We’ve all heard that following weak returns, venture capital cleantech investing has retrenched. So what’s next? A style of investing that is a whole lot more rational, return-driven, shorter timelines and capital lite. Read more »
Smart grid company Silver Spring Networks held a relatively successful IPO on Wednesday. Here’s 5 reasons why I think that was important for the smart grid, and for cleantech. Read more »
Following the close of a year which saw the politicization of clean energy technologies, the struggles of dozens of solar manufacturers and electric car companies, and a “cleantech cliff” for startup investing, the 2013 ARPA-E Summit could be a sober affair. Read more »
The future of energy technology can come from surprising places: algae, hot rocks, fireflies and crowdfunding? Here’s a round up of stories this month that show off 6 technologies that could shape the future of energy. Read more »
In 2013 cleantech investing will move toward companies serving unsubsidized markets where software plays a role in reducing power consumption. In many ways this is a return to plays for energy efficiency, and there’s still money to be made from business models built around saving energy. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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The lack of greentech hardware success stories points to a potentially missing piece of the puzzle: a Samsung-style intense focus on manufacturing. Read more »
If SolarCity does manage to debut in its expected range, it would represent one of the rare venture-backed cleantech IPOs that have emerged over the years. Read more »
GE is spearheading a rebranding of green. In a new report out this week, the conglomerate pushes the “Industrial Internet,” which is really mostly about using information technology for energy efficiency gains for industry — across transportation and power generation and distribution. Read more »
As Obama is projected to have won the Presidential election, clean energy and cleantech supporters cheer and hope for four more years of support for the development of next-gen energy technologies. Read more »
What happened in cleantech on GigaOM Pro?: a hot new report on next-gen battery innovations, a column on why design matters for cleantech, and much more. Read more »
Rent prices are higher than ever, but a growing number of startups are working to analyze our homes’ energy use so we can save money by using less power. Their approaches might differ, but data and analytics are the ties that binds them all. Read more »
It’s not home to Google, Amazon or Facebook, but from plucky entrepreneurs to the world’s most-advanced computing systems, Europe has a lot more to offer the world of cloud computing and web infrastructure than might meet the eye. Here are seven reasons why it matters. Read more »
What’s going on in cleantech? Over on GigaOM Pro we have some excellent new research on grid batteries, the share economy and energy efficient data center innovation. Read more »
Not a bigger shocker from the Cleantech Group this morning: the amount of venture capital funding that went into cleantech startups worldwide in the second quarter of 2012 dropped by 25 percent, in terms of total dollars spent, from the prior year second quarter. Read more »
Venture capitalist Matthew Nordan, from Venrock Capital, breaks down everything you need to know about finding funding for energy-related startups in this video. Read more »
Changes in the power market are rippling through the Internet industry, altering both the location of data centers and their sources of power. There are many factors in picking a data center location beyond the geographic location, such as how to procure energy and green-energy models. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Amidst the exodus of generalist venture capitalists from cleantech investing, a new planned billion dollar cleantech fund has emerged: Inerjys. Read more »
Carter Bales, the co-founder and Chairman of private equity firm NewWorld Capital Group, is driven by dire pessimism and over-whelming optimism that converge through his livelihood: environmental investing. Read more »
It looks like the end times are near for U.S. support for cleantech, at least according to a report out from the Breakthrough Institute, the Brookings Institution and the World Resources Institute. Read more »
Working with David Anthony wasn’t always easy, but it was always inspiring. His tone, his cadence, and these pregnant pauses he always took when he spoke were more suggestive of a Zen Buddhist than your typical type-A venture capitalist. His patience was one his defining characteristics. Read more »
Kleiner Perkin’s partner Ray Lane is not listed as a general partner on fund documents for prospective limited partners for Kleiner Perkin’s next early stage fund, though Lane will still be active at the firm, reports Fortune’s Dan Primack. Read more »
This quarter the EV market struggled to find its footing. Meanwhile, the smart-grid sector solidified and low-power technology proved itself important in the data center. Read more to learn what these news pieces and others mean for the larger space over the next few months. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Total investments in cleantech startups dropped in the first quarter of 2012 by 31 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011, and 19 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the latest figures from the Cleantech Group. Read more »
Cleantech is dead, or maybe just laying low. After a difficult 18 months, investors in the sector are shying away or shifting their strategies to reflect reality. And the debate over what is greentech or cleantech is back. What do you think? Read more »
The amount of data processed by companies big and small increases every day – and data centers have a hard time keeping up. Not only is scaling the physical infrastructure costly, it also consumes vast amounts of energy. A solution was discussed at Structure:Data. Read more »
Spring Ventures founder Sunil Paul braved the rain and the ever-present SoLoMo apps to give a rendition of his presentation on the Cleanweb, or using computing, mobile, and the web to address resource constraints like energy, food and water. Read more »
The solar industry has begun 2012 with some trepidation, with many on the warpath to cut costs and reduce output. These moves give the market a chance to reduce inventories and get production more in sync with demand. But recovery will likely come slowly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
One of the key misplaced assumptions that Valley VCs made in cleantech boom times is that the rapid progress of Moore’s Law could be created for cleantech with a little bit of VC funding and Valley smarts. Read more »
India will be a massive market for clean power. Here’s our recurring post where we bring in some of the articles I’ve read this week, as well as what Vineeth Vijayaraghavan of Panchabuta, has been watching, reading, and writing about lately: Read more »
This weekend in New York City, dozens of developers gathered for the second Cleanweb Hackathon, where programmers spent the weekend building mobile and web apps around new ways to manage energy. The event is the latest sign the ecosystem around clean technology is changing. Read more »
Startups looking to disrupt the traditional energy industries — oil, coal, gas-burning cars — need to have more than just innovative technology. They need a team and a plan in place that can scale their technologies to compete on the massive scale needed. Read more »
Despite many challenges — from disappointing EV sales to the headaches in subsidizing solar — the cleantech sector survived 2011. Where is it headed next? It is clear that early-stage companies and ideas hold the keys to future growth, much like the first wave of Internet ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Cleantech venture capital and corporate investing for the full 2011 year was up in terms of overall dollar amounts compared to 2010, according to the research firm The Cleantech Group, but large follow-on rounds for matured companies continued to dominate the year. Read more »
Oil giant BP has invested in biofuel startup CoolPlanet BioFuels, according to an announcement on Thursday. CoolPlanet BioFuels is the biofuel startup you have never heard of but that has unusually famous investors like GE, Google, NRG Energy and ConocoPhillips. Read more »
Let’s face it. For cleantech, at least in the U.S., this year was kindof a bummer. But that’s what New Year’s resolutions and wishes are for: turning a new page when the year starts over. Here’s what I want from cleantech in 2012. Read more »
There are hundreds of startups, massive battery conglomerates and university labs that are trying to push the battery envelope and create as much power at the lowest cost for these little energy storage devices. Here’s some details from my GigaOM Pro report. Read more »
Private equity firm Silver Lake’s first foray into energy and cleantech investing is gonna be a big one. According to a filing, Silver Lake Kraftwerk is raising a $1.25 billion fund and has closed a little over $200 million of it. Read more »
When it comes to cleantech investing, we’re in the early innings of a long ball game. The last in a 4-part series from Venrock’s Matthew Nordan. Read more »
MIT Tech Review’s annual list looking at 35 innovators under 35 always has gems for the energy sectors. This year’s list is no different and the publication highlights three under-the-radar entrepreneurs at startups including ultracapacitor company FastCAP, geothermal drilling startup Foro Energy and battery company Wuhe. Read more »
Half of successful VC-backed cleantech start-ups stumble along the way. Entrepreneurs who raise big financing rounds at sky-high valuations can end up shooting themselves in the foot. Read more »
