Burnsville-based smart-energy startup 75F announced Wednesday that it closed on an $18 million round of venture capital that includes investment from a group of high-profile tech CEOs and a billionaire-backed investment fund.
75F's round of financing was co-led by Breakthrough Ventures and the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.
Breakthrough is a $1 billion fund created by Bill Gates in 2016 focused on backing companies creating technology that could potentially combat climate change. The firm's board includes tech industry giants like Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Richard Branson.
The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative is a voluntary, CEO-led organization taking practical actions to lower carbon footprints in industries such as energy and transportation. OGCI counts some of the world's largest oil companies (BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil and others) among its investors. 75F is the first company that OGCI has backed in the buildings space.
In addition to Breakthrough and OGCI, Boston, Mass.-based Building Ventures, Chicago, Ill.-based Clean Energy Trust and Rise of the Rest also participated in 75F's $18M Series A round. Rise of the Rest, a fund co-led by AOL co-founder Steve Case, previously invested $100,000 in 75F shortly after the company won the Minnesota Cup in 2014.
"We are honored to have this incredible group of investors backing our vision and helping 75F take an enormous step as the global leader in the industry," 75F CEO Deepinder Singh said in a statement. "This strategic funding will allow 75F to invest in key positions, continue to innovate our product and customer solution, and strengthen our partner network across North America, APAC, the Middle East, China and Australia."
Last month, Minne Inno reported that, according to an SEC filing, 75F had raised $7.5 million in a planned $15 million round. At the time, 75F could not be reached for comment on the funding.
The company, founded in 2012, has raised around $25M to date.
75F aims to reduce energy costs in commercial buildings through the use of smart sensors. Through the system, users can control temperatures in different parts of the building and turn off certain areas that are not occupied. 75F's platform also takes into account weather forecasts to determine proper building temperatures.
75F has a handful of notable customers, such as St. Louis Park-based Magnet360 and New Hope-based Border Foods, one of the nation's leading Taco Bell franchise owners. Other companies with 75F systems include WeWork, HOM Furniture, Hewlett Packard and Shell.
75F also does a lot of business in India. There, the company’s systems can be found at the offices of e-commerce business Flipkart, The Times of India newspaper, Mercedes-Benz and more.
The company said in a statement that its fresh funds will be used to scale, support and upgrade its operations both in the Twin Cities and Bangalore, India.
