New investments to focus on firms at the cutting-edge of energy and information technology
Sound recognition, decision analytics, and AI are among the latest technologies to receive financing from National Grid, as the firm's investment and innovation arm this week added four new companies and two new strategic fund investments to its portfolio.
The investments were announced yesterday as National Grid Partners (NGP) formally opened a new office in San Francisco, tasked with deepening the firm's engagement with technology innovators working on energy decarbonisation, decentralisation, and digitization. It will work to channel NGP's $250m venture capital fund into cutting-edge companies at the intersection of energy and information technology.
In line with the investment strategy, the newest additions to NGP's portfolio include Audio Analytic, which uses contextual AI to enhance sound recognition technology for consumers, and GoCardless, a cloud-based platform for bank-independent recurring and direct-debit payments.
The firm also announced investments in Carbon Lighthouse, which helps buildings, industrial plants and schools become more energy efficient, and Copperleaf, an asset management and decision analytics system tailored for utilities firms.
Alongside the investments, the firm also announced new limited partnership relationships with IQ Capital, a Cambridge-based venture capital firm investing in UK 'deep-tech', and Jerusalem Venture Partners, which will help NGP access the Israeli technology sector.
The new investments expand the firm's portfolio to 12 companies, with $90m invested to date.
"We have been mobilizing and preparing ourselves for what tomorrow's customers will require," said John Pettigrew, chief executive of National Grid plc. "By investing and partnering with these innovators, National Grid will stay a step ahead of emerging technology trends to meet our customers' energy needs into the future."