Funding and M&A Roundup: SmartSolar Raises $1.8 Million in Seed Funding ORIT secures $125 million five-year term loan facility SmartSolar, a rooftop solar solution provider, has raised $1.85 million in seed funding. The funding was led by Picus Capital and 2degrees, along with participation from early-stage venture capital firm Iterative. With this funding, the company plans to accelerate its growth in Vietnam and expand its footprint across Southeast Asia. The company offers rooftop solar solutions designed to help businesses cut down on electricity costs. Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust, an investment company, announced that it has signed a £100 million (~$125 million) five-year term loan facility with three of its existing lenders, Santander, National Australia Bank, and Allied Irish Banks. The funding will be used to pay down a portion of the existing and more expensive Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) debt. According to ORIT, it has drawn £151.2 million (~$191 million) on the RCF so far. Vidyut, an electric vehicle ecosystem platform, has raised $2.5 million in funding from global investor Flourish Ventures. The company will utilize the acquired funds to expand its Battery-as-a-Service offering in passenger and commercial EV segments. By unbundling batteries from EVs and offering them on a pay-per-km subscription basis, Vidyut claimed it had reduced upfront electric three-wheeler costs by 35-40%. For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, and smart grid sectors, click here. Read last week's funding roundup. Tags: Vidyut, Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust, SmartSolar, solar, funding

AmpUp, an electric vehicle charging platform company, has secured $15 million in Series A funding.

Touchdown Ventures led the funding round. Additional new investors included Autotech Ventures (Autotech) and MUUS Climate Partners (MUUS), with participation from Holman, Goodyear, Foothill Ventures, WEX Venture Capital, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, Powerhouse Ventures, and Connecticut Innovations, among others.

According to the company, the funding will be used to expand its services across the U.S. market and to develop energy management solutions in the EV charging sector.

“This funding validates our innovative approach to EV charging and provides us with the resources to accelerate our growth and further develop our energy management solutions. The diverse expertise of our investors, spanning mobility, manufacturing, payments, and energy sectors, positions us uniquely to address the complex challenges of EV infrastructure,” said Tom Sun, CEO and co-founder of AmpUp.

The company also announced the addition of three broad directors. Greg Bergamesco is the managing director of Touchdown Ventures; Ivy Nguyen is the principal of Autotech Ventures; David Jackson is the COO of AmpUp. Additionally, Mr. Logan Grizzel, a partner at MUUS, has been appointed as a board observer and key advisor to the company.

Headquarters in Santa Clara, California, AmpUp’s network is stated to be deployed for customers across North America, including JLL, CBRE, Domino’s Pizza, Goodyear, Under Armour, Hilton, and more.

According to Mercom’s recently released 1H and Q2 2024 Funding and M&A report for Storage and Grid, VC funding across all Smart Grid companies in 1H 2024 totaled $1.2 billion in 29 deals, 22% higher YoY than the $986 million raised in 26 deals in 1H 2023. Funding activity was primarily driven by investments in Smart Charging companies.

Recently, itselectric, a provider of electric vehicle charging solutions, secured $6.5 million in a seed funding round. This round was led by Failup Ventures and Uber Technologies, with participation from Halogen Ventures, The Partnership Fund for NYC, Pulse Fund, Newlab, Gratitude Railroad, Tale VP, Equity Alliance Fund, LACI Impact Fund, and The Helm.

Staff

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