Latest news with #BuildersVision
Cision Canada
3 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Energize Capital raises $430 million to capitalize and scale digitally-enabled climate solutions
Backed by leading institutional Limited Partners, Ventures Fund III underscores the need for thematically aligned investors in today's market CHICAGO, June 3, 2025 /CNW/ -- Energize Capital, a leading multi-stage investor in climate solutions, today announced the close of its Ventures Fund III ("Ventures III") totaling $430 million in capital commitments to the fund and its related vehicles. The firm's fifth institutional fund and third of its Ventures strategy, Ventures III will deploy into earlier-stage companies focused on scaling energy and industrial transformation through digital and software-enabled solutions. This latest raise brings Energize's total assets under management to over $1.8 billion and will empower the specialist firm to continue leveraging its team's decades of expertise in climate technology to support entrepreneurs through both financial capital and extensive operational and commercialization support. Today's economy is undergoing a profound transformation, placing new demands on capital partners to navigate emerging complexity and create value. Technologies like AI are redefining industrial processes, driving innovation, efficiency, and scalability. At the same time, the reshoring of manufacturing, evolving global supply chains, and the accelerating energy transition are reshaping critical infrastructure. These shifts are creating significant opportunities in areas such as grid interconnection, next-generation manufacturing, and the circular economy—all of which increasingly rely on digital tools to manage complexity and unlock value. With a thesis grounded in digital-first climate solutions and a track record of scaling companies in these evolving sectors, Energize is well-positioned to be a critical partner in this next chapter. "Now on our third ventures fund, the Energize team has been investing in climate technologies and solutions across several cycles, and we've experienced firsthand how this space has evolved in both market size and complexity," said John Tough, managing partner at Energize Capital. "Today more than ever, operators need specialist investors with deep domain expertise and operational know-how to help them scale their solutions and achieve enduring growth. We are excited to back the next generation of entrepreneurs and are honored to be supported by a group of world-class Limited Partners who align with our mission of investing in climate solutions with ambition." Energize's Ventures Fund III is backed by LPs that represent leading institutional, corporate strategic, family office and impact investors. New LPs in the fund include Första AP-Fonden (AP1), Capricorn, Reference Capital, Keeling Capital, Keysight Technologies, WEX Venture Capital, and several other international pensions. Among returning investors are GE Vernova, CDPQ, Builders Vision, UBS, WEC, and others. "As an investor committed to accelerating the energy transition, Builders Vision values Energize's deep industry insights and proven approach to scaling energy transition SaaS businesses," said Scott Gerdes, director of private investments at Builders Vision. "The close of Ventures Fund III is an opportunity for Energize to further enhance its in-depth research, valuable industry connections, and hands-on team, all of which are crucial for driving broader market adoption. By collaborating with forward-thinking companies and leveraging cutting-edge technology, Energize is fueling growth and contributing to the creation of a cleaner, more resilient energy ecosystem." 1 The fund will back asset-light climate solutions, with a particular focus on companies operating in the industrial digitization, next generation infrastructure and energy transition sectors. To date, Energize has deployed capital from Ventures III into several investments, including Tyba, a battery software optimization platform; Archive, a technology solution for brands to launch and scale profitable resale businesses; and Nira, a software platform that supports grid interconnection for energy developers. About Energize Capital Energize Capital is a leading investor in climate solutions. Founded in 2016 and based in Chicago, Energize seeks to scale sustainable innovation by partnering with the builders and operators shaping the future. To date, Energize has funded 36 companies and deployed more than $920 million through its Venture and Endurance strategies. Founded in partnership with Invenergy, the firm is backed by strategic, institutional, and impact LPs including Första AP-Fonden (AP1), GE Vernova, Capricorn, CDPQ, Builders Vision, UBS, WEC, Reference Capital, Keeling Capital, Keysight Technologies, WEX Venture Capital, and more. For more information on Energize, please visit
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Energize Capital raises $430 million to capitalize and scale digitally-enabled climate solutions
Backed by leading institutional Limited Partners, Ventures Fund III underscores the need for thematically aligned investors in today's market CHICAGO, June 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Energize Capital, a leading multi-stage investor in climate solutions, today announced the close of its Ventures Fund III ("Ventures III") totaling $430 million in capital commitments to the fund and its related vehicles. The firm's fifth institutional fund and third of its Ventures strategy, Ventures III will deploy into earlier-stage companies focused on scaling energy and industrial transformation through digital and software-enabled solutions. This latest raise brings Energize's total assets under management to over $1.8 billion and will empower the specialist firm to continue leveraging its team's decades of expertise in climate technology to support entrepreneurs through both financial capital and extensive operational and commercialization support. Today's economy is undergoing a profound transformation, placing new demands on capital partners to navigate emerging complexity and create value. Technologies like AI are redefining industrial processes, driving innovation, efficiency, and scalability. At the same time, the reshoring of manufacturing, evolving global supply chains, and the accelerating energy transition are reshaping critical infrastructure. These shifts are creating significant opportunities in areas such as grid interconnection, next-generation manufacturing, and the circular economy—all of which increasingly rely on digital tools to manage complexity and unlock value. With a thesis grounded in digital-first climate solutions and a track record of scaling companies in these evolving sectors, Energize is well-positioned to be a critical partner in this next chapter. "Now on our third ventures fund, the Energize team has been investing in climate technologies and solutions across several cycles, and we've experienced firsthand how this space has evolved in both market size and complexity," said John Tough, managing partner at Energize Capital. "Today more than ever, operators need specialist investors with deep domain expertise and operational know-how to help them scale their solutions and achieve enduring growth. We are excited to back the next generation of entrepreneurs and are honored to be supported by a group of world-class Limited Partners who align with our mission of investing in climate solutions with ambition." Energize's Ventures Fund III is backed by LPs that represent leading institutional, corporate strategic, family office and impact investors. New LPs in the fund include Första AP-Fonden (AP1), Capricorn, Reference Capital, Keeling Capital, Keysight Technologies, WEX Venture Capital, and several other international pensions. Among returning investors are GE Vernova, CDPQ, Builders Vision, UBS, WEC, and others. "As an investor committed to accelerating the energy transition, Builders Vision values Energize's deep industry insights and proven approach to scaling energy transition SaaS businesses," said Scott Gerdes, director of private investments at Builders Vision. "The close of Ventures Fund III is an opportunity for Energize to further enhance its in-depth research, valuable industry connections, and hands-on team, all of which are crucial for driving broader market adoption. By collaborating with forward-thinking companies and leveraging cutting-edge technology, Energize is fueling growth and contributing to the creation of a cleaner, more resilient energy ecosystem."1 The fund will back asset-light climate solutions, with a particular focus on companies operating in the industrial digitization, next generation infrastructure and energy transition sectors. To date, Energize has deployed capital from Ventures III into several investments, including Tyba, a battery software optimization platform; Archive, a technology solution for brands to launch and scale profitable resale businesses; and Nira, a software platform that supports grid interconnection for energy developers. About Energize CapitalEnergize Capital is a leading investor in climate solutions. Founded in 2016 and based in Chicago, Energize seeks to scale sustainable innovation by partnering with the builders and operators shaping the future. To date, Energize has funded 36 companies and deployed more than $920 million through its Venture and Endurance strategies. Founded in partnership with Invenergy, the firm is backed by strategic, institutional, and impact LPs including Första AP-Fonden (AP1), GE Vernova, Capricorn, CDPQ, Builders Vision, UBS, WEC, Reference Capital, Keeling Capital, Keysight Technologies, WEX Venture Capital, and more. For more information on Energize, please visit Media ContactRobiny Jamerson, Energize Marketing & Communications, rjamerson@ 1 No compensation was provided in exchange for this testimonial SOURCE Energize Capital Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
CNBC
01-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Billionaire Lukas Walton names new CIO for his family office
Builders Vision, the family office of billionaire Walmart heir Lukas Walton, has promoted Noelle Laing to chief investment officer. The Chicago-based firm uses philanthropy and impact investing to address three global challenges: clean energy, food sustainability and ocean health. Laing started working with Walton 12 years ago when he was a client at Cambridge Associates, where she managed impact investments. She joined Builders Vision in 2019 and has served as CIO of the firm's philanthropy arm, Builders Initiative, since 2022. In that capacity, Laing shifted 90% of the $1.7 billion endowment to "mission-aligned investments" that advance social and environmental causes and led a team that invested more than $300 million in early-stage startups and fund managers. In her new role across the full family office, Laing will also oversee some family trusts and the firm's asset management arm. A spokesperson told CNBC that Builders Asset Management has a multibillion-dollar taxable portfolio but declined to specify its size. "Noelle has been instrumental in the success of our investment strategies and is the perfect person for the job," said Walton in an announcement. "Through increased coordination and shared vision, we can be even more effective at pursuing these goals across our sectors." Laing is consolidating the two divisions' investment teams and will oversee about 20 investors. She plans to make about a half dozen hires, bringing the team's headcount to nearly 30. Builders Vision represents a growing class of family offices with assets and headcounts that rival those of institutional investors. Laing told CNBC that this scale allows Builders Vision to tackle its core causes in a wide range of ways spanning nonprofit grants, small bets on startups that are piloting new technology and multimillion-dollar co-investments and allocations to fund managers. "It's a spectrum of investments, and it allows us to really get a deep view of the different ways that we can get exposure and move oceans, food and agriculture and energy into the future," she said. "We can choose which tool in which portfolio to see that vision through." Builders Vision recently backed Norway's Bluefront Equity, a sustainable seafood fund. In November, the firm co-guaranteed $70 million of debt held by the Bahamas, allowing the government to borrow at a lower cost and allocate the savings to marine conservation. The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them. Subscribe here to get access today. Laing started her career at Cambridge Associates in 2003, leaving in 2008 to work at the Red Cross and a pension fund. She returned to the investment advisory in 2010. At Cambridge, she consulted on Walton's then-fledgling venture capital fund, S2G Investments. The $2.5 billion fund was spun off from Builders Vision in May 2024. Laing is part of a small but growing group of women managing investments for the ultra-rich including Erin Harkless Moore of Melinda French Gates' Pivotal Ventures and Margo Doyle of S-Cubed Capital, the family office of billionaire venture capitalist Mark Stevens. Rebecca Carland, now CIO of the Knight Foundation, served as CIO of Builders Asset Management until late last year. All four women are also alumna of Cambridge Associates, the top advisor to wealthy families, endowments and foundations with some 300 senior investment staff. David Jallits, another Cambridge Associates veteran, oversees investments for Chicago's Duchossois family. "You have so many resources and so many people's different opinions, which is such a big part of the magic of Cambridge," Laing said. "It's a great training ground for a place like Builders Vision where you can focus and then implement kind of the best ideas from from Cambridge."
Reuters
30-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Japan's Sumitomo, Builders Vision back US rare earths startup Phoenix Tailings
April 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Sumitomo (8053.T), opens new tab and impact investment fund Builders Vision have invested in U.S.-based rare earths processing startup Phoenix Tailings, the latest move by manufacturers to boost production of the critical minerals outside of China. Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones and other electronics. The existing standard to refine these minerals, known as solvent extraction, is an expensive and dirty process that gradually became unpopular in the United States after it was developed in the 1950s but one that Chinese companies have mastered. China's exports of rare earths have ground to a halt, fueling a scramble across the West for replacements. Phoenix says its process can produce rare earths from mined ore or recycled equipment with little to no emissions. Sumitomo's Presidio venture arm, along with Builders Vision, Yamaha Motor (7272.T), opens new tab, and venture capital funds Envisioning Partners, MPower and Escape Velocity, joined a $33 million tranche for Phoenix's Series B funding round, which closed on April 25, the company said. Phoenix declined to disclose each investor's funding. The company will use the funding as part of its construction of a $13 million facility in Exeter, New Hampshire, that can produce 200 metric tons of rare earths annually initially and should open later this year. The company last December closed a first tranche of its Series B round worth $43 million, bringing the total round to $76 million. A $10 million Series A funding round closed in August 2021.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan's Sumitomo, Builders Vision back US rare earths startup Phoenix Tailings
(Reuters) -Japan's Sumitomo and impact investment fund Builders Vision have invested in U.S.-based rare earths processing startup Phoenix Tailings, the latest move by manufacturers to boost production of the critical minerals outside of China. Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones and other electronics. The existing standard to refine these minerals, known as solvent extraction, is an expensive and dirty process that gradually became unpopular in the United States after it was developed in the 1950s but one that Chinese companies have mastered. China's exports of rare earths have ground to a halt, fueling a scramble across the West for replacements. Phoenix says its process can produce rare earths from mined ore or recycled equipment with little to no emissions. Sumitomo's Presidio venture arm, along with Builders Vision, Yamaha Motor, and venture capital funds Envisioning Partners, MPower and Escape Velocity, joined a $33 million tranche for Phoenix's Series B funding round, which closed on April 25, the company said. Phoenix declined to disclose each investor's funding. The company will use the funding as part of its construction of a $13 million facility in Exeter, New Hampshire, that can produce 200 metric tons of rare earths annually initially and should open later this year. The company last December closed a first tranche of its Series B round worth $43 million, bringing the total round to $76 million. A $10 million Series A funding round closed in August 2021. Sign in to access your portfolio
