Gridpoint closes $75 million in funding

Intelligent energy network provider, GridPoint, announced it has closed a $75 million strategic capital raise led by the Sustainable Investing Group within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with additional participation by Shell Ventures.

According to the company, the investment will be used to continue developing its technology platform that makes buildings smarter and more sustainable through data analytics, intelligent automation and machine learning.

The platform in question is a smart building solution, intended to help businesses and the grid exist symbiotically by leveraging data and analytics to identify opportunities for energy savings. It analyzes a business’s energy consumption and feeds back insights into how energy is being used, with an eye for operational inefficiencies.

“We’re a hardware enabled software as a service solution,” said Gridpoint’s chief marketing officer, Melissa Blanken, in a recent appearance on the SunCast podcast. “A piece of hardware goes into a commercial building on site at each site, and that helps manage or orchestrate your building operations around all, your HVAC, as well as your additional grid interactive resources that you might have there on site... So it’s a very low barrier to entry to not only meet energy efficiency goals, but also sustainability goals.”

The full interview with Blanken and Chairman & Founder of GridPoint, Peter Corsell, is available below, and offers a deeper look into the company’s foundation, technology, and vision for its role in the ongoing energy transition. It has historically been GridPoint’s strategy to keep a low media profile, so the interview offers insights not available elsewhere.

Using the platform, businesses can automate and control assets such as lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, and can integrate their sites with the grid. During times of surplus energy, participating businesses with renewable energy systems can supply energy to utilities, generating additional revenue and easing energy supply and demand challenges.

“Our mission is about accelerating the world’s transition to a sustainable energy future,” Blanken explained. “Big, lofty goal, but well worth the time and effort. And how do we do that? We’re out there transforming commercial buildings into a network of sustainable grid resources. So that doesn’t mean just energy efficiency in your HVAC, in your heating and cooling, but integrating in all of the other things associated with a building and taking a whole building approach. So EV chargers, batteries, battery storage, generators, you’re taking into account all of that when you’re thinking about commercial buildings and how you get to that sustainable energy future.”

Gridpoint shares that the funds will also accelerate the deployment of GridPoint’s innovative solutions in more buildings, accelerating the impact of its technology on utilities and energy grids, and a portion of the investment will be set aside to invest in GridPoint’s technology, sales, marketing, delivery, and customer success teams.

Other GridPoint investors include I Squared Capital, Fortress Investment Group, QVT Financial, TOMS Capital, Twenty First Century Utilities, and Kensington Capital Partners.