GridPoint, a recognized leader in energy management technology that decarbonizes commercial buildings and unlocks excess grid capacity, announced the completion of $45M in investment, anchored by Marunouchi Innovation Partners (MIP), a climate tech fund sponsored by Mitsubishi Corporation. The $20M investment by MIP will accelerate GridPoint’s growth and open the door for international expansion into Japan and South Korea.
Global power grids are straining under increasing pressure as the demand for electricity continues to accelerate due to the proliferation of data centers, the computing power required by AI and cloud services, and the ongoing adoption of intermittent renewable energy sources. Aging grid infrastructure and extreme weather events only exacerbate this growing problem. The inability of today’s grid to meet demand is leading to higher power prices and decreasing reliability which impacts all customers, especially commercial enterprises. By enabling dynamic load flexibility and leveraging an intelligent energy network of buildings to play an active role in grid stability, GridPoint uniquely serves both businesses and utilities with one platform that drives down energy costs while providing much-needed capacity to the grid.
Driving grid modernization and accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy future is a shared vision. MIP established the Climate Tech Growth fund with the express purpose of helping portfolio companies like GridPoint commercialize and scale up cutting-edge technologies. MIP views GridPoint as a critical investment and plans to help GridPoint expand into Japan and South Korea.
“MIP aims to help drive a carbon-neutral society and, as such, is investing in select global companies dedicated to decarbonization through technology. GridPoint represents an ideal investment opportunity for our fund as their energy solution, comprised of proprietary hardware, combined with a new, cutting-edge software platform, enables commercial companies to dramatically reduce energy usage, while benefitting from the additional control, asset and building insights that adds real value to their operations,” says Ichiro Miyoshi, CEO/CIO of MIP.
“As energy costs continue to rise, due to increasing demands on the grid, efficient Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) will become more critical than ever,” says Miyoshi. “We are pleased to lend our financial support to help support the growth of GridPoint and accelerate their immediate impact on the North American market and ultimately globally.”
GridPoint Chairman, Peter Corsell, said: “The respective missions of Marunouchi and GridPoint are in perfect alignment. As data centers, AI investments, electrification and manufacturing investments all increase demand on the power grid, GridPoint will continue to deliver much-needed capacity to the grid. Moreover, the deep relationships that Marunouchi brings to the table will help GridPoint enter key international markets.”
GridPoint’s other institutional investors include Goldman Sachs, I Squared Capital, Shell Ventures, TOMS Capital, Fortress Investment Group, Olympia Group, and QVT Financial.
About GridPoint
GridPoint is a recognized leader in energy management technology that decarbonizes commercial buildings and drives grid modernization. GridPoint’s technology platform is deployed in 20,000+ commercial buildings across multiple industries, optimizing energy and sustainability goals for commercial enterprises and electric utilities at the same time. GridPoint’s platform leverages data analytics, machine learning, and intelligent automation to deliver unprecedented visibility into complex building operations, reducing energy costs, maximizing decarbonization, and increasing resiliency – building by building. Networked together, buildings with GridPoint Intelligence™ aggregate the reliable and instantaneous capacity that power grids increasingly require. GridPoint’s intelligent energy network of buildings is driving grid modernization and accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy future. For more information, visit https://www.gridpoint.com.
About Marunouchi Innovation Partners
Marunouchi Innovation Partners (MIP) is an investment company dedicated to achieving a carbon-neutral society. As a joint venture between Mitsubishi Corporation, MUFG Bank and Pavilion Private Equity, it combines extensive industry experience and investment capabilities, to support the commercialization and scaling of growth stage companies that contribute to decarbonization. MIP manages the Marunouchi Climate Tech Growth Fund L.P., which targets a wide range of climate tech technologies, including next generation energy, renewables, batteries/electrification, carbon reduction and others. Together with our investors and partners, MIP will support companies alongside their journey of global expansion and contribute to the decarbonization of the world from Japan.
