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- Scheduled Shipment #72
Happy Friday.
Energy is the talk of the town. Energy to power data centers. Energy to charge cars. Optimization for an outdated grid. Check out the latest research from the ever-relevant Contrary for a thoughtful examination of today’s energy opportunity.
$365 million raised across 14 startups. 1 exit.
Let’s dig in.
Top News
Dynamo Ventures raises $54 million Fund III to invest in founders across supply chain, logistics, and foundational industries that power the global economy.
Houston-based South Loop Ventures raises $21 million Fund I to invest in healthcare, energy, space, and climate.
OpenAI is building a 10-square-mile, 5-gigawatt data center in Abu Dhabi.
Timeline
1/ America’s electric grid was once the marvel of the industrial age.
Now it’s aging, brittle, and cracking under the pressure of EVs, extreme weather, and two-way power flows.
This is the story of how we got here—and why we need to build an “energy internet” 🧵
— Contrary Research (@Contrary_Res)
8:35 PM • May 15, 2025
Massive Fundings
Stord, a 10-year-old Atlanta, GA startup that provides an eCommerce & fulfillment platform, raised a $200.0 million Series E led by Strike Capital with participation from Silicon Valley Bank, ORIX USA, Baillie Gifford, NewView Capital, G Squared, Georgia Tech Foundation, Kleiner Perkins, Franklin Templeton, Founders Fund, Bond, Sozo, 137, and Lux Capital. More here.
The Nuclear Company, a 2-year-old Lexington, KY startup that provides a nuclear energy platform, raised a $51.3 million Series A led by Eclipse with participation from CIV, Goldcrest Capital, MCJ Collective, True Ventures, and Wonder Ventures. More here.
Mid-Size Fundings
Converge, an 11-year-old London, UK startup that provides a concrete optimization platform for builders, raised a $22.0 million financing led by ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund with participation from Climate Investment, Move Energy, PI Impact, J-Impact, TO Ventures, and Force Over Mass Capital. More here.
Reflect Orbital, a 4-year-old Los Angeles, CA startup that provides solar energy using in-space reflectors, raised a $20.0 million Series A led by Lux Capital with participation from Sequoia Capital and Starship Ventures. More here.
SparkCharge, an 8-year-old Somerville, MA startup that provides an EV charging platform, raised a $15.5 million Series A-1 led by Monte's Fam with participation from Cleveland Avenue, Collab Capital, Elemental Impact, MarcyPen, and non sibi ventures. More here.
InfinitForm, a 2-year-old Los Angeles, CA startup that provides an AI-powered manufacturing design platform, raised a $12.7 million Seed led by UP.Partners with participation from Schematic Ventures, Counterpart Ventures, Yamaha Motor Ventures, and Carl Bass. More here.
Alt Carbon, a 2-year-old Darjeeling, India startup that provides a carbon removal platform, raised a $12.0 million Seed led by Lachy Groom. More here.
Metafoodx, a 4-year-old San Jose, CA startup that provides an AI-powered operations platform for commercial kitchens, raised a $9.4 million Series A led by Trustbridge Partners with participation from BlueRun Ventures and ScalableVision Capital. More here.
Scription Maintenance, a 5-year-old Alberta, Canada startup that provides an equipment maintenance and repair platform for foodservice providers, raised a $7.8 million Seed led by IA Capital with participation from Markd. More here.
akeno, a 4-year-old Hamburg, Germany startup that provides AI-powered production planning for factories, raised a $5.1 million Seed led by Cusp Capital, TS Ventures, and another.vc. More here.
Smaller Fundings
Verdi, a 5-year-old Vancouver, Canada startup that provides an irrigation automation platform, raised a $4.7 million Seed led by SVG Ventures with participation from NEC X, Ponderosa Ventures, Elemental Impact, GenomeBC, One Small Planet, Waterpoint Lane, Dangerous Ventures, VentureUs, Echo River Capital, Cyan Ventures, Jetstream, and Baker Hall Capital. More here.
Algoma, a 2-year-old New York, NY startup that provides an AI-powered real estate development platform, raised a $2.3 million Seed led by Zacua Ventures with participation from SOSV, Iron Prairie Ventures, DOMiNO Ventures, and Compose VC. More here.
Voltra, a 2-year-old Waterloo, Canada startup that provides an energy optimization platform for EV charging, raised a $1.8 million Pre-Seed led by Contrary Capital with participation from Hanover Capital and Velocity Fund. More here.
CropMind, a 7-year-old New Brunswick, Canada startup that provides a computer vision platform to boost crop yield, raised a $500K Seed led by New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and BKR Capital. More here.
Exits
Outgo, a 47-year-old Beaverton, OR startup that provides an accounts receivable & payable platform for truckers, was acquired for an undisclosed amount by DAT. More here.
Thanks for Reading!
-Greg
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