Energy Foundry Research Document
Investment Thesis
Energy Foundry is a specialized venture capital firm focused exclusively on the energy technology and climate innovation sectors. Founded in 2012 by Jason Blumberg and Sara Chamberlain, the firm has established itself as a leader in early-stage clean energy investing. The firm believes in the transformative power of innovative energy technologies to address global energy challenges and reduce carbon emissions. Energy Foundry provides not just capital but deep domain expertise, industry connections, and operational support to portfolio companies.
Sector and Investment Focus
Energy Foundry's investment focus spans multiple energy-related sectors:
Primary Focus Areas:
- Energy efficiency and demand-side management (smart home, building controls)
- Energy storage and battery technologies (lithium-ion alternatives, long-duration storage)
- Solar and photovoltaic monitoring and management
- Smart grid and distributed energy resources
- Industrial energy optimization
- Fuel management and distribution technologies
- Climate tech and sustainability solutions
The firm explicitly focuses on technologies that can integrate with existing utility infrastructure (ComEd, Ameren) and have path to commercialization within 3-5 years.
Stage Focus
Energy Foundry invests primarily at the Seed and Series A stages:
- Seed: $1M-$3.15M average (historically $3.15M average across 7 investments)
- Series A: $3.17M average (historically across 4 investments)
- Series B: $10.5M average (for select follow-on investments)
The fund targets companies with working prototypes, initial customer traction, and technical validation. They avoid pure hardware-only plays, preferring software-enabled hardware solutions.
Check Size and Fund Details
Typical investment range: $1M - $5M for initial investments
- Seed stage: $1M-$3.15M (can reach $5M+)
- Series A: $2.5M-$5M
- Series B (follow-on): $5M-$15M+
The firm has deployed multiple funds over its 13+ year history and continues active deployment as of 2024-2025.
Decision Process and Timeline
Decision Process: Partnership model with multiple GPs (Jason Blumberg, Sara Chamberlain, Matt Vanhoeven) Decision Timeline: Approximately 2-4 months typical for seed-stage companies Board Involvement: Selective; Energy Foundry typically takes board seat or observer rights for early-stage investments
Lead vs Follow Tendency
Energy Foundry shows strong lead tendency:
- Leads many Seed and Series A rounds (evidenced by portfolio)
- Open to co-leading rounds with strong co-investors
- Actively participates in follow-on rounds for portfolio companies
- Partners with utilities (ComEd, Ameren) for customer validation
Recent leading investments: Recurve (2022), Azumo (2022), e-Zinc (2021), Intellihot (2021)
Recent Activity and Fund Status
Fund Status: Actively deploying
Recent Investment Activity (2022-2024):
- May 2022: Series B in Recurve ($6.4M) - energy efficiency software
- May 2022: Series B in Azumo ($4.9M) - software/hardware for energy management
- May 2022: Series A in Network Perception ($7.9M) - industrial energy/grid monitoring
- Apr 2022: Series A in e-Zinc ($3.9M) - energy storage (acquired by Dragos in 2024)
- Dec 2021: Series B in Intellihot ($3.7M) - commercial water heating
Fund Performance:
- Total investments: 19+ companies over 13+ years (average 1.5 per year)
- Portfolio acquisitions: 5 exits including Network Perception (2024), Tank Utility (2021)
- Active portfolio: 14+ companies in various stages
Portfolio Highlights
Notable Exits:
- Network Perception: Acquired by Dragos (Oct 2024) - cybersecurity for critical infrastructure
- Tank Utility: Acquired by fuel delivery platform (Sep 2021)
- Digital H2O: Acquired (2018)
- GlidePath: Acquired (2017)
- Recurve: Recent acquisition (2012) - energy efficiency platform
Active Portfolio (Notable Companies):
- Omnidian: Series C, $168M+ raised - solar PV monitoring (founded 2015, Seattle)
- Span.IO: Series B, $256M+ raised - smart home energy management (founded 2014, SF)
- NanoGraf: Series B, $70.5M+ raised - silicon-based battery anodes (founded 2012, Chicago)
- Tank Utility: Acquired - propane tank monitoring and fuel management
- Polystyvert: Series B, $30.4M+ raised - recycled plastic technology (founded 2011, Montreal)
- Intellihot: Series B, $50M+ raised - commercial water heating (energy efficiency)
- Sistine Solar: Early investment - solar optimization
- Recurve: Series B - behavioral energy efficiency platform
Investment Concentration: 12 investments in Energy Tech, 11 in Sustainability Tech, 9 in Environment Tech, 7 in High Tech
Team and Leadership
Founding Partners:
- Jason Blumberg (Co-Founder & Managing Director): Previously at McKinsey & Company (energy consulting), later led ISEIF. Deep energy industry expertise. Based in Chicago.
- Sara Chamberlain (Co-Founder & Managing Director): Extensive cleantech investing experience. Board member at e-Zinc. Based in Chicago.
Investment Team:
- Matt Vanhoeven (Partner): Chicago-based, brings portfolio company operational expertise
- Judy Li (Principal): Based in San Francisco, focuses on technical due diligence and software/hardware integration
Team Size: 4 people (3 partners, 1 principal)
Geographic Focus
Primary Markets: United States (13 investments), with selective Canadian investments (2 investments)
Key Regions:
- Midwest: Chicago (headquarters), focus on utility partnerships with ComEd and Ameren
- West Coast: San Francisco Bay Area (growth of tech-focused energy companies)
- National: Distributed across US for energy-focused startups
Co-Investment Network: 130+ investors have co-invested in Energy Foundry portfolio companies. Strong relationships with Congruent Ventures, Anzu Partners, Evergreen Climate Innovations, and DOE/government programs.
Founder and Company Preferences
Founder Profile: Energy Foundry seeks founders with:
- Deep technical expertise in energy systems or related fields
- Prior experience in energy/utilities or enterprise software
- Understanding of regulatory and utility landscape
- Ability to navigate long sales cycles (utilities, industrial)
- Track record of building and scaling companies
Company Characteristics:
- Software-enabled hardware with recurring revenue models preferred
- Clear path to utility or industrial customer adoption
- Scalable technology with defensible IP
- Experienced founding team (often from Fortune 500 energy companies or scale-ups)
- 3-5 year commercialization horizon
Warm Introductions
Strong preference for warm introductions through existing portfolio companies or utility partners. Given the technical nature of energy investments, diligence process typically longer than consumer tech VCs.
Anti-Thesis
Energy Foundry explicitly avoids:
- Pure consulting or services businesses
- Solar installation or deployment companies (non-tech)
- Speculative early-stage battery chemistry (pre-prototype)
- Companies without clear utility partnership pathway
- Consumer hardware without software/data moat
- Projects requiring government subsidies for viability
Decision Timeline
Typical seed-stage investment timeline: 6-12 weeks from initial meeting to term sheet, depending on technical complexity and market validation.
Unique Characteristics
Illinois Law Nonprofit Status: Energy Foundry is uniquely structured as a nonprofit created under Illinois law and funded via mandatory utility contributions. This structure enables patient capital and long-term thinking. Returns are recycled back into the fund for continued deployment. This creates unique alignment with energy transition goals.
Utility Partnerships: Direct relationships with ComEd (Illinois) and Ameren (Illinois/Missouri) enable customer validation and deployment partnerships. Portfolio companies gain early access to large customer bases.
Domain Expertise: Combination of energy industry veterans (Blumberg from McKinsey), venture expertise (Chamberlain), and technical talent (Li) creates rare perspective on what works in energy tech.
Recent Co-Investors
- Congruent Ventures (2+ co-investments)
- Anzu Partners (multiple energy storage and efficiency companies)
- Evergreen Climate Innovations
- The Westly Group
- Sustainable Development Technology Canada
- DOE (government grants)
- Wellington Asset Management
- Liberty Mutual Insurance
- BNP Paribas Asset Management
Market Positioning
Energy Foundry is positioned as the premier early-stage energy venture fund in the Midwest with exceptional domain expertise and utility partnerships. While only 4 people, the team punches above its weight through deep energy sector knowledge, strong utility relationships, and patient capital structure.