainably, with more resistance to disease. It plans to expand into rice.
Saudi Aramco co-led a $25m funding round for Wahed, a US-based provider of a sharia-compliant robo-advisory platform, through its Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures unit. VC firm Beco Capital co-led the round, which also featured Cue Ball Capital, the Dubai government-backed Dubai Cultiv8 and members of undisclosed Middle Eastern family offices. Wahed has built a robo-advisory service that uses artificial AI to help users in the US, UK and Malaysia make ethical investments that adhere to Islamic law. The capital will be used to open an office in Saudi Arabia that will serve as the base for an expansion into the Middle East and North Africa.
Amply Power, US-based provider of EV charging services, received $13.2m in funding from investors including Siemens. The round was led by investment fund Soros Fund Management, also featuring impact investment fund PeopleFund as well as VC firms Congruent Ventures and Obvious Ventures. Founded in 2018, Amply owns and operates EV charging points that can be used by the operators of transport fleets through a subscription- service. The startup’s customers include energy utility Hawaiian Electric Industries’ Pacific Current subsidiary and transit operators in New York City and California. The capital will help increase headcount as it looks to win more clients.
Power producer Exelon Corporation’s corporate venturing unit, Constellation Technology Ventures, co-led an $11.8m series A round for US-based energy data technology developer Vutility. The round was co-led by cleantech VC platform Cycle Capital Management and included Chevron Technology Ventures as well as University Venture Fund and Kickstart Seed Fund. Founded in 2015 as Vutiliti, the company has built a system called HotDrop that can monitor energy use in real time, combining a wireless energy meter with IoT software that can analyse the results in detail. The company plans to spend the cash on technology development and international growth.
US-based document analysis software provider ThoughtTrace completed a $10m financing round featuring Chevron Technology Ventures. The round was led by VC fund manager McRock Capital and included VC firm Altira Group, which the company described as an existing investor. The capital will be used to increase headcount and improve ThoughtTrace’s AI technology. Founded in 1990, the company has developed a software using AI and machine learning to streamline categorisation, review and analysis of contracts and agreements.
US-based methane-emission monitor developer Kairos Aerospace completed a $9m series C round that included mechanical component manufacturer John Crane. The round was led by OGCI Climate Investments and included Energy Innovation Capital. Kairos previously raised a total of $600,000 in debt financing and $4.1m in equity funding between 2014 and 2016, according to filings. Founded in 2014, the company has developed instruments for the aerospace industry which pull data from the physical world and package them into data products via proprietary algorithms.
BP provided $5m in funding for US-based geospatial analytics software developer Satelytics through BP Ventures. The funds will support the expansion of Satelytics’ technology into the oil and gas industry, as BP seeks to install methane measurement technology at all its fossil fuel processing locations. Formerly known as Blue Water Satellite, the company’s earlier investors include Millstream Angel Fund, Rocket Ventures and angel investor Jeff Twyman.
Founded in 2009, Satelytics has developed a big data tool that enables monitoring of assets on the ground and helps mitigate risks. The tool takes data from any source including satellites, drones, planes or fixed cameras to detect, alert and report on a large number of environmental factors – hydrocarbon leaks, water quality, biological and chemical constituents of land and water, change events as well as vegetation health and population growth, among other.
University of Tokyo’s recently launched AO/I I Fund led a ¥500m ($4.6m) funding round for Onedot, a Japan-based operator of childcare-focused online media platform Babily. Insurance firm Nippon Life also took part in the round, through corporate VC subsidiary Nissay Capital, as did diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, consulting firms Boston Consulting Group and XRoss, Mizuho Bank’s Mizuho Capital unit and Pksha Sparx Algorithm I, a joint venture between algorithm producer Pksha and asset manager Sparx. The company runs a platform featuring education videos with tips for mothers in China and Japan.
US-based enterprise knowledge graph platform Stardog has received $3m in a series B extension featuring Presidio Ventures, the CVC arm of Sumitomo. The round, which now stands at $11.4m, also included Contour Venture Partners and Dcode Capital. Stardog secured an initial $9m tranche in October 2019 led by VC firm Tenfore, with contributions from Grotech Ventures, Boulder Ventures and Core Capital. It had previously collected $9m in series A funding over two tranches in 2017 and 2018 from Tenfore, Grotech, Boulder and Core. Stardog has developed a data platform that combines graph storage and virtualisation capabilities for data integration. Its Enterprise Knowledge Graph platform is employed by companies across sectors including Morgan Stanley, NASA, Schneider Electric and Bayer.
France-based waste-to-energy technology developer Naoden received €1.6m ($1.8m) in a round that included Engie Solutions, the smart energy subsidiary of energy utility Engie, and Bouyer Leroux Development, a vehicle for building materials supplier Bouyer Leroux. They were joined by EIT InnoEnergy, Atlantique Vendee Innovation, La Financiere Guilberteau, Investir&plus, Litto Invest and Pays de la Loire Participation.
Founded in 2015, Naoden designs, manufactures and installs micro-plants combining different energies (gas, electricity and heat) directly on production sites. It claims its technology has the ability to work through the entire biomass waste recovery chain – preparation, transformation and recovery – to meet customers’ requirements.
Sumitomo supplied an undisclosed amount of series A-plus funding for China-based cold-chain logistics services provider Minima Technology through Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia. Minima received an undisclosed amount of funding from logistics centre operator GLP in 2016 and its other investors include storage shelf manufacturer Nanjing Inform Storage Equipment, Innoangel Fund and ZRC Capital. Founded in 2015, Minima Technology provides food distribution services for wholesalers and retailers, servicing primarily restaurants, supermarkets and communities.
Shell Ventures committed an undisclosed amount to Ningbo Marine Fresh Information Technology, a China-based provider of digital services for the fishing industry. The city of Ningbo has an important position in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, as it is adjacent to the Zhejiang Free Trade Pilot Zone. To promote open development of the entire oil and gas industry chain, the Chinese government has attracted international strategic investors in oil products trade and accelerated the transformation of petrochemical and refining. Marine Fresh has been in the fishery space for many years, relying on big data and other IT services to create a smart refuelling model. Shell will help the rapid expansion of the Marine Fresh’s smart refuelling business.
Third quarter
US-based AI technology developer Beyond Limits attracted $133m in series B financing co-led by cloud computing firm Group 42 and petroleum company BP’s corporate venturing arm BP Ventures. The company has received $113m already, with the remaining $20m committed. Beyond Limits has developed cognitive AI technology that combines human-like reasoning with data to solve challenges and offer insights into improving operating conditions and enhancing business performance. The technology is based on research at California Institute of Technology and its federally funded, Nasa-aligned Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
ChargePoint, the US-based operator of an electric vehicle (EV) charging network, raised $127m from investors including Chevron and energy utility American Electric Power. Chevron participated through Chevron Technology Ventures. Formerly known as Coulomb Technologies, ChargePoint offers subscription-based charging services for EVs witrh more than 110,000 charging stations. It will allocate the funding to strengthening its commercial and fleet businesses.
Industrial equipment producer Siemens led a $100m series C round for US-based unmanned aerial vehicle developer Skydio through its Next47 subsidiary. The round also featured NTT Docomo Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobile network operator NTT Docomo. Skydio manufactures drones equipped with autonomous flying software that utilises computer vision and machine learning technology. It will channel the series C funding into product development as it seeks to boost its customer base among enterprises and in the public sector.
US-based employee management software provider Parsable received $60m in series D from investors including Saudi Aramco, networking technology producer Cisco and industrial and consumer technology manufacturer Honeywell. The round was co-led by growth equity firms Activate Capital and Glade Brook Capital Partners. Cisco and Saudi Aramco participated through corporate venturing subsidiaries Cisco Investments and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.
Founded in 2013, Parsable has built a software platform that helps industrial workers receive instructions and provide feedback while mobile. The cash will support expansion in Africa, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Insurance group Ping An’s Global Voyager Fund has led a $60m funding round for Taulia, a US-based provider of software that helps optimise a company’s working capital. The round included Prosperity7 Ventures, a venture capital unit of Saudi Aramco, as well as investment banking firm JP Morgan and existing backers including private equity fund manager Zouk Capital. The company’s chief executive, Cedric Bru, told the Wall Street Journal the round valued it at up to $400m. Taulia combines a technology platform with live experts to help small and medium-sized enterprises make their supply chain more efficient in order to maximise their working capital.
US-based warehouse robotics technology developer Dexterity emerged from stealth with $56.2m in equity and debt financing from investors including Presidio Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sumitomo. The company did not reveal the ratio of equity and debt but said the total included a recently completed series A round. Founded in 2017, Dexterity designs and builds robots tailor-made for specific customers to automate elements of goods picking and packing in warehouses. The robots progressively learn to ‘feel’ specific items, leveraging advanced haptic controls that emulate human coordination, enabling them to execute a wider range of tasks, in collaboration with each other.
Call centre technology developer Observe.AI received $54m in series B funding from investors including Next47 Ventures, the venture capital firm funded by industrial technology manufacturer Siemens. Menlo Ventures led the round, which also featured fellow venture capital firm NGP Capital. Steve Sloane, a partner at Menlo Ventures, will take a seat on the US-based company’s board of directors. Observe provides AI-equipped software that enables businesses to transcribe every phone call to their contact centres and coach their staff to provide better customer service. The funding will support research and development work intended to help the company add real-time coaching, omnichannel support features and improved interaction analytics.
US-based advanced battery technology developer Natron Energy raised $35m in a series D round co-led by ABB Technology Ventures, the Switzerland-headquartered strategic investment arm of power and automation technology producer ABB. Corporate-backed battery technology fund Volta Energy Technologies and venture capital firm NanoDimension Capital co-led the round with ABB. It also featured Chevron and VC firms Khosla Ventures and Prelude Ventures. Founded in 2012 and formerly known as Alveo Energy, Natron is developing a battery storage system that depends on sodium-ion technology, as an alternative to traditional lithium or lead-based materials. The company focuses on batteries for use in infrastructure such as telecommunications, industrial facilities and data centres where sodium-ion is potentially safer because it is less prone to explosions.
GHGSat, a Canada-based developer of greenhouse emissions tracking technology, secured $30m from investors including oilfield services provider Schlumberger for the first close of its series B round. The state-owned Investissement Québec led the first close, which also featured OGCI Climate Investments, Business Development Bank of Canada, Space Angels and Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec. Founded in 2011, GHGSat operates a greenhouse gas monitoring system that uses its own satellites to track emissions from space. The company will channel the funding into construction of three high-resolution satellites in addition to tailoring its sensors for use in aircraft and opening an intelligence centre in the UK as it upgrades its analytics capabilities at home.
Humatics, a US-based microlocation technology, raised $30m in its series B round from a consortium including multiple corporate including conglomerate Sumitomo, defence equipment provider Lockheed Martin and aerospace group Airbus. Venture capital firm Blackhorn Ventures led the round, with participation by investment bank Tenfore Holdings, family office Fontinalis Partners and corporate venturing units Airbus Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures and Sumitomo’s Presidio Ventures. Humatics has developed a microlocation system that uses radio-frequency technology to locate and track multiple targets moving up to 30 metres away with millimetre-scale accuracy. It will use the funding to further develop and commercialise its technology.
Seeq, a US-based analytics software provider for manufacturing and industrial internet of things, closed its series B expansion round from a consortium including multiple corporate venturing units. Cisco Investments was a new investor in Seeq’s about-$30m expansion. Previous series B funding was led by Altira Group and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures. Seeq has developed a software platform that enables customers in the manufacturing and industrial industries, including oil and gas, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, to get data from connected systems and share it quickly and easily.
US-based energy-saving software provider Palmetto has closed a $29m series B round featuring Evergy Ventures and Shell Ventures, which invested on behalf of energy utility Evergy and Shell. Arctern Ventures, Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau, Box Group, Falkon Ventures and Leto Family Office filled out the round. Palmetto provides software systems that help consumers track and understand their energy use, in addition to solar panel, energy storage and EV charging systems. The funding will support geographic growth and the expansion of the company’s customer service, data science and research and development teams.
UK-based carbon dioxide separation technology developer Carbon Clean Solutions (CCSL) closed $22m in series B funding from oil and gas producer Equinor and venture capital firm Icos Capital. Equinor took part in the round through corporate venturing unit Equinor Ventures. Chevron Technology Ventures had joined trading group Marubeni and Wave Equity Partners to supply $16m in series A funding for CCSL in February. CCSL is working on technology intended to facilitate the cost-effective separation of CO2 from emissions at industrial and gas facilities. The funding will go to technology development and increasing headcount at the company.
US-based grid management technology provider SparkMeter completed a $12m series A round featuring Total’s corporate venturing subsidiary, Total Energy Ventures. The round was co-led by venture capital firm Clean Energy Ventures and energy tech-focused fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and included Goodwell Investments, Alitheia Capital and undisclosed additional investors. Founded in 2013, SparkMeter produces connected smart meters and software that help energy utilities in emerging markets maintain a stable service by providing insights into power consumption and cost.
Sumitomo joined Equinor Ventures and Wintershall Dea Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiaries of oil and gas suppliers Equinor and Wintershall Dea, to provide NOK75m ($8.5m) in series B funding for Norway-based petroleum geoscience software producer Earth Science Analytics. The company had received an undisclosed amount of series A funding from SAEV in March 2019. Founded in 2016, Earth Science Analytics has developed a data-driven prediction analytics services for exploration and production oil and gas companies.
BeGas, a Spain-based provider of liquified gas-powered engines, raised €5.2m ($6m) from investors including Repsol Energy Ventures, the corporate VC subsidiary of oil and gas supplier Repsol. The round also featured Ekarpen, Fundación BBK, CDTI, Easo Ventures and Seed Bizkaia. Repsol’s investment reportedly gave it a 19% stake. BeGas received an undisclosed amount from Repsol, Easo Ventures, EIN, Seed Bizkaia and Itzarri EPSV in May 2019. BeGas manufactures 100% EuriVI-D autogas engines with liquid phase injection, approved for use in trucks and city buses.
US-based industrial blockchain network operator Data Gumbo raised an initial $4m in series B round led by venture capital firm L37, with participation from Equinor Ventures and SAEV. Data Gumbo has now raised a total of $14.8m in funding. Data Gumbo raised $6m in series A financing co-led by Equinor and Saudi Aramco in May 2019. Founded in 2016, Data Gumbo has created a trusted transactional network to automate contract execution based on blockchain technology. The network reduces contract leakage, frees up working capital, enables real-time cash and financial management.
Aiforce Solutions, a Japan-based developer of AI-equipped human resources software, received ¥260m ($2.5m) in a series A round featuring diversified conglomerate Sumitomo. The corporate joined financial services firms Mizuho Bank and 77 Bank’s Mizuho Capital and 77 Capital units, Development Bank of Japan’s DBJ Capital fund and investment firm Gordon Brothers Japan, which came in the wake of an undisclosed amount from Sumitomo in July 2019. Aiforce Solutions provides AI-related services including selection of vendors and technical evaluation of potential investments.
Energy utility Engie co-led a $2.25m pre-series A round for India-based last-mile delivery service Frontier Markets Consulting through impact investment vehicle Engie Rassembleurs d’Energies. The round was co-led by Rise Fund and The Singh Family Trusts, and it also featured Teja Ventures and affiliates of Beyond Capital Fund. It followed an investment by Engie in April 2019 and a similarly undisclosed amount from Seedfund in 2011. Rianta Capital and Acumen Fund are also among the company’s backers.
Chevron provided an undisclosed amount of series A funding for US-based nuclear fusion reactor developer Zap Energy through Chevron Technology Ventures. The company secured $1.1m in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing, and will put the funding into expanding its development team and enhancing its technology.
Nuclear fusion releases substantial amounts of energy with no greenhouse gas emissions and limited long-lived radioactive waste. A viable fusion energy approach must confine high-temperature plasmas at sufficient density for long durations. Zap Energy’s technology stabilises plasma using sheared flows rather than magnetic fields to confine and compress the plasma.
Engie New Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle of Engie, invested in Energyworx, a Netherlands-based provider of cloud energy management software, as part of a funding round of undisclosed size. The round included EDP Ventures, a subsidiary of fellow power provider EDP, as well as VC firm Set Ventures. It came after EDP Ventures led a $1.1m series A round for Energyworx in November 2019 that boosted its total funding to $3.8m. Set Ventures was an earlier backer, as was HenQ.
Founded in 2012, Energyworx has developed an energy data management platform which helps energy and utility companies with their digital transformation initiatives and gives them the ability to monetise the rapidly growing volume of smart meter data.
Chevron Technology Ventures admitted two companies to its Catalyst Program, an accelerator initiative it formed in 2017. The companies in question are Norway-based oilfield technology provider Entech Solutions and MiqroTech, the US-based developer of a sensor system that analyses the status of pipelines. EnTech Solutions provides distributed energy technology, delivering clean resilient electricity from an infrastructure that prioritises all available resources. MiqroTech has developed an AI-based solution that predicts and notifies users of pipelines leaks.
Sumitomo invested an undisclosed amount in Israel-based hydrogen production technology developer H2Pro through corporate venturing unit IN Venture. The startup was founded in June 2019 and received $3.5m in seed funding from automotive manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company and Contrarian Ventures in October that year. H2Pro has developed a method for splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike conventional electrolysis, hydrogen and oxygen are generated separately at different phases.
SC Digital Media, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, invested an undisclosed sum in Kiyono, the Japan-based developer of an analysis software platform for customer data. The capital will go to product development, with a particular focus on leveraging assets held by Sumitomo.
NearMe, the Myanmar-based operator of a digital services platform for businesses, has raised a seven-digit dollar amount from diversified conglomerate Sumitomo. The company was launched by digital payment processor 2C2P as 1-Stop and it plans to get support for its retail partners from Sumitomo’s affiliates.
Repsol Impacto Social, an impact investment fund owned by oil and gas supplier Repsol, has paid an undisclosed amount for a 35.3% stake in Saema, the Spain-based operator of a recycling plant. Saema operates in the autonomous region of Cantabria in northern Spain. In addition to recycling, the company also offers waste management services to private companies and green spaces maintenance.
Sumitomo agreed to invest an undisclosed sum in US-based metal additive maker Sintavia through its Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SOCA) subsidiary. Sintavia raised an undisclosed amount from SOCA in 2018 following a $10m investment from private equity firm Neff Capital Management in 2015 and an additional $15m from Neff two years later. Founded in 2012, Sintavia produces metal additives for 3D printing in support of industries like oil and gas, aerospace and defence, automotive, and ground power generation.
GLX Digital, an Australia-based company that has developed the first end-to-end trading software solutions for global commodity markets, announced it had secured a minority investment from Shell Ventures. Additionally, GLX Connect allows Shell’s LNG trading teams to buy and sell LNG cargoes using their own private and confidential digital trading environment, connecting in real-time to more than 75 global energy companies that have already signed up to the GLX Connect platform.
Battery technology developer South 8 Technologies closed a funding round from Shell Ventures and Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (TNSC). The round followed that of Shell’s early-stage GameChanger programme and several federal and state-sponsored grants and contracts that have helped mature the company’s Liquefied Gas Electrolyte (LiGasTM) technology. With the majority of investments in battery research being focused on solid-state electrolytes, South 8 Technologies has developed a patented Liquefied Gas Electrolyte technology which will increase the energy, power, and safety of battery systems while maintaining much of the same manufacturing infrastructure in place for the Li-ion industry.
Fourth quarter
Thai state-owned petroleum producer PTT Group led a $200m series D round for Thailand-based e-commerce logistics provider Flash Express. The round also featured Durbell, a subsidiary of consumer goods conglomerate TCP, Krungsri Finnovate, the venture capital arm of financial services firm Bank of Ayudhya, and unnamed existing backers. PTT invested through its PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company (subsidiary.
Flash Express operates a logistics service on behalf of online merchants that includes door-to-door pickup and delivery, operating out of some 5,000 outlets across Thailand. It intends to partner the corporate investors on introducing new services and expanding into more south-east Asian countries. The company said the round increased its overall funding to roughly $400m.
US-based energy efficiency technology provider Redaptive raised approximately $157m in funding from investors including real estate services group CBRE and energy utilities Engie and Evergy. Investment management firm CarVal Investors led the round, which was also backed by growth equity firm Linse Capital. Engie and Evergy took part through Engie New Ventures and Evergy Ventures respectively. Redaptive provides and installs materials and technology that enable large buildings to make significant energy savings and also offers a maintenance service. The funding will help the company expand its product offering, which includes energy-efficient lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.
US-based virtual event platform developer Bizzabo secured $138m in a series E round featuring industrial technology and appliance producer Siemens’ Next47 unit. Growth equity firm Insight Partners led the round, which included equity investment platform OurCrowd and Viola Growth, the growth capital fund owned by technology investment firm Viola Group. Bizzabo provides software that facilitates virtual, on-person and hybrid events, and has experienced considerable growth in 2020 as more events have gone virtual-only. The series E proceeds will support the company’s development of a product intended to integrate live and virtual conference experiences. It plans to triple the size of its engineering, product and experience teams as it hires 100 new employees over the course of 2021.
US-headquartered industrial cybersecurity technology provider Dragos secured $110m in a series C round co-led by investment vehicles for energy supplier National Grid and chemicals and manufacturing group Koch Industries. National Grid Partners and Koch Disruptive Technologies were joined by industrial system manufacturer Schweitzer Engineering Labs, IT services firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise and SAEVThe round was filled out by existing investors that included AllegisCyber Capital, Canaan, DataTribe and Energy Impact Partners. It increased the company’s overall funding to $158m. Dragos has built an integrated software platform that enables users to get detailed information on the security status of operational technology and industrial control systems to prevent them being hacked, and infrastructure or industrial facilities impacted or disrupted.
China-based intelligent warehouse robot producer Quicktron Intelligent Technology closed a $100m series C-plus round co-led by warehouse equipment provider Kion Group and Saudi Aramco. Aramco co-led the round through its Prosperity7 Ventures fund. The round also included Bocom International, a subsidiary of financial services firm Bank of Communications, securities firm Shenwan Hongyuan Group and venture capital firm China Creation Ventures.
Launched in 2014, Quicktron provides artificial intelligence-driven robots used in the operation of intelligent warehousing systems. Its customers have included e-commerce groups Alibaba and JD as well as logistics services provider Best Logistics. The funding will be used to further develop the company’s technology and products as well as expand its workforce and increase its production capacity.
Cargo.one, the Germany-based operator of an air freight booking platform, received $42m in a series B round that included industrial technology and appliance producer Siemens’ Next47 unit. VC firm Bessemer Venture Partners led the round, which also featured Index Ventures, Creandum and Point Nine Capital. Founded in 2017, Cargo.one runs an online platform that allows users to find and book freight capacity on airlines, offering comparable quotes in real time.
TerraCycle, the US-based operator of recycling service Loop, closed a $25m series A round featuring corporates Nestlé, Sky, Aptar Pharma, Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Engie. Media company Sky took part through its Sky Ocean Ventures vehicle while food and beverage producer Nestlé, consumer goods manufacturer P&G, pharmaceutical packaging provider Aptar and water and waste services firm Engie invested directly. ImpactAssets and Quadia filled out the round. Founded in 2001, TerraCycle runs a service called Loop that allows customers to refill products such as shampoo bottles from online stores. It works with more than 100 brands including P&G in the UK, US and France, and expects to enter Canada, Japan and Australia by the end of 2021.
Amazon and Shell contributed to a $21.4m series A round for US-based clean aeronautic powertrain developer ZeroAvia. The round was co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Ecosystem Integrity Fund and included Horizons Ventures and Summa Equity, while Amazon invested through its Climate Pledge Fund and Shell participated through Shell Ventures. Founded in 2017, ZeroAvia is working on a hydrogen-electric powertrain for aircraft, initially targeting small 10-to-20-seater planes. It has targeted 2023 to begin commercialising its technology, and the series A proceeds will support product development.
Japan-based logistics platform operator OpenLogi raised ¥1.75bn ($16.7m) as part of an ongoing series C round featuring subsidiaries of corporates Sumitomo, Sojitz, Seino Holdings and Shinsei Bank. Sumitomo participated directly while fellow conglomerate Sojitz invested through its Sojitz CVC unit, which is co-run by Pegasus Tech Ventures. Logistics Innovation Fund Investment Limited Partnership and Shinsei Corporate Investment represented logistics firm Seino Holdings and financial services firm Shinsei Bank, respectively. Founded in 2013, OpenLogi has developed a data-infused supply chain technology designed to accelerate the delivery of goods. The service links logistics service providers such as warehouses through its software-as-a-service management tool, called OpenLogi Platform Connect. The company will use the funding to increase its engineering team in a bid to boost its product development pipeline.
GreenCom Networks, a Germany-based provider of energy IoT software, closed a €12m ($14.5m) funding round co-led by Shell Ventures. The round was co-led with venture capital firm Energy & Environment Investment, with additional funding coming from Centrica, fellow energy utility Eon’s Future Energy Ventures platform, Munich Venture Partners and Set Ventures.
Founded in 2011, GreenCom provides an energy information brokerage platform that integrates home energy devices such as solar photovoltaic systems, battery storage units, electric vehicle chargers and heat pumps. Consumers can manage their energy usage through the platform to reduce costs and share energy with other members of their community. GreenCom’s enterprise customers include Centrica, its German peer RheinEnergie and a smart city district in Germany.
Actnano, a US-based developer of protective nanocoating, raised $12m in a series A round featuring petrochemical producer PTT Global Chemical, oil refiner Hellas and industrial and consumer product conglomerate Henkel. The corporates invested through GC Ventures America, Ireon Ventures and Henkel Adhesive Technologies respectively. They joined investment firm Emerald Technology Ventures, which led the round, and venture capital firm Material Impact. Founded in 2012, Actnano is the creator of a resistant coating technology known as Advanced nanoGuard, which has been developed to protect electronics from water and environmental damage.
US-based electric vehicle technology developer Envoy Technologies secured an $11 million aeries A round and a strategic vehicle financing facility to help it scale. The series A was co-led by Shell Ventures and Building Ventures and included vehicle parts manufacturer Denso, Goodyear Ventures – the venturing unit of tyre manufacturer Goodyear – venture firm GroundBreak Ventures and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator Impact Fund. The vehicle financing facility was provided by Macquarie Specialized and Asset Finance, part of Macquarie Group. The capital will enable Envoy to continue expansion throughout the United States. Founded in 2017, Envoy offers onsite mobility services including electric car-sharing and EV charging for apartments, offices, and hotels. The company operates in 14 markets across 10 states in the US.
US-based IT microcontainer technology developer Nubix completed a $2.7m seed round backed by Chevron Technology Ventures. The round was led by Tuscan Management and included Blackhorn Ventures, Engage Ventures, Center Electric, Momenta Ventures, Mentors Fund and Bee Partners. The company said it had raised $4.5m altogether and identified Bee Partners as an existing backer. Founded in 2017, Nubix has developed a container platform that makes it easy to develop and deploy IoT and edge applications. The platforms enables developers to easily process data off sensor devices.
US-based carbon reduction technology startup Brimstone Energy joined the Catalyst Program run by Chevron Technology Ventures, oil and gas supplier Chevron’s corporate venturing arm, last month. CTV’s Catalyst Program functions as an accelerator for early-stage energy technology developers. Founded in 2019, Brimstone Energy is a hardware cleantech startup based in Berkeley, California which strives to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions with its solutions.
UK-based fuel management software developer i6 Group raised a series A funding rounds of undisclosed size, which featured a host of corporates investors. The investment syndicate included airline operators International Airlines Group, JetBlue (via its CVCunit JetBlue Technology Ventures) as well as Shell Ventures, among other investors. Founded in 2013, i6 has developed a platform that connects stakeholders across stages of aircraft refuelling to enhance operational efficiencies via data optimisation and connectivity. The technology has potential applications also in logistics, retail and the military space, as it improves fuelling management accuracy.
Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Total, joined Ascent Hydrogen Fund, Hydrogen Capital Partners and Audacy Ventures to provide an undisclosed amount for Hyzon Motors, a US-based producer of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. Hyzon was spun off by Singapore-headquartered Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies and has manufacturing resources located in North America, Europe and Asia. Founded in 2019, the company develops hydrogen fuel-cell powered commercial vehicles.
Genomedia, the Japan-based provider of a medical information system, received an undisclosed amount from Sumitomo, nursing care service provider Ship Healthcare Holdings and Aflac Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of insurance firm Aflac. The company’s technology searches for genetic abnormalities that could
cause cancer.
Sumitomo joined KDDI Open Innovation Fund III, an investment vehicle for telecoms firm KDDI, to provide an undisclosed amount for Japan-based artist collaboration platform developer ArtSticker.
KDDI invested through a strategic partnership agreement and the round came after printing services firm Toppan invested an undisclosed sum in ArtSticker’s parent company, The Chain Museum, in January 2020.
Exits
Third quarter
Wind turbine equipment maker PolyTech acquired Fos4X, a Germany-based developer of wind farm optimisation technology, for an undisclosed sum, allowing Equinor to exit.
Spun out of TU Munich in 2010, Fos4X markets sensors that can be fixed to wind turbines to evaluate their aerodynamic profileand software that analyses the data to help optimise performance. The technology will help PolyTech add digital and data analysis tools to its wind turbine products.
Solar cell and module manufacturer Q Cells agreed to acquire US-based energy storage software provider Geli for an undisclosed sum, allowing Shell to exit. Geli is the creator of a software platform that can be used to design and manage battery-based energy storage systems for use with renewable energy installations. Its technology will be used by Q Cells to strengthen its integrated solar-and-energy-storage projects.
Fourth quarter
908 Devices, the US-based mass spectrometer provider backed by oil and gas supplier Saudi Aramco and oilfield services provider Schlumberger, closed its initial public offering at approximately $150m.
The company issued 6.5 million shares priced at $20 each to raise an initial $130m. Its shares opened at $45.51 on their first day of trading. Lead book-running managers Cowen and SVB Leerink and book-running managers William Blair and Stifel subsequently took up the option to buy another 975,000 shares.
Founded in 2012, 908 has developed handheld and desktop mass spectrometer devices that analyse the chemical make-up of materials and substances. The company secured a total of $70m pre-IPO.
Automotive e-commerce platform developer Cazoo agreed to acquire Drover, a UK-based car subscription platform backed by television broadcaster Channel 4 and oil and gas suppliers Shell and BP, for an undisclosed amount.
Cazoo is looking to leverage Drover’s expertise and contacts in the car subscription market. It was already looking to launch its own subscription service next year and will also use the company’s France-based operations to facilitate its expansion in Europe.
Founded in 2016, Drover provides a monthly subscription service that allows users to rent cars over a period of one to 24 months. Its subscription fee also includes car maintenance, road tax and insurance coverage.
Corporate investors General Electric, Engie, AGL Energy and Southern Company have exited energy bidding software provider Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) in a purchase of undisclosed size by energy storage technology producer Fluence.
Fluence, a joint venture by industrial technology and appliance manufacturer Siemens and energy distributor AES, will use the company’s technology in activities such as modelling the degradation rate of batteries and creating algorithms for use in the energy trading market.
AMS has created software that uses AI to calculate the value of power production, renewable energy and battery system portfolios and then optimise the bidding process for them as assets.
First quarter
Canada-based VC fund ArcTern Ventures raised a second cleantech-focused fund with C$200m ($153m) from backers including energy producers Equinor and Suncor Energy. Financial services provider Toronto-Dominion Bank is also among the limited partners (LPs), as are Canadian government-owned Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, pension fund OMERS and the state-owned Business Development Bank of Canada. Other investors include enterprise promotion board Investissement Québec, Norwegian state-owned fund Nysnø, an unnamed Canada-based pension fund, and family offices from North America and Europe.
The fund’s initial $46m close took place in 2018 and was anchored by Equinor Energy Ventures – the firm’s CVC arm – and the pension fund. ArcTern subsequently increased the fund size to $124m in September 2019.
Founded in 2012, ArcTern Ventures backs early-stage cleantech companies with the aim of capturing returns as economies shift toward low-carbon technologies. Its target segments include energy storage, mobility, advanced manufacturing, resource efficiency, agtech and foodtech.
DuPont Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of chemicals producer DuPont, closed at the end of March 2020. Formed by DuPont in 2003, DuPont Ventures made strategic investments on the corporate’s behalf. Its investments included deals for biofuel feedstock supplier NexSteppe, taste modification molecule developer Linguagen and ethernet services provider Actelis Networks. However, the unit was relatively quiet in recent years, as its last disclosed investment was a participation in a $75m round for drone management software provider PrecisionHawk in early 2018. DuPont Ventures’ closure came as part of a restructuring that will involve the company’s larger corporate innovation activities being cut. The company will, however, still invest in startups.
Spain-based VC and private equity firm Cardumen Capital raised $60m for its initial fund with commitments from corporates including Repsol, which invested through Repsol Energy Ventures. The fund’s other limited partners include InnoCells, an investment vehicle for financial services firm Banco Sabadell, and undisclosed corporates, financial institutions and private investors based in Europe and Latin America.
Cardumen was founded in 2017 by Gonzalo Martínez de Azagra and Roy Gottlieb, former executives at Samsung Ventures Israel, a corporate venturing subsidiary of Samsung. The firm already has half a dozen portfolio companies and targets Israel-based early-stage deep technology developers, focusing on areas including AI, big data, cybersecurity, machine vision and IoT.
Spain-based natural gas supplier Enagás and investment banking firm Alantra launched a €150m ($170m) vehicle called Clima Energy Transition Fund to back renewable energy companies situated in Europe. The fund will acquire minority stakes in late and growth-stage developers of products and technologies in the biogas, decarbonisation, energy digitisation and efficiency, green hydrogen and sustainable mobility sectors.
A management company will be created to oversee the fund’s activities, with 30% of its shares being owned by Enagás and the remainder by Alantra. The new entity will fall under Alantra’s alternative asset management group and the firm will provide investment know-how in areas including venture capital and private equity. Enagás is providing at least $22.7m for the fund and will offer insights from its experience in the gas industry.
The company already runs a corporate venturing unit called Enagás Emprende, which is led by Emilio Martínez Gavira and which has invested roughly $17m across a dozen startups in the innovative energy space.
Energy management and automation technology producer Schneider Electric supplied $10m for Israel-based venture capital firm Grove Ventures’ $120m second fund. The oversubscribed fund, Grove II, was closed without the firm identifying any LPs, which it described as institutional and strategic investors as well as industry leaders.
Founded in 2016, Grove Ventures focuses on early-stage startups in deep technology areas, such as industry 4.0, cloud infrastructure and AI, with a particular interest in Israel-based companies looking to expand into Europe and the US. Grove II has already invested in two companies, though Grove Ventures has not disclosed their identities. It now has $230m under management, having closed its inaugural fund at $110m in 2017.
Diversified Indonesia-based conglomerate Astra International established a corporate venture capital subsidiary called Astra Mitra Ventura. Astra International’s core business is in automotive retail, but its activities also cover areas such as heavy equipment and mining, financial services, agriculture, IT, infrastructure and logistics. The corporate has already invested in several companies off its balance sheet, including ride hailing service Gojek and freight services marketplace Trukita. Astra Mitra Ventura will make early-stage investments and its priority areas are manufacturing and infrastructure technology. The fund will offer equity funding and convertible note financing as well as project financing, working capital and equipment financing. It is yet to raise a formal fund and will initially source capital through its parent company’s balance sheet.
JSW Ventures, the CVC vehicle for India-based conglomerate JSW Group, was raising its second fund, expected to reach Rs 3.5bn ($49m) in February 2021
Founded in 1982, JSW Group operates in several different industries. Its core business is steel production but it also has interests in energy, cement, paint, real estate and infrastructure. JSW Ventures invests in software-as-a-service providers, e-commerce platforms, mobile consumer-focused companies and healthcare, finance, education and data analytics technology developers.
Second quarter
US-based e-commerce, cloud computing and consumer device group Amazon launched a $2bn investment fund that will back developers of products that can support carbon reductions. The Climate Pledge Fund will target transportation, logistics, manufacturing, materials, food and agriculture technology developers as well as those engaged in clean power production and storage and those involved with the circular economy. The company has been a relatively active investor and its activities include contributions to a $600m round for autonomous driving technology developer Aurora Innovation in June 2019 and the $1.3bn round raised by electric truck developer Rivian. Amazon formed a unit called Alexa Fund in 2015 to back startups working on products that can be integrated with its intelligent voice assistant, Alexa.
Chile-listed petroleum supplier Compañía de Petróleos de Chile (Copec) publicly launched a US-based CVC subsidiary called Wind Ventures. Formed in late 2019, Wind Ventures targets global energy, mobility and retail technology developers, and will facilitate their entry into the Latin America market. It will generally invest roughly $1m to $10m per deal across series A to C rounds, as well as pursuing follow-on opportunities. The fund has provided $30m to energy storage technology producer Stem, and $2.5m each for Spain-focused energy storage system operator Ampere Energy and Cargo, a ride-hailing platform that also offers an in-car retail service. Copec has formed joint venture arrangements with Stem and Ampere, helping them access the Chilean and broader Latin American markets.
Aliad, the corporate venturing subsidiary of France-based industrial gases provider Air Liquide, made its first commitment to a China-focused fund targeting the energy transition in the Cathay Smart Energy Fund. The latter had already received backing from oil and gas supplier Total’s Carbon Neutrality Ventures unit, shipping services firm CMA CGM, Hubei Provincial High Technology Industry Investment Group and Wuhan Jingkai Industry Investment Fund Management.
The vehicle was set up by investment manager Cathay Capital in 2018 and focuses on energy platforms, energy storage, smart grid, hydrogen energy, clean transportation, renewable energy and low-carbon technologies. The first investment by Cathay Smart Energy Fund was in China-based industrial IoT technology developer Allsense Technology. Aliad, on the other hand, takes minority stakes in innovative technology startups in three sectors: energy transition, health and digital. Since its creation in 2013, it has made more than 35 investments globally for a total commitment of about €100m ($113m).
Netherlands-based multi-university venture fund Shift was expected to raise €65m ($70m) by the end of 2020 and signed up insect-based animal feed supplier Protix as a limited partner. Shift III, which will nurture domestic businesses including spinouts, is aligned to Wageningen University and Research and TU Delft as well as the universities of Twente and Eindhoven.
The Dutch government will also participate through its research institute TNO and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, as will provincial governments, financial services firm Rabobank and unnamed private sector funds. Apart from Protix, a range of unnamed fellow portfolio companies of Shift I and Shift II have also invested in the fund. Shift III is described as long-term investment fund with ticket sizes generally ranging from $270,000 to $5.4m. It aims to inject capital across multiple stages, sustaining the recipient through various phases of development, but investing earlier than funds that require proof of turnover.
Funds
Third quarter
BP revealed it intends to provide $70m for India and UK-focused cleantech investment vehicle Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF). GGEF was formed to invest in India-based technology developers operating in fields such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, electric mobility and resource conservation. It has a target size of $700m and BP’s investment is set to close later this year. The government of India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and the UK Department for International Development are anchoring the vehicle.
The fund is managed by Eversource Capital, an India-based joint venture created by BP’s solar power subsidiary, Lightsource BP, and private equity and real estate investment firm Everstone Capital. BP’s decision to invest in GGEF follows a commitment by the corporate in 2020 to become a net-zero carbon emissions business by 2050, partially by investing more in companies outside its traditional oil and gas focus.
GGEF’s first investment was in a $330m round for solar and wind power project developer Ayana Renewable Power in February 2019 that also featured NIIF and the UK government’s development finance institution, CDC. The fund has since provided capital for shared electric bus service GreenCell Mobility, recycling services provider EverEnviro and Radiance Renewables, a developer of low-cost renewable energy technology for industrial applications.
Turkey-headquartered petroleum refinery operator Tüpraş provided an undisclosed amount of capital for Switzerland-based venture capital firm Emerald Technology Ventures’ Industrial Innovation Fund (EIIF). Formed in 2016 as an evergreen fund, EIIF’s limited partners include corporate venturing units Caterpillar Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, GC Ventures and Henkel Adhesive Technologies. Liquid ink producer DIC is also among the LPs.
Japan-based consumer electronics producer Sony formed a CVC vehicle called Sony Innovation Fund: Environment that will focus on environmental technologies. Sony Innovation Fund: Environment will back developers of technology that can address issues such as climate change, the use of resources, biodiversity and possible harmfulness of chemicals. It will initially seek to invest ¥1bn ($9.4m) in startups at seed stage. The corporate launched CVC unit Sony Innovation Fund in 2016 and formed a growth-stage investment fund with securities brokerage Daiwa in July 2019.
Saudi Aramco formed a $1bn corporate venturing fund dubbed Prosperity7 Ventures. The unit was named after the first well that discovered oil in Saudi Arabia, and it will focus largely on China and the US under the overall direction of unit head Aysar Tayeb. The fund is meant to help Aramco diversify over the longer term from oil and gas into technologies such as AI, 5G, industrial automation, robotics, the cloud, data and analytics, the internet of things and blockchain services, complementing Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, the corporate venturing unit led by Mahdi Aladel after Majid Mufti’s departure.
Nasdaq-listed energy provider Exelon and its non-profit foundation have selected 10 startups to receive a combined $1m in direct funding to develop new technologies to mitigate and build resiliency to the impacts of climate change. The Exelon Foundation will invest $10m in early-stage startups working on climate change mitigation, adaptation and resiliency over a 10-year period. Exelon itself will match that commitment with up to $10m of in-kind services, including mentoring entrepreneurs on accessing capital, structuring business plans and meeting regulatory requirements.
Netherlands-based multi-university venture fund Shift Invest has raised €70m ($82.5m) for its third vehicle, Shift III, from investors including insect-based animal feed supplier Protix and chemicals company Corbion. The impact investment vehicle, which achieved an initial close in May, is also backed by financial services firm Rabobank’s Rabo Corporate Investments and the European Investment Fund. Shift III will collaborate with TNO and the country’s technical universities on identifying promising technologies with a focus on products that can safeguard biodiversity. It will invest from seed to growth stage.
Japan-based carmaker Toyota added an $800m global growth-stage investment fund called Woven Capital to its early-stage, artificial intelligence-focused corporate venture capital unit. Toyota Research Institute – Advanced Development (Tri-Ad) was launched in March 2018 to oversee the formation of Toyota’s Woven City as an incubator for smart city design, connected mobility, and robotics technology from Toyota and its partners. The unit will begin expanding and transitioning its operations into a holding company dubbed Woven Planet Holdings, two operating companies – Woven Core and Woven Alpha – and Woven Capital itself, in January 2021.
Hyundai Mobis, the automotive components arm of South Korea-headquartered carmaker Hyundai, provided a total of $20m in capital for two US-based VC funds. The recipients are ACVC Partners, an early-stage investment firm focusing on millennial-driven technology products, and Motus Ventures, a VC fund and business accelerator focused on transportation, intelligent infrastructure and the internet of things. Founded in 1977, Hyundai Mobis channels upwards of $800m into in research and development each year and the move is intended to diversify that spending. It aims to form a collaboration ecosystem that will integrate startups with its own technology activities.
Japan-headquartered electronics producer Panasonic launched its $150m second fund for Conductive Ventures, the US-based growth equity firm it sponsors. Conductive Ventures launched its first vehicle in April 2018 with $100m in capital provided by Panasonic as is its sole limited partner. The firm said this week its portfolio includes semiconductor provider Ambiq Micro, electric bus manufacturer Proterra, marketing software producer Sprinklr and additive manufacturing technology provider Desktop Metal, which is pursuing a $2.5bn reverse merger. Conductive Ventures II will invest in expansion-stage technology developers in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital health, advanced manufacturing, commerce, autonomous vehicles and financial technology as well as the future of work.
Seeds Capital, a VC arm of government agency Enterprise Singapore, agreed to partner with institutions including three corporate venturing units to co-invest S$50m ($36m). The initiative, backed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore ,will involve Seeds Capital and the consortium investing the money in some 50 maritime technology startups in order to improve efficiency and safety in the industry. Innoport, the investment vehicle for ship operator Schulte Group, is one of the six partners, as are KSL Maritime Ventures, a subsidiary of conglomerate Kuok Group, and PSA Unboxed, which represents port manager PSA International.
Switzerland-based venture capital firm Emerald Technology Ventures closed its water innovation impact fund at $100m with backing from corporate LPs water and hygiene technology manufacturer Ecolab, software provider Microsoft and water and wastewater equipment and infrastructure producer SKion Water. They were by joined Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, the fund’s cornerstone investor. Emerald has now formed five funds and backed 67 industrial technology providers in addition to managing investments for third parties such as the Singaporean and Swiss governments. This latest vehicle will invest in developers of technologies that can help conserve water, strengthen urban sustainability, improve the efficiency of resource use, cut health risks and assist in adaptation to climate change.
Packaged food and beverage producer Nestlé’s sustainable packaging fund provided $30m for Closed Loop Leadership Fund, a US-based buyout unit launched by circular economy-focused investment firm Closed Loop Partners. Closed Loop Leadership Fund is targeting $300m according to a regulatory filing from October 2019. It has been looking to court corporate investors, family offices, foundations and other institutional investors. The vehicle is intended to form sustainable supply chains in the United States, buying up companies at various stages of the plastics consumption cycle to limit wasted packaging.
Solvay Ventures, the strategic investment arm of France-based chemicals producer Solvay, has made its second commitment to a China-focused advanced materials fund by backing Richland Capital Fund III. The unit commited to Richland’s third venture capital fund at its first close alongside Redbud, a China-based fund-of-funds subsidiary of Tsinghua Asset Management, and Nipsea, part of Japan-headquartered Nippon Paint. The commitment comes after Solvay Ventures contributed to China-based Longwater Investment’s advanced materials-focused fund in April 2019.
Japan-headquartered biofuel supplier Euglena has formed a startup investment and partnership scheme dubbed Euglena Sustainable Ventures. The initiative will target companies in sectors including bioinformatics, direct-to-consumer and healthcare technology, as well as other strategic areas relevant to the company.
Euglena Sustainable Ventures has made its first investment, providing an undisclosed amount for Bace, the Japan-based owner of chocolate brand Minimal, which uses fair trade-sourced cacao beans to produce confectionery. Euglena had already conducted direct investments in companies including bioinformatics software provider Amelieff, regional basketball league Ryukyu Golden Kings, customer-to-customer food portal Pocket Marché and MedCare, the operator of health insurance management platform Medically.
Fourth quarter
Germany-based energy utility Eon launched a venture capital platform called Future Energy Ventures, equipped with €250m ($294m) of capital. The move follows Eon’s acquisition of domestic peer Innogy in June 2020, and its 64-strong portfolio combines investments made by each company.
Future Energy Ventures will function as an investment fund and collaboration platform for Eon and will focus on companies developing digital or digitally-enabled products and technologies from series A stage and later that can strengthen the energy industry.
In addition to Germany-based Jan Lozek, the Future Energy Ventures team includes US-based managing directors Patrick Elftmann (former investment partner at Innogy Ventures) and Konrad Augustin (former managing director at Eon Strategic Co-Investments), as well as Ines Bergmann-Nolting, Eon’s head of scouting and co-investments.
Diversified India-headquartered conglomerate Reliance Industries agreed to provide $50m in capital for US-based, cleantech-focused venture capital fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures II. Breakthrough Energy is a coalition of high net-worth investors aiming to promote the use of renewable energy. It invests in areas such as renewables, energy efficiency and storage and technologies that can help increase sustainability in other areas. The fund has an $870m target. Reliance committed the capital over several tranches across an eight-to-10 year period. The first fund closed at $1bn in 2016.
Japan-based energy utility Toho Gas partnered Eiicon, a subsidiary of recruitment firm Persol’s CVC arm, Persol Innovation, to launch its first startup incubator and accelerator scheme.
Selected groups will join the incubation and business co-creation initiative from January 12h to March 26 2021, when a demo day is scheduled to take place. The programme will target entrepreneurs developing artificial intelligence-equipped lifestyle and work automation-related technology in Japan’s Tōkai region.
Eiicon’s open innovation platform, Auba, will support the accelerator’s participants in areas from business planning, design and operation, to building public relations strategies, setting up dedicated websites and mentoring. Founded in 1922, Toho Gas supplies natural gas and energy services for Tōkai residents and businesses. It invested an undisclosed amount in renewable electricity trading portal Digital Grid in November 2019.
Luxembourg-headquartered venture capital fund European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) reached a €175m ($213m) second close with €93m from LPs including insurance provider Volkswohl Bund Versicherungen, packaged food and beverage producer Nestlé and oil processor Neste. The corporate backers were joined in the second close by promotional bank NRW Bank and an unnamed family office. ECBF was launched by the European Commission and European Investment Bank in November 2019.
The European Investment Bank has provided a total of €100m for the vehicle as a cornerstone investor. The fund is focused on late-stage investments in bioeconomy technology developers located in Europe.
It is two-thirds of the way towards a targeted close of €250m. ECBF held an €82m first close in October 2020 featuring commitments from recycling services provider PreZero International, chemicals producer Corbion and single-family office Hettich Beteiligungen.
Corporate limited partners helped Japan-based, drone technology-focused investment firm Drone Fund reach the first close of a fund with a ¥10bn ($95m) ceiling. Farm machinery producer Kobashi Industries, engineering consultancy and construction firm Kokusai Kogyo (Japan Asia Group) and telecommunications firms NTT Docomo and SoftBank were among the LPs, as were brokerage SMBC Nikko Securities and startup-focused research firm Leave a Nest.
Formed in May 2020, Drone Fund III Investment Limited Partnership is expected to reach a final close by March. It is now ready to start investing out of the new vehicle.
Fund III will back developers of AI, robotics and advanced mobility technologies designed to solve social issues caused by a declining working-age population in Japan, outdated infrastructure, climate change, natural disasters and the ongoing public
health crisis.
First quarter
Mikko Huumo joined Finland-based oil provider Helen as director of its corporate venturing unit and will set up a fund focused on energy transition. Helen Ventures hired Huumo after he had spent nearly seven years at local energy utility Fortum, most recently as head of external venturing.
He said Helen Ventures’ €50m ($55m) fund will focus on electric mobility, energy-related digital solutions, decarbonisation, smart energy solutions and the circular economy. Fortum is expected to continue its corporate venture investing activities through an internal promotion. It has also made a cornerstone commitment to US-based venture capital firm Valo Ventures, which was launched by CapitalG alumnus Scott Tierney, raising $175m for its debut fund last summer.
Tobias Hasenjäger left VNG Innovation, the corporate venturing arm of Germany-based natural gas provider Verbundnetz Gas (VNG) Group, where he was senior investment manager. Hasenjäger had joined VNG Innovation in early 2018 from University of Kassel-affiliated innovation hub Science Park Kassel, where he had been an investment manager since 2014, investing in university spinouts from the institution’s seed-stage funding scheme, Unikat Finance, and serving as a mentor. Formed in 2015, VNG Innovation partners and backs startups developing energy-related technologies, including energy digitisation, conversion, efficiency and storage along with mobility and sustainability technology. VNG Innovation’s portfolio companies include water treatment technology provider Akvola Technologies, meter-reading app developer Eigenheim Manager and Infrasolid, the creator of an infrared radiation-based gas detection system.
John Wong left his position of director of corporate development at wireless mobile technology producer InterDigital and joined Honeywell as director of ventures. Wong had also been a principal at VC firm NextStar Partners since 2016, focusing on IoT, mobile and connected technology developers, retaining the position, according to his LinkedIn profile. Honeywell’s corporate venturing arm, Honeywell Ventures, was founded in 2017 and concentrates on early-stage companies working on technologies such as advanced manufacturing, IoT and materials science as well as software and analytics startups. Wong will invest in IoT and smart building technology developers on behalf of Honeywell Ventures.
Michael Brandkamp, formerly managing director of High-Tech Gründerfonds, a German state and corporate-backed venture capital fund, left to become a general partner at European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF). The fund was cornerstoned by the European Commission as part its work on developing so-called blended finance. Brandkamp will now have to raise private capital to blend in with the state funding. The EIB is working on further blended finance initiatives as it prepares the budget for 2021 to 2027 with a focus on sustainable development goals.
Second quarter
Kristin Aamodt left her managing director position at Equinor Technology Ventures (ETV), a corporate venturing subsidiary of Norway-listed energy supplier Equinor. Gareth Burns, managing director of the corporate’s clean energy fund, Equinor Energy Ventures (previously Statoil Energy Ventures), will oversee a recently combined unit dubbed Equinor Ventures as vice-president. Equinor (then Statoil) had hired Aamodt in 2008 and she held a series of project management and offshore operations roles before joining ETV predecessor Statoil Technology Invest in 2017. Under Aamodt, the unit participated in more than 20 deals including rounds for Data Gumbo, SeekOps and Upwing Energy. She was included in Global Corporate Venturing’s 2019 Powerlist.
US-based software provider Microsoft appointed Brandon Middaugh to manage the $1bn Climate Innovation Fundin January 2020. Middaugh will manage the fund and investment strategy. He spent four years at Microsoft as a senior programme manager, leading its distributed energy strategy as part of the company’s energy and sustainability activities. Microsoft pledged $1bn for the vehicle as part of a wider goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and to remove the equivalent of the excess carbon it has emitted since its launch by 2050. The fund will invest in developers of carbon reduction and removal technology, though the corporate – which already owns venturing unit M12 – has not revealed details of a timeframe for that capital nor how wide its portfolio is likely to be.
Brian Walsh was appointed head of Wind Ventures, the US-based venturing unit of Chile-listed petroleum supplier Copec. Walsh specialised in corporate venturing at IT product supplier Konica Minolta and consulting firm McKinsey & Company before moving to Wind Ventures in
late 2019.
Other members of the team include Sean Simpson, a former investment manager at carmaker General Motors’ GM Ventures unit, and Bob Ma, an alumnus of VC firm Soma Capital.
BayWa Renewable Energy (BayWa RE), Germany-based trading conglomerate BayWa Group’s clean energy subsidiary, promoted Jelena Markovic to senior associate in its CVC unit. Markovic joined as a VC analyst shortly after it was formed in mid-2018. Her role involved investment assessment, building an investor network and identifying opportunities. Markovic became investment associate in April 2019 and conducted deal structuring, due diligence and public relations initiatives. GCV named her a Rising Star in 2020. BayWa RE Energy Ventures backs early and growth-stage renewable energy technology developers based in Europe and Israel. Markovic told GCV she helped generate deal flow for the fund that resulted in its first investments: Blixt, Raycatch and Zolar.
Evonik Venture Capital (EVC), the corporate venturing subsidiary of Germany-listed speciality chemicals provider Evonik Industries, named Joseph Kowen an Israel-based venture partner. Kowen is a business development consultant at professional services firm Wohlers Associates, offering advice on additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies. Lars Böhnisch, an investment manager at EVC, said the unit was seeking to accelerate its deal flow in the Israeli innovation ecosystem, form strategic partnerships and explore investment opportunities covering coatings and additives, personal care, animal nutrition and additive manufacturing.
Thomas Kostka departed from chemicals and consumer products provider Henkel to become head of corporate venturing at Germany-based specialty chemicals producer Altana. Kostka had spent more than a dozen years at Germany-based Henkel, most recently as senior investment manager for its adhesive technologies corporate venturing unit. Altana hired Kostka after Florian Loebermann, the previous head of corporate venturing at the company, left in late 2019 to become managing director of 3D printer manufacturer DP Polar.
People
Third quarter
Joe Chang became managing director and the senior leader in China for Prosperity 7 Ventures, Saudi Arabia-based oil and gas supplier Saudi Aramco’s newly formed $1bn corporate venturing fund. Prosperity 7 Ventures has a large focus on China (split about 50-50 with the US) under the overall direction of unit head Aysar Tayeb. Chang had co-led the technology team and investments for Eight Roads Ventures, the VC subsidiary of US-based investment and financial services group Fidelity formerly known as Fidelity Growth Partners, in Greater China for nearly four years.
Iain Cooper, founder and head of Schlumberger’s corporate venturing unit, left to become chief exeuctive of UK-based, corporate-backed gas sensor technology provider SeekOps. Cooper, a GCV 2019 award winner, had spent 13 years heading the unit. He has been replaced by Arindam Bhattacharya as director of Schlumberger Corporate Ventures and Schlumberger New Energy, which manage an active portfolio of more than 20 companies. Bhattacharya was promoted from Schlumberger’s marketing and technology, reservoir and infrastructure group, where he had been group vice-president. Cooper had been managing technology investments for Schlumberger’s corporate venturing deals since 2007, andjoined the company in 1992 as a research scientist.
Jonathan Tudor, technology and strategy director at Centrica Innovations, the corporate venturing subsidiary of UK-listed energy utility Centrica, became an investment partner at Clean Growth Fund (CGF). A GCV Powerlist 2019 award winner, Tudor had joined Centrica in September 2017, after leaving BP, where he was managing director of its BP Ventures unit. Venture capital firm Clean Growth Investment Management launched the £40m ($45m) CGF in May under managing partner Beverley Gower-Jones. CGF was founded with equal investment from the UK’s Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and institutional investor CCLA, one of the country’s largest charity fund managers. It is targeting a further £60m from private and corporate investors.
Stephen Cook, chief commercial officer for group technology at UK-based oil and gas supplier BP, was promoted to senior vice-president of its Launchpad and Ventures unit. The move follows the retirement of David Gilmour, who had set up Launchpad as a private equity-style investment unit to complement the corporate venturing team at BP Ventures..” Cook spent three years in a chief commercial officer position at BP, responsible for its long-term technology view in the energy industry, having joined the company in 1998.
Fourth quarter
Malin Carlstrom, a Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars 2019 award winner, was promoted at ABB Technology Ventures. Carlstrom, formerly senior vice-president and head of investments for northern Europe at ABB Technology Ventures, is now head of ventures, ABB Electrification. The move came as part of a restructuring and decentralisation drive, and Carlstrom said in her LinkedIn profile she would now be “investing in startups and scaleups that align with the ABB Electrification vision of ‘writing the future of safe, smart and sustainable electrification’” ABB’s other business units cover industrial automation, motion and robotics and discrete automation. ATV had invested more than $200m in startups spanning a range of sectors including robotics, renewables, industrial IoT, AI and ML, cybersecurity, smart buildings, electric mobility and distributed energy technology.
Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest miner of palladium and high-grade nickel, has established a corporate venturing unit, Perspective Ventures, under Ivan Kuzmenkov. A former expert in innovation and energy saving at the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, Kuzmenkov joined Norilsk Nickel in late 2017, just after the company said it would invest $17bn over seven years to reduce its pollution and modernise. Kuzmenkov became head of the company’s innovation development office 18 months ago before launching Perspective Ventures to support startups, disruptive ideas and the technology sector. Norilsk chief executive Vladimir Potanin also said it was a limited partner of Winter Capital, an advisory firm investing in Russian pharmaceutical, real estate, retail and industrial assets.
Greg Smithies left his partner position at Germany-headquartered carmaker BMW’s investment arm, BMW i Ventures, to head up a fund for US-based venture capital firm Fifth Wall. Smithies will manage the firm’s Climate Tech fund, which will target developers of technology that can help decarbonise the real estate industry. It has a target of at least $200m for its close. Fifth Wall invests in real estate technology developers and closed a $503m second fund in July 2019 with backing from 50 corporate limited partners, before securing $100m for a retail-focused vehicle in February 2020.
Stéphane Roussel, former managing director at Solvay Ventures, became a venture partner at European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF). Operating since 2005, Solvay Ventures manages a $100m global evergreen fund with a focus on sustainable resources, energy transition, health and wellbeing, and industry 4.0 technology under Matt Jones in the US. Jones said Thomas Canova had stepped into Roussel’s role for now, to cover Europe with investment manager Peter Vanlaeke. (Alexandre Ouimet-Storrs left Solvay Ventures to set up Oskare Capital in the summer).