Another former leader of Houston-based investment bank Tudor, Pickering & Holt Co. is making moves in energy transition investment following his departure from the bank.
Maynard Holt’s investment firm, Veriten, said Oct. 18 it closed its debut fund, NexTen LP, with $85 million in committed capital. Baker Botts LLP served as legal counsel for NexTen.
The fund has made five investments to date, with one portfolio company, Amperon, having recently announced its own $20 million Series B round.
The five companies in NexTen’s portfolio are:
- Houston-based Amperon, which specializes in electricity analytics and grid forecasting powered by artificial intelligence, co-founded by current CEO Sean Kelly.
- Atlanta-based Emrgy, which generates clean power through hydroelectric turbines.
- Casper, Wyoming-based Mesa Natural Gas Solutions, a company exploring applications of natural gas in the oil and gas fields as well as power monitoring and backup solutions.
- San Francisco-based Orbital Sidekick, a company that uses satellite monitoring to allow customers in government, energy and mining to track assets and meet decarbonization goals.
- Canada-based Orennia, a data analytics platform providing insights for energy transition investors and developers.
NexTen's advisory board includes Bob Gwin, former president and CFO of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. acquired in 2019; Marty Phillips, managing partner and co-founder of Houston-based EnCap Investments; and Jason Cansler, CEO of Houston-based Birch Resources, a Permian Basin-focused exploration and production company.
Holt brought on several other former TPH researchers to lead the advisory board of NexTen, including Jeff Tillery, former head of TPH Research, and Mike Bradley, former head of TPH Capital Markets. Arjun Murti, former head of Goldman Sachs Research, and Todd Scruggs, former treasurer and vice president of corporate development at WPX Energy, were also listed among NexTen’s leadership.
“We have intentionally built a community of diverse perspectives that includes great friends, great energy thinkers, experienced energy leaders, and leading energy companies to create a powerful network and collaborative environment that we can call on,” Holt said in an Oct. 18 news release. “Sorting out where energy is headed will require thinking about all the angles. We are really excited about the team, the investors, and the partners we are bringing together to try and crack the code to the next ten years in energy.”
Holt founded Veriten in 2022 after he and TPH co-founder Bobby Tudor retired from the bank. Another co-founder, Dan Pickering, spun out the current iteration of Pickering Energy Partners in 2019.
Tudor also founded his own investment firm, Artemis Energy Partners, last year. As part of investments Artemis made this year, Tudor joined the board of two energy transition startups: San Francisco-based emissions monitoring company Puloli and Austin-based corporate sustainability tracker P6 Technologies.
A former chair of the Greater Houston Partnership, Tudor also currently serves as chairman of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, a GHP-led consortium of Houston energy companies working to shape the region’s energy transition strategy.
Holt joined TPH in 2007, a few months after the merger of Tudor Capital Partners and Pickering Energy Partners Inc. During his time there, TPH saw the beginnings of the shale revolution and the fracking boom. Chad Michael currently leads TPH as president.
