The Venture Codex

Participated · Series A · Apr 2021

Project Canary is a Denver, CO–based climate tech and environmental assessment company formed as a Public Benefit Corporation by CEO and co-founder Chris Romer. It offers a SaaS-based data analytics platform focused on the environmental performance (the E in ESG) for emission-intensive companies. The platform assesses and scores responsible operations and produces independent, measured emission profiles, including methane, using high-fidelity continuous monitoring technology. Project Canary provides independent, holistic environmental assessments and facility-level monitoring solutions to help companies measure and improve operations and emissions profiles. The company plans to use new funding to scale its core solutions and expand into new sectors. The article reports a $111M Series B raised in February 2022 to support those efforts. Project Canary delivers continuous, on-site, real-time emissions monitoring technology and independent ESG data to customers across the energy, manufacturing, and waste management sectors. Its TrustWell™ certification attests to responsibly sourced gas (RSG) verification and has been applied to over 5,000 wells in the U.S., with more than 1,500 additional wells in its sales pipeline. The company reports that TrustWell™ certification has been involved in over 85 percent of RSG transactions in the U.S. to date. Project Canary says it is working with nearly 100 partners across the energy sector, including producers, pipeline operators, utilities, LNG providers, investors, and lenders. It is a mission-driven B‑Corporation (approval pending) and partners with the Colorado School of Mines Payne Institute to share best practices and insights from continuous monitoring. The company positions its product as a tool to provide actionable, independent data that supports customers’ net-zero and decarbonization goals.

Led · Equity · Sep 2020

Datagration offers the PetroVisor platform, a cloud-deployable, open and agnostic SaaS solution that consolidates and integrates disparate engineering, geological, financial, accounting and production data into a single version of the truth. PetroVisor’s Unified Data Model (UDM) and scalable architecture enable analytics, workflow automation, and AI/ML across disciplines and functions. Launched in late 2020, the company serves upstream oil and gas customers globally and positions the platform for organization-wide use from executives to production staff. Datagration’s team of data scientists, engineers, and technologists works with customers on data analysis, benchmarking, collaboration, and financial analysis. The company plans to use new funding to advance PetroVisor, expand platform-native apps and implementations, grow its customer success group, and recruit additional global sales resources. Management emphasizes avoiding vendor lock-in and deploying on any cloud to drive operational and process improvements that boost asset productivity and profitability. Datagration Solutions delivers PetroVisor, an open-architecture software platform that aggregates and integrates data from disparate legacy systems into a single cloud-based or on-premise platform with built-in workflow solutions and real-time analytics. The platform automates operational workflows including portfolio management, asset development, well productivity enhancement, and machine learning to optimize processes, operating costs, and capital expenditures. PetroVisor is used by super-majors, national oil companies, and independents to break down organizational silos and improve the efficiency of existing personnel. Datagration’s founding senior management team includes energy software veterans Peter Bernard, Jorge Machnizh, and Ike Epley. The company is a member of Microsoft’s One Commercial Partner Program with co-sell opportunities with Microsoft Energy and is also in Amazon’s AWS Partner Network. Datagration recently completed an $11 million equity financing to support growth and product development.

Participated · Series C · Jan 2019

Workrise (formerly RigUp) operates an online workforce-management marketplace that matches skilled laborers with infrastructure and energy companies. Its platform connects workers with over 500 companies, handles payroll and benefits, and provides access to training. The business has expanded beyond oil and gas into wind, solar, commercial construction, and defense. Workrise serves more than 70 U.S. metro areas and has over 600 employees across 25 offices. Financially, gross revenue tripled from just under $300M in 2018 to about $900M to close out 2020, and the company placed 15,000 workers in 2020. The company plans to use new capital to continue expanding into new markets, particularly renewable energy and infrastructure roles. RigUp operates a marketplace that connects contract field workers with energy companies to source and manage skilled trade labor. The platform gives workers access to a large network of energy companies, flexible payment terms, and streamlined access to partners that provide healthcare benefits and training. It serves upstream, renewables, midstream, and downstream segments across the energy industry. The company has more than 300 employees across the United States and in 2019 expected to exceed $2 billion in gross service volume on its platform, more than a 200% increase from 2018. RigUp plans to use new capital to expand into renewable energy, midstream oil and gas, and downstream operations and to hire at its Austin headquarters and Denver office. Founded in 2014 by CEO Xuan Yong and COO Mike Witte, the company is based in Austin, Texas. RigUp operates a marketplace app that connects pre-qualified contract oilfield workers with services companies and E&P operators, enabling workers to find jobs and employers to hire quickly. The platform helps engineers and project managers track contractor compliance and reduce administrative work. Led by CEO and co-founder Xuan Yong, the company focuses on on-demand services and labor for the energy industry. RigUp is based in Austin, Texas. The company said it will use the funds to continue to expand operations. The article does not disclose revenue or user metrics. RigUp operates a digital oilfield services marketplace that lets buyers and service providers connect and transact across a full range of oilfield services. The company leverages proprietary software to streamline transactions and enable scale on demand. RigUp provides buyers across the United States access to more than 22,000 service providers across 100+ service categories. It plans to use new capital to strengthen its product with enhanced mobile features and streamlined payment solutions and to continue building its product and sales teams. Financially, RigUp completed a $15.8M Series B and has secured a $30M credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank. The company is led by CEO and co-founder Xuan Yong. RigUp is a bidding, compliance, and invoicing platform that connects operators and service companies for efficient and safe operations. The platform facilitates bidding, compliance management, and invoicing to streamline interactions between operators and service companies. RigUp closed a $15 million Series A, following a $3 million seed round in summer 2014. The new Series A funding came mostly from existing investors Founders Fund, Box Group, and Great Oaks. New backers in the round included FreeS VC, Moore Capital, and GE Ventures.