Participated · Series D · Jun 2018

BrightFarms is an Irvington, N.Y.-based next-generation indoor farming company that supplies U.S. grocery retailers with locally grown packaged salad greens. It operates hydroponic greenhouse farms in the communities it serves and is led by CEO Steve Platt. The company currently has operations in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and has three new farms under development in North Carolina, Massachusetts and Texas. BrightFarms distributes its products to more than 2,000 stores and expects to expand distribution to more than 15,000 stores by 2025. The company plans to use the new funding to invest in its current farms and retail programs and to expand its network of regional indoor farms across the U.S. BrightFarms is the No.1 brand in locally grown packaged salads and builds and operates greenhouse farms near major metropolitan areas to provide supermarkets with locally grown produce. Its core product is locally grown packaged salads and other produce sold to leading national retailers including Kroger, Ahold, Albertsons and Walmart. The company partners with supermarkets, cities, capital sources and vendors to finance, build and operate local greenhouse farms that deliver a one-week freshness advantage, innovative varieties and a more reliable, safer supply chain. BrightFarms’ growing methods use 80 percent less water, 90 percent less land and 95 percent less shipping fuel than long-distance, centralized and field-grown suppliers; all produce is pesticide-free and non-GMO. The company currently operates facilities in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Illinois, with a new farm in Ohio opening this summer and a Texas facility planned for early 2019 to support rapid national expansion. The recent $55 million Series D equity financing led by Cox Enterprises will fund continued growth of BrightFarms’ network of local and sustainable farms. BrightFarms operates controlled‑environment greenhouses that produce salad greens and other fresh vegetables for local grocers, aiming to replace long‑distance and imported produce. The company offers grocers long‑term, fixed‑rate produce purchasing agreements that help underwrite new greenhouse builds. After locking a purchasing agreement, BrightFarms raises capital from economic development programs, banks, and equity firms to finance construction, meaning much of its cost of goods is committed revenue before a site opens. The firm emphasizes using natural sunlight in greenhouses to be more energy‑ and water‑efficient than indoor, container, or traditional farms. BrightFarms currently operates three greenhouses (each employing 25 full‑time workers) in the greater Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Chicago metro areas. It plans to build additional greenhouses and expand into new crops such as peppers and strawberries, and may consider markets like California in the future. BrightFarms develops and operates local greenhouse farms that supply pesticide-free produce to supermarket clients. Its greenhouses are designed to use less water, land, shipping fuel and energy than conventional produce sources. The company partners with supermarkets, cities, capital sources, and vendors to finance, build and run facilities. It has three commercial-scale greenhouse facilities in operation or development across the Midwest and East Coast. BrightFarms has $100M in contracted commitments from supermarket clients and has raised more than $40M in capital to date. The company plans to use the new funds to build additional commercial-scale greenhouses and further invest in its capacity to provide high levels of customer service; it is led by CEO Paul Lightfoot and based in New York City. BrightFarms finances, builds and operates local greenhouse farms and signs long-term purchase agreements with supermarkets featuring fixed prices and minimum volume commitments. The company focuses on growing local produce nationwide by partnering with cities, capital sources and vendors to develop markets and projects. Led by CEO Paul Lightfoot, BrightFarms operates a vertically integrated model that ties farm development to offtake agreements. In conjunction with its recent financing, Gregory S. Oberholtzer of WP Global joined BrightFarms' board. The company raised an additional $2.4M in Series B financing, bringing that round to $7.4M. To date BrightFarms has raised close to $20M in capital.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2016

Renew Financial is an Oakland, Calif.-based clean energy and home improvement finance company that administers and provides multiple financing products across the country. The company administers Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs and other financing options in several states. Renew Financial closed a $300M revolving credit facility provided by Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. and Barclays Bank PLC. The proceeds will allow the company to provide financing through PACE programs in Florida and California. PACE is a financing tool enabled by state and local governments that gives homeowners and business owners access to private capital to finance renewable energy, energy efficiency, water conservation, seismic, and wind mitigation upgrades and repay the cost via their property tax bill. Renew Financial, founded in 2008 by Cisco DeVries, provides Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing and multiple other financing products across the U.S., including residential unsecured loans (ReHome) and utility on-bill financing. The company enables property owners to finance the full cost of energy, water efficiency and renewable upgrades and repay via property tax bills. It recently acquired AFC First and EcoCity Partners and partnered with SolarCity to finance medium-sized business solar systems. Renew raised $70M in growth capital and plans to use the proceeds to accelerate the nationwide rollout of PACE programs, loans and other products. The article does not disclose revenues, valuation, or prior round terms.

Participated · Series D · Oct 2014

Moka5 delivers next-generation end-user computing solutions using lightweight, centrally managed containers to secure and manage Windows workspaces across platforms, networks, and devices. Its Enterprise AnyWare platform and Project SkyNet container are designed to extend cloud and enterprise Windows workspaces and simplify workspace management. The company says it was the first vendor to deliver a centrally managed container infrastructure for both computers and mobile devices. Moka5 was formed in 2005 based on the research of Stanford and MIT PhDs and released its first enterprise-ready product in 2010. It counts customers in the energy, legal, finance, services, and manufacturing sectors and released a series of updates in 2014, including Vanguard and Warlord releases that have driven market interest. The company announced a $16 million Series D financing, which leadership framed as affirmation of its market prospects.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2014

Regen Energy provides SWARM Energy Management®, a wireless smart grid technology platform that helps organizations manage electrical demand and reduce energy costs. The platform is used by more than 300 organizations operating small to mid-sized commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. Led by President and CEO Pete Malcolm, the company operates out of San Marcos, California and Toronto, Canada. Regen Energy raised funds to support continued operational growth. The company emphasizes demand management across distributed building portfolios via its wireless SWARM platform. No revenue or other financial metrics were disclosed in the article. Regen Energy develops a wireless electrical load management and automated demand response platform. Its patented Swarm Energy Management™ smart grid technology lets building owners manage electrical demand and enables small to mid-sized commercial, industrial and institutional buildings without building automation to participate in automated demand response and dynamic load management markets. The company is led by President and CEO Tim Angus and is based in Toronto, Canada and Newport Beach, California. Regen held a USD$7M initial close to its Series B round. It intends to use the funds to increase marketing, sales and support infrastructure and to enhance product features. The company plans to continue growing in North America and internationally. REGEN Energy provides hardware and services that enable commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-unit residential facilities to reduce electrical demand charges. The company works through a network of resellers and engineering consulting firms across Canada and the United States. Founded in 2005 and led by President and CEO Tim Angus, REGEN opened an office in California in September and has a Toronto headquarters. It recently closed a $5.5M equity funding round and will use the proceeds to expand marketing activities across North America. REGEN plans to focus resources in the U.S. southwest (particularly California) and the U.S. Northeast, where utilities offer substantial financial benefits via demand reduction and incentive programs. In conjunction with the financing, representatives from the investors will join REGEN’s board.

Participated · Series B · Nov 2013

Choose Energy is a free online marketplace enabling residents and businesses to compare and switch energy suppliers in their area. The platform is currently available in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Ohio, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey. The company intends to use the new funds to expand into all 19 deregulated electricity states and 22 natural gas states in 2014 and to improve the platform. In September the company acquired Power2Switch. Leadership includes newly appointed CEO Kerry Cooper and founder Jerry Dyess, who will become chief commercial officer. Financially, Choose Energy raised $7.5M in a Series B and had previously raised $4M in a March 2013 Series A from KPCB and Stephens Capital Partners. Choose Energy operates an online marketplace that educates consumers about residential electricity supply and provides an interface to compare retail electricity plans, filter by term, price and type, select a plan, and enroll online. The company is also building tools to help retail energy providers compete more effectively, leveraging lessons from telecommunications, travel, media and other web-enabled industries. It is currently active in Texas, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois and plans to enter all 19 deregulated energy states and 22 deregulated natural gas states. Founded in 2008 and led by CEO Jerry Dyess, the company is based in Plano, TX. Choose Energy raised $4M in Series A financing to accelerate growth, expand technology development and marketing, augment services for retail suppliers, and strengthen its market position. The company intends to use the capital to support those initiatives.