• Project Frog

  Led · Series D · Nov 2013

  Project Frog creates prefabricated, energy-efficient building components that ship ready for on-site assembly, described in the article as an “IKEA for energy-efficient buildings.” Its product lineup includes education- and medical-specific kits plus flexible “Flex” kits for multiple use cases. Projects typically complete in about six months on average, allowing the company to emphasize affordability alongside energy efficiency. The company is expanding its product design and manufacturing capabilities and says it will ramp production to deliver a significant number of buildings to large school districts and healthcare providers. In 2013 it developed seven times the square footage it did in 2012 and secured a contract with the South San Francisco Unified School District for over 200,000 square feet. Project Frog is further developing healthcare and retail solutions and pursuing additional verticals while targeting scale in the large global construction market. Project Frog delivers semi-custom, pre-engineered kits of energy-efficient building materials and uses advanced 3D modeling to analyze sites and optimize designs for local conditions. Its approach speeds construction and lowers costs by delivering kits ready for on-site assembly. Buildings using Project Frog’s kits consume at least 25% less energy than the strictest U.S. building codes and up to 80% less in some regions. Kits take one to six months to produce—less than half the time required for traditional construction—and projects typically finish in about six months. Project Frog was a winner in GE’s smart grid challenge (one of 10 startups splitting $63 million). The company intends to use new funding to expand sales, execute orders, and support installation of a prefab building at GE’s Learning Center in Ossining, N.Y.

• Aircuity

  Led · Equity · Jul 2013

  Aircuity builds airside efficiency solutions that combine real-time sensing and continuous analysis of indoor environments to lower operating costs and improve safety and comfort. Its systems target HVAC-related energy reductions, typically achieving 25% to 50% savings, with best results in 100% outside-air facilities and highly variable occupied spaces. The company serves higher education, research and life sciences, commercial office, K-12, healthcare, government, and public assembly sectors. Aircuity reports orders for over 600 systems in 16 countries and cites marquee customers such as the University of Pennsylvania, Eli Lilly, Masdar City, Bank of America Tower, and UC Irvine. Management says recent system enhancements improve returns for clients and that market awareness of airside efficiency is rising. The company intends to use new funding to support a five-year expansion plan to accelerate growth across the rapidly expanding airside efficiency market. Aircuity provides intelligent airside efficiency solutions that monitor indoor environments and adjust ventilation in real time via its OptiNet® system. Its platform pairs continuous sensing with Aircuity Advisor™ Services to analyze data and help facility managers maintain energy savings and monitor lab indoor air quality. The company says its solutions can cut laboratory energy use by 40–60% with typical paybacks under two years, and reduce energy use in offices and public facilities by 20–30% with 3–5 year paybacks. Aircuity has been deployed at commercial, institutional and lab buildings including the University of Pennsylvania, Eli Lilly, Masdar City, the Bank of America Tower and UC Irvine. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts. The business is positioning its platform for future growth and wider adoption among building owners and operators.

• Nextility

  Led · Debt Financing · Jun 2013

  Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., Skyline Innovations provides turnkey solar water-heating solutions for buildings that use large volumes of hot water such as hotels, dormitories, multifamily properties, hospitals, and laundries. The company’s model removes the capital barrier for customers by funding the equipment itself and then sharing in the resulting utility-bill savings, guaranteeing clients a fixed percentage of those savings. Skyline’s patent-pending software platform optimizes project design, monitors system performance, and streamlines business operations, allowing the firm to underwrite performance and guarantee customer savings. By combining project financing with real-time performance management, Skyline converts what would be a cap-ex purchase into an off-balance-sheet service contract for building owners. Management positions the solution as both an economic and environmental win, reducing energy consumption while requiring no financial risk from the end user. This operational and technological foundation underpins its ability to attract outside capital for continued project deployment.

No current team members are available.