Blackhorn Ventures, a Denver-based venture capital firm, has raised $150 million it says it will invest in innovations at the intersection of clean energy, manufacturing and artificial intelligence.
The Industrial Impact Fund II, LP will deploy seed and Series A stage investments focused on “capital-efficient software solutions, vertical SaaS companies, and AI applications” to further efforts around industrial resource efficiency and decarbonization.
"We are at a pivotal moment where the AI supercycle and the manufacturing supercycle are colliding with historic changes in our energy and transportation systems," Melissa Cheong, general partner at Blackhorn Ventures, wrote in a statement. "Our third fund is well positioned to support founders at the forefront of industrial AI, addressing critical labor shortages, and delivering scalable decarbonization solutions. With six early mark-ups across this portfolio, we believe our thesis is timely and essential to ensure the economic competitiveness and durability of our most critical industries."
Blackhorn Ventures was founded in 2017 and is focused on accelerating the energy transition by investing in energy, transportation, real estate and construction, and supply chain and logistics, according to its website.
The Industrial Impact Fund II is poised to capitalize on the $1.7 trillion opportunity in industrial resource efficiency and the projected $4.5 trillion investment needed for the global energy transition by 2030, the company said in a press release.
The fund is investing in startups working to “revolutionize” the industrial landscape using artificial intelligence, Blackhorn Ventures said.
It recently led the Series A funding for Chicago-based robotics company, Formic, which raised $27.4 million to expand automation services for U.S. manufacturers. Other start-ups it helped fund include Circuit Mind, a London-based software company; ThinkLabs AI, Inc, a New York City-based technology start-up; Specifix, a California-based HVAC assets start-up; EcoWorks, a Berlin-based climate startup; Optera, a Boulder-based carbon management software consulting firm; and Electric Era, a Seattle-based electric vehicle charging company.
"Strategic corporate partnerships are crucial for scaling impact," Phillip O’Connor, who co-leads the firm with Cheong, wrote in a statement. "We’ve been investing in machine learning and AI since 2017 and are privileged to bring this experience to bear on collaborations with a select group of multinationals that share our vision, and are committed to supporting groundbreaking digital infrastructure."
Blackhorn Ventures focuses on funding start-ups that are women or minority-led given that only 3% of the $107B raised by venture funds in 2023 went to VC firms with women in leadership positions, according to the press release.
The VC firm recently partnered with multinational corporations including Mitsubishi Electric, Westlake Corporation and Mercuria Energy and commitments from Jonathan Rose, Goldbeck GmbH, Simpson Strong-Tie and the Grantham Foundation, according to the press release.
Boris Bystrov, the investment managing director at Mercuria Energy, wrote that the partnership with Blackhorn Ventures aligns with their mission of “driving the energy transition through innovative digital infrastructure and sustainable solutions.”
“By leveraging AI and advanced technologies, we can accelerate decarbonization efforts and enhance operational efficiencies across the industrial sector,” Bystrov wrote in a statement. “We look forward to supporting the transformative impact this fund will have on the global energy landscape."
