David135
GE, Sequoia on A123Systems and cleantech
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Published October 16, 2009 at 5:59 AM
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in 2001, when Sequoia
Capital participated in the Series A for
lithium-ion battery maker A123Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:AONE), the
investment marked the Silicon Valley venture capital firm's debut
into the cleantech category -- "only it wasn't even called
cleantech then," recalled Sequoia partner Michael Goguen at a media
forum on cleantech VC investing hosted by GE
Energy Financial Services at GE Global
Research, the company's research and technology development center
in Niskayuna, N.Y., earlier this week. A123Systems ultimately
raised $350 million before its successful initial public offering
last month. (The company will announce
earnings on Nov. 10, with a conference call
scheduled at 5:00 p.m. EST that day.)When asked to compare and contrast investing in cleantech versus traditional VC-backed categories, such as information technology, Goguen said that "the common elements in building a sustainable company include the right entrepreneurs and frugality, but there are some undeniable differences." "The customer base tends to be pretty difficult to sell into in the energy world," continued Goguen. "We found that unlike in the IT world or the enterprise software world, close cooperation with 'big brothers' were much more paramount here. Having the right partner was crucial." Enter GE, which began backing A123Systems in 2006 with its Series C when the battery maker's only customer was Black and Decker Corp. (NYSE:BDK), said Ric Fulop, a co-founder of the company, who spoke on another panel at the media forum. "Most VCs I've worked with don't really have the resources to dig into the technology and do the type of heavy-lifting research work at the molecule level that GE does," said Fulop. Since 2006, GE has invested $160 million in 20 private companies, a small but important part of the $4 billion GE has spent on alternative energy over that period, CEO of GE Energy Financial Services Alex Urquhart said at the media forum. "GE brings much more than money to the companies we back," he said, citing connections to GE companies and partners, the research and development center, and the abilities to "look at technology and assess it early on and collaborate along the way." The media forum was designed to showcase GE's considerable resources, which include impressive research and development labs in solar panels, nanotechnology and hybrid vehicles. GE also made news from the forum on Thursday, when it unveiled strategic investments in two venture capital-backed alternative energy startups, SolarEdge Technologies Inc., a Herzliya, Israel-based company that develops efficiency-boosting technology for solar panels and has raised a total of $34.8 million in VC funding since its founding in 2006, and Tendril Inc., a Boulder, Colo., startup that develops smart-grid technology to help utilities operate more efficiently and has raised $50 million since its inception in 2004. (The Deal Pipeline subscribers may read more about the investments here.) On future cleantech investments for Sequoia, Goguen says he's excited by "energy efficiency-related technologies in everything from chips to dramatic battery savings for hand-held devices to smart-grid-oriented technologies, and also fuel savings in areas including transportation, such as fossil fuel-driven vehicles." - Mary Kathleen Flynn from http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2009/10/ge_sequoia_capital_on_cleantec.php</SPAN> 阅读全文>> |
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